Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 2. Liens · Article 3. Judgment Lien on Personal Property · Enacted 2025 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
(a) A judgment creditor may apply to the court for an order reinstating a released lien on personal property and its priority at the time of cancellation. Subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), the court shall order the reinstatement of a lien with the same priority that it held at the time of cancellation. Upon entry of the order the clerk shall do the following:
(1) Note in the court's records that the judgment is no longer satisfied to the extent of the returned funds or property.
(2) Issue to the judgment creditor a certificate and notice of reinstatement of judgment lien. The certificate of reinstatement of judgment lien shall identify the judgment and parties, the unsatisfied judgment amount, and the filing number and date of the original notice of judgment lien filed with the Secretary of State.
(1) The application for reinstatement of a lien under subdivision (a) shall be filed with a declaration by the judgment creditor that includes and certifies all of the following:
(A) The title of the court, the case name and number, and the date and amount of the original judgment and any renewals thereof.
(B) A statement that the judgment creditor released a lien or liens in the reasonable belief that the money judgment was satisfied. This statement shall include:
(i) Information sufficient to identify the liens that were released, including the county or counties in which an abstract of judgment was recorded, the recording dates and numbers of those recordings and, if applicable, the filing date and number of any notice of judgment lien on personal property that was filed with the Secretary of State.
(ii) The details of any acknowledgment of full or partial satisfaction of judgment that was filed or entered as a result of the prior application of funds, including the date, county, and recording number of any acknowledgment of full or partial satisfaction of judgment recorded by the judgment creditor.
(C) A statement that after a lien was released, the judgment creditor was ordered pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 703.580 to return to the judgment debtor property levied or wages garnished in satisfaction of the money judgment. A copy of the order shall be attached as an exhibit to the declaration.
(D) A statement that the judgment creditor returned, and the judgment debtor received, all property and wages ordered returned.
(E) A statement that but for the court's order pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 703.580, the money judgment would have been fully satisfied or that the property returned to the judgment creditor was identified in a recorded acknowledgment of full or partial satisfaction of judgment.
(F) A statement that the judgment creditor is not appealing the order to return funds pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 703.580.
(2) knowingly providing false information shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to $1,500
(1) The judgment creditor shall serve upon the judgment debtor by first-class mail to the address verified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 684.130 a copy of the application for an order reinstating a released lien.
(2) The judgment debtor may, within 15 days of service of the application, file a declaration stating that the funds or property identified by the judgment debtor pursuant to subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) have not been returned.
(3) If a declaration under paragraph (2) is filed, the court shall deny the application and the judgment creditor shall file a noticed motion to be heard by the court in order to reinstate a lien and its priority.
(4) If no objection is filed, the clerk's reinstatement of the lien and its priority shall be automatically effective.
(d) An application under this section shall be filed in the action in which the judgment creditor was ordered, pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 703.580, to return to the judgment debtor property levied or wages garnished in satisfaction of the money judgment.
(e) Attorney's fees are not recoverable under this section.
(f) The judgment creditor may record the certificate in the same manner as an abstract of judgment, and that recordation shall have the effect of restoring the lien's priority as if the prior release or satisfaction had not occurred.
(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026.
Sometimes a creditor releases a judgment lien because it reasonably appears the judgment has been paid, only for a court to later order the creditor to return levied property or garnished wages to the debtor — which means the judgment wasn't fully satisfied after all. This section lets the creditor undo that mistake by applying to the court for an order reinstating the released lien with the same priority it held before cancellation.
The application has to be backed by a detailed declaration covering the case information, an identification of exactly which liens were released and why, the details of any satisfaction that was recorded, and confirmation that the creditor complied with the court's order to return the property or wages and isn't appealing that order. Knowingly submitting false information in that declaration carries a civil penalty of up to $1,500.
The debtor gets a chance to push back: after being served with the application, the debtor has 15 days to file a declaration disputing that the funds or property were returned. If the debtor does that, the court denies the application and the creditor has to bring a noticed motion instead. If no objection comes in, the clerk's reinstatement of the lien and its original priority becomes automatically effective, and the creditor can record the resulting certificate to restore the lien's priority as though the earlier release or satisfaction never happened. Attorney's fees aren't recoverable in this proceeding, and the reinstatement mechanism itself becomes operative July 1, 2026.
Added by Stats 2025 ch 708 (AB 774),s 3, eff. 1/1/2026.