(a) A judgment lien on personal property described in Section 697.530 is created by filing a notice of judgment lien in the office of the Secretary of State pursuant to this article. A judgment lien may be created under this article only if the judgment is a money judgment that was first entered in this state after June 30, 1983. Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 697.540, a judgment lien may not be created under this article if the money judgment is payable in installments unless all of the installments under the judgment have become due and payable at the time the notice of judgment lien is filed.
§ 697.510.Creation of Lien; Duration; Continuation Statement; Extinguished; Order Releasing Lien; Attorney's Fees
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 2. Liens · Article 3. Judgment Lien on Personal Property · Last amended 2010 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 697.510 creates a judgment lien on personal property by filing a notice with the Secretary of State, sets its five-year duration and continuation-statement renewal, lists when the lien is extinguished, and lets a debtor force its release through the court while awarding attorney's fees to the prevailing party.
Full Text of § 697.510
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), (e), or (g), the judgment lien continues for five years from the date of filing.
(c) The effectiveness of a filed judgment lien lapses on the expiration of the period described in subdivision (b) unless, before the lapse, a continuation statement is filed pursuant to subdivision (d). Upon lapse, the judgment lien created by the filing of a notice pursuant to subdivision (a) ceases to be effective.
(d) A continuation statement may be filed only within the six-month period prior to the expiration of the five-year period specified in subdivision (b).
(e) A continuation statement that is not filed within the six-month period prescribed by subdivision (d) is ineffective. Upon timely filing of a continuation statement, the effectiveness of the initial notice of judgment lien continues for a period of five years commencing on the day on which the notice of judgment lien would have become ineffective in the absence of the filing. Upon the expiration of the five-year period, the notice of judgment lien lapses in the same manner as provided in subdivision (c), unless, before the lapse, another continuation statement is filed pursuant to subdivision (d). Succeeding continuation statements may be filed in the same manner to continue the effectiveness of the initial notice of judgment lien.
(f) For purposes of this section, "continuation statement" means an amendment of a notice of judgment lien that does both of the following:
(1) Identifies, by its file number, the initial notice of judgment lien to which it relates.
(2) Indicates that it is a continuation statement for, or that it is filed to continue the effectiveness of, the identified notice of judgment lien.
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the lien created by this section is extinguished at the earliest to occur of the following:
(A) The money judgment is satisfied.
(B) The period of enforceability of the judgment, including any extension thereof pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 683.110) of Chapter 3 of Division 1, terminates.
(C) The judgment lien is terminated or released.
(2) If the lien created by this section is extinguished, the judgment creditor shall file a statement of release within 20 days after the judgment creditor receives an authenticated demand from the judgment debtor. For the purposes of this subdivision, "authenticated demand" means either a signed written demand or an executed or otherwise encrypted demand delivered electronically that identifies the judgment debtor and the demand for a statement of release.
(h) If a judgment creditor does not file a statement of release pursuant to subdivision (g), the person who made the demand may apply to the court on noticed motion for an order releasing the judgment lien. Notice of the motion shall be filed in the county where the judgment was rendered and notice of the motion shall be served on the judgment creditor. Service shall be made personally or by mail. Upon presentation of evidence to the satisfaction of the court that the judgment lien has been extinguished pursuant to subdivision (g), the court shall order the judgment creditor to prepare and file the statement of release or shall itself order the release of the judgment lien. The court order may be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and shall have the same effect as the statement of release demanded under subdivision (g).
(i) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party in any action or proceeding maintained pursuant to this section.
(j) Nothing in this section is in derogation of any other relief to which an aggrieved person may be entitled by law.
(k) The fees for filing and indexing a record under this section, or for responding to a request for information from the filing office, are as set forth in Section 9525 of the Commercial Code.
(l) The provisions of Sections 9522 and 9523 of the Commercial Code shall apply to a notice of judgment lien to the same extent as to a filed financing statement.
Plain-English Summary
Unlike the real-property lien of § 697.310, a judgment lien on personal property doesn't come from recording anything with a county recorder. It comes from filing a notice of judgment lien with the Secretary of State, in the same public filing system the Commercial Code uses for UCC financing statements. The underlying judgment must be a money judgment first entered in California after June 30, 1983, and if it's payable in installments, the lien generally can't be created until every installment has come due, subject to the exception in § 697.540(b).
The lien lasts five years from filing. Keeping it alive past that requires a continuation statement, but only within the six-month window immediately before the five-year period runs out — file too early and it doesn't count, file after and it's too late. Each later continuation statement buys another five years the same way.
The lien can end sooner than five years, and when it does, the debtor gets leverage. If the judgment is satisfied, the enforcement period lapses (including any renewal under § 683.110), or the lien is otherwise terminated or released, the judgment creditor must file a statement of release within 20 days of an authenticated demand from the debtor. If the creditor doesn't, the debtor can ask the court for an order releasing the lien, and the prevailing party in that dispute recovers reasonable attorney's fees.
Because this lien lives inside the Commercial Code's filing system, several Commercial Code provisions on filing fees and the effect of filings carry over directly, and terms this article doesn't define borrow their meaning from the Commercial Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a judgment lien on personal property created in California?
By filing a notice of judgment lien in the office of the Secretary of State under Article 3, rather than by recording anything with a county recorder.
How long does a judgment lien on personal property last?
Five years from the date of filing, unless a continuation statement is filed during the six-month window before that period expires, which extends it for another five years.
When must a continuation statement be filed?
Only within the six months immediately before the five-year period expires. A statement filed outside that window is ineffective.
What can a debtor do if the lien should be released but the creditor won't file the release?
The debtor can make an authenticated demand; if the creditor doesn't file a statement of release within 20 days, the debtor may ask the court for an order releasing the lien and recover attorney's fees if successful.
Can a judgment lien attach to a judgment payable in installments?
Generally not until all installments are due and payable, except as § 697.540(b) allows.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2009 ch 410 (AB 121),s 1, eff. 1/1/2010.
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: judgment lien on personal property californianotice of judgment lien secretary of statecontinuation statement judgment lien california