"Judgment creditor" means the person in whose favor a judgment is rendered or, if there is an assignee of record, means the assignee of record. Unless the context otherwise requires, the term also includes the guardian or conservator of the estate, personal representative, or other successor in interest of the judgment creditor or assignee of record.
§ 680.240.Judgment Creditor
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 1. Short Title and Definitions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 680.240 defines judgment creditor as the person in whose favor a judgment is rendered, or an assignee of record if the judgment has been assigned, and generally extends the term to a guardian, conservator, personal representative, or other successor in interest.
Full Text of § 680.240
Plain-English Summary
Not every person entitled to enforce a judgment is the original plaintiff who won it. This section builds that flexibility into the definition itself: the judgment creditor is ordinarily whoever won the judgment, but if the judgment has been assigned, the assignee of record steps into that role instead. The definition also reaches forward in time, generally covering a guardian or conservator of the creditor's estate, a personal representative, or any other successor in interest, unless the context requires otherwise.
The phrase "assignee of record" is doing real work here, and it connects directly to § 681.020. An assignee does not automatically become the judgment creditor just by taking an assignment privately -- the assignee has to become an assignee of record, typically by filing an acknowledgment of assignment of judgment, before qualifying to enforce the judgment under this title.
Getting this status right matters at every enforcement step. Applications for writs, exemption disputes, and renewal filings all ask who the judgment creditor is, and an assignee who has not properly recorded the assignment risks having enforcement actions challenged for lack of standing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who counts as the judgment creditor if the original plaintiff has since died?
The definition generally extends to the guardian or conservator of the creditor's estate, a personal representative, or another successor in interest, unless the specific context requires a different reading.
If a judgment creditor sells the judgment to someone else, does the buyer automatically become the judgment creditor?
Why does it matter whether someone qualifies as the judgment creditor?
Because enforcement rights under the Enforcement of Judgments Law -- applying for writs, claiming costs, renewing the judgment -- all belong to whoever holds judgment creditor status, and an improperly documented assignee can have enforcement actions challenged.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
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: judgment creditor definition californiaassignee of judgment california enforcement