Except as otherwise provided in the Family Code, this chapter does not apply to a judgment or order made or entered pursuant to the Family Code.
§ 683.310.Inapplicability Family Code Judgment Or Order
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 3. Period for Enforcement and Renewal of Judgments · Article 3. Application of Chapter · Last amended 2000 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 683.310 excludes judgments and orders made under the Family Code from this chapter's period-for-enforcement and renewal rules, except to the extent the Family Code itself says otherwise, leaving family law support and property judgments to their own enforcement timing.
Full Text of § 683.310
Plain-English Summary
Family Code judgments — child support, spousal support, and related orders — don't run on the same 10-year clock this chapter sets for ordinary civil judgments. This section takes them out of Chapter 3 entirely, unless the Family Code itself imports one of these rules for a particular kind of order.
The reason tracks how differently support obligations behave: they often accrue and change over years, get modified by later orders, and carry their own enforcement statutes designed around that reality. Applying a flat 10-year enforceability-and-renewal regime built for ordinary money judgments wouldn't fit that structure, so the Legislature left family law enforcement to the Family Code's own provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 10-year enforcement and renewal chapter apply to child or spousal support judgments?
No. Section 683.310 excludes judgments and orders made under the Family Code from this chapter, except where the Family Code itself provides otherwise.
Where do the enforcement timing rules for family law judgments come from instead?
From the Family Code's own provisions governing those judgments and orders, rather than from this chapter.
Are there any Family Code judgments this chapter does reach?
Only to the extent the Family Code expressly says this chapter's rules apply to a particular judgment or order.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2000 ch 808 (AB 1358), s 5, eff. 9/28/2000.
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: does judgment renewal apply to family law judgmentschild support judgment enforcement period california