The levying officer shall return the writ of possession, with his proceedings thereon, to the court in which the action is pending within 30 days after levy but in no event more than 60 days after the writ is issued.
§ 514.040.Return of Writ By Levying Officer
Title 7. Other Provisional Remedies In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Claim and Delivery of Personal Property · Article 4. Levy and Custody · Enacted 1973 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 514.040 requires the levying officer to return the writ of possession, together with a record of proceedings taken under it, to the issuing court within thirty days after levy but no later than sixty days after the writ was issued.
Full Text of § 514.040
Plain-English Summary
Writs don't stay open-ended. This section requires the levying officer to return the writ — along with an account of what was done under it — to the court where the action is pending, within thirty days after the levy occurs. Even if levy never happens, the officer still faces an outer boundary: the return must happen no more than sixty days after the writ was issued.
That dual deadline keeps enforcement of a writ moving on a predictable schedule and gives the court a paper trail of exactly what the levying officer did, whether the property was found, seized, and delivered, or the levy never took place at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon must the levying officer return the writ after levying on the property?
Within thirty days after levy.
What's the outer deadline for returning the writ if levy never happens?
No more than sixty days after the writ was issued.
What does the levying officer file with the return?
The writ itself along with the officer's proceedings under it, giving the court a record of what was done.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 526.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: return of writ of possession deadline california