(a) Subject to subdivision (b), after entry of a money judgment, a writ of execution shall be issued by the clerk of the court, upon application of the judgment creditor, and shall be directed to the levying officer in the county where the levy is to be made and to any registered process server. The clerk of the court shall give priority to the application for, and issuance of, writs of execution on orders or judgments for child support and spousal support. A separate writ shall be issued for each county where a levy is to be made. Writs may be issued successively until the money judgment is satisfied, except that a new writ may not be issued for a county until the expiration of 180 days after the issuance of a prior writ for that county unless the prior writ is first returned.
§ 699.510.Issuance of Writ
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 2. Writ of Execution and Notice of Levy · Last amended 2014 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 699.510 requires the clerk to issue a writ of execution upon a judgment creditor's application after entry of a money judgment, sets a 180-day gap between successive writs for the same county unless the prior writ is returned first, and governs how the writ names the judgment debtor, including additional names under an affidavit of identity.
Full Text of § 699.510
(b) If the judgment creditor seeks a writ of execution to enforce a judgment made, entered, or enforceable pursuant to the Family Code, in addition to the requirements of this article, the judgment creditor shall satisfy the requirements of any applicable provisions of the Family Code.
(1) The writ of execution shall be issued in the name of the judgment debtor as listed on the judgment, except that the judgment creditor shall omit the name of a judgment debtor from the application for a writ of execution if the liability of that judgment debtor has ceased with regard to the judgment, including either of the following occurrences:
(A) The judgment debtor has obtained a discharge of the judgment pursuant to Title 11 of the United States Code and notice thereof has been filed with the court.
(B) The judgment creditor files an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment with regard to the judgment debtor pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 724.010) of Division 5.
(2) The writ of execution shall include the additional name or names, and the type of legal entity, by which the judgment debtor is known, as set forth in the affidavit of identity, as defined in Section 680.135, filed by the judgment creditor with the application for issuance of the writ of execution. Prior to the clerk of the court issuing a writ of execution containing any additional name or names by which the judgment debtor is known that are not listed on the judgment, the court shall approve the affidavit of identity. If the court determines, without a hearing or a notice, that the affidavit of identity states sufficient facts upon which the judgment creditor has identified the additional names of the judgment debtor, the court shall authorize the issuance of the writ of execution with the additional name or names.
(d) In any case where the writ of execution lists any name other than that listed on the judgment, the person in possession or control of the levied property, if other than the judgment debtor, shall not pay to the levying officer the amount or deliver the property being levied upon until being notified to do so by the levying officer. The levying officer may not require the person, if other than the judgment debtor, in possession or control of the levied property to pay the amount or deliver the property levied upon until the expiration of 15 days after service of notice of levy.
(e) If a person who is not the judgment debtor has property erroneously subject to an enforcement of judgment proceeding based upon an affidavit of identity, the person shall be entitled to the recovery of reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the judgment creditor incurred in releasing the person's property from a writ of execution, in addition to any other damages or penalties to which an aggrieved person may be entitled to by law, including Division 4 (commencing with Section 720.010).
Plain-English Summary
Once a money judgment is entered, subdivision (a) puts the ball in the creditor's court: apply for a writ, and the clerk issues it, directed to the levying officer in the county where the levy will happen and to any registered process server. Support judgments get priority in processing. Each county needing a levy gets its own separate writ, and writs can issue successively as the judgment stays unpaid — but the clerk will not issue a new writ for a given county until 180 days have passed since the last one issued there, unless that earlier writ has already been returned.
Subdivision (b) layers on an extra requirement for judgments enforceable under the Family Code: the creditor has to satisfy whatever the Family Code separately demands, on top of everything this article requires.
Subdivision (c) governs how the writ identifies the debtor. Ordinarily it uses the name on the judgment, but the creditor must leave off a debtor's name if that debtor's liability has ended — through a bankruptcy discharge noted with the court, or through a filed acknowledgment of satisfaction under § 724.010. Going the other direction, the creditor can add extra names the debtor is known by, through an affidavit of identity the court reviews and approves without a hearing, so long as it states sufficient supporting facts.
Subdivisions (d) and (e) protect people caught up by an affidavit of identity. Anyone other than the debtor who holds levied property does not have to pay or deliver it until the levying officer says so, and not before 15 days after being served with the notice of levy. And someone whose property gets wrongly swept in this way can recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the creditor for getting it released.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who applies for a writ of execution, and who issues it?
The judgment creditor applies after entry of the money judgment, and the clerk of the court issues the writ.
How often can a creditor get a new writ for the same county?
Writs can issue successively, but a new writ cannot issue for a county until 180 days after the prior writ for that county was issued, unless the prior writ was already returned.
Can the writ name someone other than the person on the judgment?
Yes, additional names by which the debtor is known can be added through an affidavit of identity that the court reviews and approves without a hearing.
What protection exists for a person who holds property under a name listed on the writ that differs from the judgment?
That person does not have to pay the amount or deliver the property until notified by the levying officer, and the officer cannot require payment or delivery until 15 days after service of the notice of levy.
What if someone's property is caught up by an affidavit of identity in error?
Section 699.510(e) lets that person recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the judgment creditor for releasing the property, in addition to any other available damages or penalties.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2013 ch 176 (SB 551),s 2, eff. 1/1/2014. Amended by Stats 2010 ch 680 (AB 2394),s 7, eff. 1/1/2011. Amended by Stats 2003 ch 17 (AB 308), eff. 7/1/2003. Amended by Stats 2001 ch 159 (SB 662), s 40, eff. 1/1/2002. Amended by Stats 2000 ch 808 (AB 1358), s 12.1, eff. 9/28/2000.
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: issuance of writ of execution californiaaffidavit of identity writ of execution california