(a) Notwithstanding any other law, in the case of a writ of execution issued by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 699.010) and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 706.010) of Division 2, the Labor Commissioner, when collecting an unsatisfied judgment or award pursuant to Section 96.8 of the Labor Code, may perform the duties of the levying officer, except that the Labor Commissioner need not give himself or herself the notices that the levying officer is required to serve on a judgment creditor or the notices that a judgment creditor is required to give to the levying officer.
§ 690.050.Collection of Unsatisfied Judgment Or Award
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 10. Enforcement of Judgments by Labor Commissioner · Enacted 2015 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 690.050 lets the Labor Commissioner perform the levying officer's own duties on a court-issued writ of execution when collecting an unsatisfied judgment or award, deliver a levy notice to a bank's centralized location or an account debtor's agent for service, and issue a notice of levy directly without any court-issued writ at all.
Full Text of § 690.050
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 700.140 and Sections 700.150, 700.160, and 700.170, if the levy is for a deposit, credits, money, or property in the possession or under the control of a bank or savings and loan association or for an account receivable or other general intangible owed to the judgment debtor by an account debtor, the Labor Commissioner may deliver or mail a notice of levy to a centralized location designated by the bank or savings and loan association or, in the case of an account receivable or other general intangible, to the agent for service of process of the account debtor. If the notice of levy is received at the designated central location for the bank or savings and loan association, the notice of levy will apply to all deposits, credits, money, and personal property held by the bank or savings and loan association regardless of the location of that property. The notice of levy may be issued directly by the Labor Commissioner, whether or not a court has issued a writ of execution, and shall contain all of the information required to be included in a writ of execution under Section 699.520 and in a notice of levy under Section 699.540.
Plain-English Summary
The Labor Commissioner's enforcement powers under this section go further than the parallel provisions for support collection. Subdivision (a) lets the Commissioner, when collecting an unsatisfied judgment or award under Labor Code § 96.8, perform the levying officer's own duties on a writ of execution issued under Chapter 3 (commencing with § 699.010) and Chapter 5 (commencing with § 706.010) of Division 2, without serving the notices a levying officer would otherwise exchange with a judgment creditor.
Subdivision (b) adds two centralized-service shortcuts. For a levy reaching deposits, credits, money, or property at a bank or savings and loan, the Commissioner may deliver or mail the notice to a centralized location the institution designates, reaching everything the debtor holds there regardless of branch. For a levy on an account receivable or other general intangible owed to the debtor by another party, the Commissioner may instead send the notice to that account debtor's agent for service of process.
The most notable feature comes at the end of subdivision (b): the Labor Commissioner may issue the notice of levy directly, whether or not a court has issued a writ of execution at all, so long as the notice contains the information a writ requires under § 699.520 and a notice of levy requires under § 699.540. That's a meaningfully broader power than § 689.040 gives the local child support agency, which still operates off a court-issued writ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Labor Commissioner issue a notice of levy without a court first issuing a writ of execution?
Yes. Section 690.050(b) lets the Commissioner issue the notice of levy directly, whether or not a court has issued a writ, as long as it contains the information required under §§ 699.520 and 699.540.
How does the Labor Commissioner reach a debtor's bank accounts under this section?
By delivering or mailing the notice of levy to a centralized location the bank or savings and loan association has designated, reaching all the debtor's deposits, credits, and property there regardless of branch.
What about a levy on money someone else owes the debtor, like an account receivable?
The Commissioner may send the notice of levy to that account debtor's agent for service of process rather than serving the account debtor directly.
Is this broader than the enforcement power given to local child support agencies?
Yes. Section 689.040 still requires a court-issued writ of execution; this section lets the Labor Commissioner issue its own notice of levy independent of any court writ.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2015 ch 803 (SB 588),s 1, eff. 1/1/2016.
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: labor commissioner notice of levy californialabor commissioner bank levy centralized location