§ 697.600.Priority of Lien

Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 2. Liens · Article 3. Judgment Lien on Personal Property · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 697.600 gives a personal-property judgment lien priority over any judgment lien created on the same property later, and resolves ties among liens that attach to after-acquired property at the same moment by favoring whichever notice was filed first.

Full Text of § 697.600

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) A judgment lien on personal property has priority over any other judgment lien thereafter created on the property.

(b) For the purpose of this section, if two or more judgment liens attach to after-acquired property at the same time under subdivision (b) of Section 697.530, the judgment lien first filed has priority.

Plain-English Summary

Among judgment liens themselves, priority follows a plain first-in-time rule: a judgment lien on personal property outranks any judgment lien created on that same property afterward. That rule matters most when a debtor's property is subject to multiple money judgments and more than one creditor has filed a notice of judgment lien.

Subdivision (b) covers a specific timing wrinkle created by § 697.530(b) — when an interest in property is acquired by the debtor after the lien was already created, the lien attaches to it the moment it's acquired. If two or more liens attach to the same after-acquired property at that same instant, the one whose notice was filed first takes priority, breaking what would otherwise be a tie.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wins between two judgment liens filed against the same personal property?

The one created first has priority over any judgment lien created on the property afterward.

What happens if two judgment liens attach to newly acquired property at the same instant?

Priority goes to whichever notice of judgment lien was filed first.

Does this priority rule apply to conflicts with security interests too?

No, that's governed separately by § 697.590. This section addresses priority as between competing judgment liens.

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: priority between judgment liens californiaafter acquired property judgment lien priority