The exemptions from enforcement of a money judgment provided by this title do not apply to property levied upon or otherwise subjected to a lien prior to the operative date. Whether such property is exempt is determined by the exemptions provided by law at the time the lien was created.
§ 694.080.Exemptions
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 694.080 keeps this title's exemptions from applying to property already levied upon or otherwise subjected to a lien before the operative date, leaving the exemption law in force at the time the lien was created to decide whether that property is exempt.
Full Text of § 694.080
Plain-English Summary
The Enforcement of Judgments Law brought a new exemption scheme for property facing enforcement of a money judgment. Section 694.080 makes clear that scheme doesn't reach backward. Property already levied upon, or already subject to a lien, before the operative date isn't covered by the newer exemptions this title provides.
Instead, whether that property is exempt turns on the exemption law that existed at the moment the lien was created — a determination that connects directly to § 688.050's rule for pinning down exactly when a lien came into existence, using whichever of that section's three triggering events happened earliest.
This section remains conceptually important even though the underlying transition is historical, because it establishes the principle that exemption rights lock in at the moment a lien attaches, rather than shifting whenever the exemption statutes themselves change later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do this title's exemptions apply to property that was already subject to a lien before July 1, 1983?
No. Section 694.080 excludes that property from the exemptions this title provides.
How is it determined whether pre-1983 levied property is exempt?
By the exemption law in effect at the time the lien on that property was created, not by this title's exemption scheme.
How do you determine when the lien on that property was created?
Section 688.050 supplies that date for state tax liens, using the earliest of three triggering events it describes; other liens look to when they were created or perfected under the law then applicable.
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: exemption prior lien 1983 californiaexemption law at time lien created