(a) The judgment creditor may renew a judgment by filing an application for renewal of the judgment with the court in which the judgment was entered.
§ 683.120.Application For Renewal
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 3. Period for Enforcement and Renewal of Judgments · Article 2. Renewal of Judgments · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 683.120 lets a judgment creditor renew a judgment by filing an application with the entering court, which extends enforceability 10 years from filing for most judgments but only five years, and only once, for the medical-expense and personal-debt judgments identified in § 683.110(c).
Full Text of § 683.120
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), for a judgment identified in subdivision (c) of Section 683.110, a judgment creditor may renew the judgment only once. The filing of the application under this subdivision renews the judgment in the amount determined under Section 683.150 and extends the period of enforceability of the judgment as renewed for a period of five years from the date the application is filed. No application may be filed if the judgment was renewed on or before December 31, 2022.
(d) In the case of a money judgment payable in installments, for the purposes of enforcement and of any later renewal, the amount of the judgment as renewed shall be treated as a lump-sum money judgment entered on the date the application is filed.
Plain-English Summary
Renewal in California is a filing, not a hearing. Subdivision (a) lets the creditor renew by filing an application for renewal with the court where the judgment was entered. Subdivision (b) explains what that filing accomplishes: it renews the judgment in the amount § 683.150 calculates, and extends enforceability another 10 years from the filing date.
Subdivision (c) applies a shorter, one-time track to the consumer judgments § 683.110(c) singles out. For those, the filing renews the judgment in the § 683.150 amount but extends enforceability for only five years from filing, and no application under this subdivision may be filed if the judgment was already renewed on or before December 31, 2022 — meaning a creditor can't stack this one-time renewal on top of an earlier renewal that predates the 2022 reform.
Subdivision (d) handles installment judgments once renewed: for enforcement and any later renewal, the renewed amount is treated as a single lump-sum judgment entered on the filing date, folding the installment structure into one figure going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a creditor renew a California judgment?
By filing an application for renewal with the court where the judgment was entered — no hearing is required to accomplish the renewal itself.
How long does a standard renewal extend enforceability?
Ten years from the date the renewal application is filed.
How is the renewal period different for the medical-expense and personal-debt judgments in § 683.110(c)?
Those judgments can be renewed only once, and that renewal extends enforceability for five years from filing rather than ten.
What happens to an installment judgment once it's renewed?
Section 683.120(d) treats the renewed amount as a lump-sum judgment entered on the filing date for purposes of enforcement and any later renewal.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2022 ch 883 (SB 1200),s 3, eff. 1/1/2023. 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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