In any judgment, or execution upon such judgment, the amount shall be computed and stated in dollars and cents, rejecting fractions.
§ 577.5.Computation of Amount
Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Judgment in General · Enacted 1951 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 577.5 requires that any judgment, or execution upon a judgment, state its amount in dollars and cents while rejecting fractional cents, a small computational rule that keeps every California judgment expressed in the same clean currency format.
Full Text of § 577.5
Plain-English Summary
This is a housekeeping rule, but a necessary one. Judgments often involve interest calculations, prorated fees, or damages formulas that don't resolve into round numbers. Section 577.5 tells the court and the clerk how to handle that: state the amount in dollars and cents, and drop any fraction of a cent that's left over.
The rule applies not just to the judgment itself but to execution on the judgment — the process of collecting it — so the same rounding convention carries through from entry to enforcement.
It's a small provision, but it prevents disputes over trivial fractional amounts from complicating what should be a simple final figure on the judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How must a judgment amount be expressed in California?
In dollars and cents, with any fraction of a cent rejected, under § 577.5.
Does this rule apply to collecting on the judgment, not just entering it?
Yes, § 577.5 applies to execution upon the judgment as well as to the judgment itself.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1951, Ch. 655.
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
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