If property that is required by law to be registered or recorded in the name of the owner is levied upon under a writ of execution and it appears at the time of the levy that the judgment debtor was the registered or record owner of the property and the judgment creditor caused the levy to be made and the lien maintained in good faith and in reliance upon such registered or recorded ownership, neither the judgment creditor, the levying officer, nor the sureties on an undertaking given by the judgment creditor pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 720.110) or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 720.210) of Division 4 is liable to a third person for the levy itself.
§ 699.090.Liability to Third Person For Levy
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 1. General Provisions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 699.090 shields a judgment creditor, the levying officer, and any sureties on the creditor's undertaking from liability to a third person for the levy itself when property required to be registered or recorded showed the judgment debtor as the record owner and the levy was made and the lien maintained in good-faith reliance on that record ownership.
Full Text of § 699.090
Plain-English Summary
Some property — vehicles, vessels, and similar assets — has to be registered or recorded in someone's name. When a creditor levies on that kind of property because the record shows the debtor as owner, this section protects the creditor from being blamed if it later turns out someone else owned the property all along.
The protection requires good faith. The judgment debtor has to have been the registered or record owner at the time of the levy, and the creditor has to have caused the levy and kept the lien in place in genuine reliance on that registered ownership, not in spite of information suggesting otherwise.
When those conditions are met, the protection extends beyond the creditor to the levying officer and to the sureties on any undertaking the creditor gave under Chapter 2 (§ 720.110) or Chapter 3 (§ 720.210) of Division 4 — none of them is liable to a third person for the levy itself, even if the third person turns out to be the true owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this section protect against?
Liability to a third person for the levy itself on registered or recorded property, when the record showed the judgment debtor as owner.
Who is protected under this section?
The judgment creditor, the levying officer, and the sureties on any undertaking the creditor gave under §§ 720.110 or 720.210.
What has to be true for this protection to apply?
The judgment debtor must have been the registered or record owner at the time of levy, and the creditor must have caused the levy and maintained the lien in good faith and in reliance on that ownership record.
Does this protect against every kind of claim the true owner might raise?
No, it is limited to liability for the levy itself, not every consequence that might follow if the true owner later asserts rights through a third-party claim procedure.
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: liability for wrongful levy californiaregistered owner levy protection california