(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), no deficiency shall be owed or collected, and no deficiency judgment shall be rendered for a deficiency on a note secured by a deed of trust or mortgage on real property or an estate for years therein executed in any case in which the real property or estate for years therein has been sold by the mortgagee or trustee under power of sale contained in the mortgage or deed of trust.
§ 580d.No Deficiency Collected Or Owed On Note Secured By Deed of Trust Or Mortgage, Exception
Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Judgment in General · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 580d bars any deficiency judgment on a note secured by a deed of trust or mortgage once the real property has been sold by the mortgagee or trustee under the instrument's own power of sale, while preserving liability for guarantors, pledgors, and other sureties and exempting certain regulated bonds and public utility debt.
Full Text of § 580d
(b) The fact that no deficiency shall be owed or collected under the circumstances set forth in subdivision (a) does not affect the liability that a guarantor, pledgor, or other surety might otherwise have with respect to the deficiency, or that might otherwise be satisfied in whole or in part from other collateral pledged to secure the obligation that is the subject of the deficiency.
(c) This section does not apply to a deed of trust, mortgage, or other lien given to secure the payment of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness authorized or permitted to be issued by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation or which is made by a public utility subject to the Public Utilities Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 201) of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code).
Plain-English Summary
This section is the broad counterpart to § 580b's purchase-money protections, and it applies regardless of whether the loan was ever used to buy the property. Once real property securing a note has been sold through the trustee's or mortgagee's own power of sale — a nonjudicial foreclosure — no deficiency on that note can be owed, collected, or reduced to judgment. A lender who chooses to foreclose that way gives up the right to chase the borrower for whatever shortfall remains.
The bar runs to the borrower's liability on the note, not to everyone connected with the debt. A guarantor, pledgor, or other surety can still be held liable for the deficiency, and other collateral separately pledged for the same obligation can still be pursued.
Subdivision (c) carves out certain regulated debt from the rule entirely: deeds of trust, mortgages, or other liens securing bonds or other indebtedness authorized or permitted by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, and liens made by a public utility subject to the Public Utilities Act, aren't covered by this section's bar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does § 580d protect a borrower whose loan wasn't used to buy the property?
Yes. Unlike § 580b, this section's protection doesn't depend on the loan being a purchase-money loan — it applies to any note secured by a deed of trust or mortgage sold through the instrument's power of sale.
Why would a lender choose judicial foreclosure over a trustee's sale, given this bar?
Because § 580d only bars a deficiency after a sale under the power of sale contained in the deed of trust or mortgage — judicial foreclosure is a different process governed by other statutes, and it can preserve deficiency rights that a nonjudicial trustee's sale forfeits.
Does this section protect a loan guarantor?
No. Subdivision (b) preserves the liability that a guarantor, pledgor, or other surety might otherwise have, and preserves recourse to any other collateral pledged for the debt.
Are any loans exempt from this deficiency bar?
Yes, subdivision (c) exempts deeds of trust or mortgages securing bonds or other indebtedness authorized or permitted by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, and liens made by a public utility subject to the Public Utilities Act.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2022 ch 452 (SB 1498),s 38, eff. 1/1/2023. Amended by Stats 2014 ch 401 (AB 2763),s 14, eff. 1/1/2015. Amended by Stats 2014 ch 71 (SB 1304),s 19, eff. 1/1/2015. Amended by Stats 2013 ch 65 (SB 426),s 3, eff. 1/1/2014.
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: no deficiency after trustee sale californianonjudicial foreclosure deficiency judgment bar california