(a) On granting an injunction, the court or judge must require an undertaking on the part of the applicant to the effect that the applicant will pay to the party enjoined any damages, not exceeding an amount to be specified, the party may sustain by reason of the injunction, if the court finally decides that the applicant was not entitled to the injunction. Within five days after the service of the injunction, the person enjoined may object to the undertaking. If the court determines that the applicant's undertaking is insufficient and a sufficient undertaking is not filed within the time required by statute, the order granting the injunction must be dissolved.
§ 529.Undertaking Required On Granting Injunction
Title 7. Other Provisional Remedies In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Injunction · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 529 requires a court granting an injunction to make the applicant post an undertaking covering damages the enjoined party may suffer if the injunction turns out to be wrongful, subject to objection and a handful of statutory exemptions such as spousal proceedings and certain public entities.
Full Text of § 529
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following persons:
(1) Either spouse against the other in a proceeding for legal separation or dissolution of marriage.
(2) The applicant for an order described in Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family Code.
(3) A public entity or officer described in Section 995.220.
(4) An applicant requesting an injunction under subdivision (d) of Section 1708.85 of the Civil Code.
(5) An applicant requesting an injunction under subdivision (d) of Section 1708.89 of the Civil Code.
Plain-English Summary
Section 529 requires a plaintiff who gets an injunction to put money behind it. The court must make the applicant post an undertaking — essentially a bond — promising to pay the enjoined party's damages, up to a court-set amount, if it later turns out the applicant was never entitled to the injunction in the first place. That undertaking is what lets a defendant recover for harm caused by an injunction that shouldn't have issued.
The enjoined party isn't stuck accepting whatever bond amount the plaintiff offers. Within five days after being served with the injunction, that party can object to the undertaking as insufficient. If the court agrees and the plaintiff doesn't file a sufficient undertaking in time, the injunction has to be dissolved — the bond requirement has real teeth.
Subdivision (b) carves out several categories where no bond is required at all: spouses suing each other for legal separation or dissolution, applicants for domestic violence protective orders under the Family Code, certain public entities and officers covered by § 995.220, and applicants for specific privacy-related injunctions under Civil Code §§ 1708.85 and 1708.89. Related bond provisions for particular kinds of injunctions — construction-project injunctions under § 529.1 and affordable-housing injunctions under § 529.2 — layer additional requirements on top of this general rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a plaintiff have to post a bond to get an injunction in California?
Generally yes. Section 529(a) requires an undertaking to cover the enjoined party's potential damages if the injunction turns out to be wrongful, unless one of the exceptions in subdivision (b) applies.
Can the defendant challenge the amount of the bond?
Yes. The defendant has five days after being served with the injunction to object to the undertaking as insufficient, and if the court agrees and no sufficient bond is filed, the injunction must be dissolved.
Are there any situations where no bond is required?
Yes. Subdivision (b) exempts, among others, spouses in legal separation or dissolution proceedings, applicants for Family Code domestic violence orders, certain public entities and officers, and applicants for specific privacy injunctions under the Civil Code.
What happens to the bond if the injunction turns out to have been wrongly granted?
The enjoined party can recover damages from the undertaking, up to the amount the court specified when it required the bond.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2024 ch 557 (AB 1979),s 3, eff. 1/1/2025. Amended by Stats 2021 ch 518 (AB 514),s 2, eff. 1/1/2022. Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 219, Sec. 63.7. Effective January 1, 1994.
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: injunction bond requirement californiaundertaking for injunction california