If a paper is required or permitted to be filed with a levying officer under this title, the paper is considered filed when it is actually received by the levying officer.
§ 681.040.Paper Filed When Received By Levying Officer
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 2. General Provisions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 681.040 provides that a paper required or permitted to be filed with a levying officer under this title is considered filed only when the levying officer receives it, fixing the moment that starts or satisfies filing-related deadlines.
Full Text of § 681.040
Plain-English Summary
Deadlines throughout the Enforcement of Judgments Law often turn on when a paper was filed with the levying officer -- instructions, claims, notices. This section answers a question that could otherwise cause real disputes: filing happens at actual receipt, not when a paper is mailed, signed, or dated.
That bright-line rule protects against arguments that a paper was "effectively" filed earlier because it was placed in the mail or handed to a process server on an earlier date. For the levying officer's own recordkeeping and for anyone whose rights depend on when a filing occurred, this section makes the answer clear: check when the levying officer received it.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a paper considered "filed" with a levying officer under this title?
When the levying officer receives it -- not when it was mailed, signed, or dated.
Does mailing a paper to the levying officer count as filing it on the mailing date?
No. Section 681.040 ties filing to actual receipt by the levying officer, regardless of when the paper was sent.
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
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