(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim shall be stated in an amount of the money of the claim.
§ 676.7.Judgment Or Award
Title 8.5. Uniform Foreign-Money Claims Act · Enacted 1991 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 676.7 requires a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim to be stated and generally payable in that foreign money — or, at the debtor's option, in the equivalent United States dollars at the conversion-date spot rate — while assessed costs stay in dollars and offsetting claims in different currencies get netted into a single figure.
Full Text of § 676.7
(b) A judgment or award on a foreign-money claim is payable in that foreign money or, at the option of the debtor, in the amount of United States dollars which will purchase that foreign money on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
(c) Assessed costs shall be entered in United States dollars.
(d) Each payment in United States dollars shall be accepted and credited on a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim in the amount of the foreign money that could be purchased by the dollars at a bank- offered spot rate of exchange at or near the close of business on the conversion date for that payment.
(e) A judgment or award made in an action or distribution proceeding on both (1) a defense, setoff, recoupment, or counterclaim and (2) the adverse party's claim, shall be netted by converting the money of the smaller into the money of the larger, and by subtracting the smaller from the larger, and specify the rates of exchange used.
(f) A judgment substantially in the following form complies with subdivision (a): "IT IS ADJUDGED AND ORDERED, that Defendant (insert name) pay to Plaintiff (insert name) the sum of (insert amount in the foreign money) plus interest on that sum at the rate of (insert rate--see Section 676.9) percent a year or, at the option of the judgment debtor, the number of United States dollars which will purchase the (insert name of foreign money) with interest due, at a bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on the banking day next before the day of payment, together with assessed costs of (insert amount) United States dollars.'
(g) If a contract claim is of the type covered by subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 676.5, the judgment or award shall be entered for the amount of money stated to measure the obligation to be paid in the money specified for payment or, at the option of the debtor, the number of United States dollars which will purchase the computed amount of the money of payment on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
(h) A judgment shall be entered in foreign money in the same manner, and has the same effect as a lien, as other judgments. It may be discharged by payment.
Plain-English Summary
This is the core judgment-entry rule of the Act. Except for assessed costs, which subdivision (c) always states in United States dollars, a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim has to be stated in the money of the claim itself. Subdivision (b) gives the debtor a choice at payment time: pay in that foreign money directly, or pay the equivalent United States dollars needed to purchase it at a bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date. Subdivision (d) credits each dollar payment against the foreign-money judgment using that same spot-rate conversion, measured at or near the close of business on the conversion date for that particular payment.
Subdivision (e) handles the case where both a claim and an offsetting defense, setoff, recoupment, or counterclaim are being decided together: the smaller amount gets converted into the currency of the larger, then subtracted from it, with the judgment specifying the exchange rates used to do the netting. Subdivision (f) supplies model judgment language that satisfies subdivision (a), and subdivision (g) addresses contract claims already measured under § 676.5(a) or (b), directing that the judgment be entered for the stated amount in the currency specified for payment, with the same dollar-purchase option for the debtor.
Subdivision (h) confirms a foreign-money judgment works exactly like any other California judgment for lien purposes, and can be discharged the same way — by payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what currency must a judgment on a foreign-money claim be entered?
In the money of the claim itself, except for assessed costs, which are always stated in United States dollars.
Can the judgment debtor choose to pay in dollars instead of the foreign currency?
Yes, at the option of the debtor, in the amount of United States dollars that would purchase the foreign money at a bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date.
How are offsetting claims in different currencies handled in a single judgment?
The smaller amount is converted into the currency of the larger and subtracted from it, with the exchange rates used specified in the judgment.
Does a foreign-money judgment create a lien like an ordinary money judgment?
Yes, § 676.7(h) gives it the same lien effect as any other judgment, discharged in the same way, by payment.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 932, Sec. 1.
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: foreign money judgment entry californiabank-offered spot rate judgment