(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), property levied upon or otherwise subjected to process for enforcement of a money judgment or a judgment for possession or sale of property prior to the operative date is subject to prior law relating to sale or delivery of possession.
§ 694.040.Property Subject to Prior Law Relating to Sale Or Delivering of Possession
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 20. Transitional Provisions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 694.040 keeps prior law's rules on sale or delivery of possession, and the duties owed in executing a writ or order served before the operative date, in force for property already levied on or process already served before that date, while requiring the manner of payment at any post-operative-date sale to follow the new § 701.590.
Full Text of § 694.040
(b) The duties to be performed in the execution of a writ or order for the enforcement of a money judgment or a judgment for possession or sale of property that is served prior to the operative date are governed by prior law.
Plain-English Summary
Enforcement actions already underway when the new law took effect didn't have to restart from scratch. Subdivision (a) keeps prior law's rules on the sale or delivery of possession in force for property that was already levied upon, or otherwise subjected to enforcement process, before the operative date — with the manner-of-payment exception subdivision (c) carves out. Subdivision (b) does the same for the levying officer's duties in executing a writ or order: if the writ or order was served before the operative date, prior law governs how those duties are carried out, even if the actual execution continues afterward.
Subdivision (c) draws one line differently. Regardless of when the underlying levy or service happened, the manner of payment at a sale of property conducted after the operative date follows the new § 701.590, not whatever payment rule prior law used.
This section is essentially historical machinery now — it resolved how mid-stream 1983 enforcement actions should finish out, and any property or process it once governed was sold, delivered, or completed decades ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which law governed the sale of property already levied upon before July 1, 1983?
Prior law, under § 694.040(a), except that the manner of payment at any sale conducted after the operative date instead follows the new § 701.590.
What law governed a levying officer's duties on a writ served before the operative date?
Prior law, even if the officer carried out those duties after the operative date, under § 694.040(b).
Does this section still have ongoing application?
No. It addressed enforcement actions already underway at the 1983 transition, all of which concluded long ago; it remains relevant only as a historical reference.
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: prior law sale of levied property california1983 transition execution sale rules