In all cases where existing deeds of trust or mortgages are judicially foreclosed, unless a different amount is set up in the mortgage or deed of trust, and in all cases of mortgages and deeds of trust executed after this act takes effect, the mortgagor or trustor may be required to pay only such amount as trustee's or attorney's fees for processing the judicial foreclosure as the court may find reasonable and also the actual cost of publishing, recording, mailing and posting notices, litigation guarantee, and litigation cost of suit.
§ 580c.Trustee's Or Attorney's Fees For Processing Judicial Foreclosure of Deed of Trust Or Mortgage
Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Judgment in General · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 580c limits what a mortgagor or trustor can be charged for trustee's or attorney's fees when a deed of trust or mortgage is judicially foreclosed, capping those fees at what the court finds reasonable and adding only the actual costs of publishing, recording, mailing, and posting notices, plus litigation guarantee and suit costs.
Full Text of § 580c
Plain-English Summary
Judicial foreclosure — foreclosing through a lawsuit rather than a trustee's sale — brings its own set of costs, and this section keeps those costs in check. Unless the mortgage or deed of trust itself sets a different amount, the borrower can be required to pay only what the court finds reasonable for trustee's or attorney's fees connected to processing the judicial foreclosure.
Beyond that reasonable-fee figure, the borrower can also be charged the actual, out-of-pocket costs of publishing, recording, mailing, and posting the required notices, along with the cost of a litigation guarantee and the general costs of the foreclosure suit itself. The rule applies both to older instruments already in judicial foreclosure and to mortgages and deeds of trust executed going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a lender charge whatever fees it wants for a judicial foreclosure?
No, unless the mortgage or deed of trust specifies a different amount, § 580c limits trustee's or attorney's fees for processing the judicial foreclosure to what the court finds reasonable.
What other costs can be added on top of those fees?
The actual costs of publishing, recording, mailing, and posting the required notices, plus the cost of a litigation guarantee and the litigation costs of the suit.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1730, Sec. 6.
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: judicial foreclosure attorney fees californiatrustee fees judicial foreclosure limit california