After service of a copy of the writ of execution and a notice of levy on an account debtor obligated on an account receivable, chattel paper, or general intangible:
§ 701.050.Duties of Account Debtor
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 5. Duties and Liabilities of Third Persons After Levy · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 701.050 requires an account debtor served with a levy on an account receivable, chattel paper, or general intangible to redirect existing payments to the levying officer once any prior third party's claim is satisfied, keep paying a third party in the meantime if already required to, and deliver returnable goods under a repossession right to the levying officer.
Full Text of § 701.050
(a) If the account debtor has been making payments or is required to make payments to the judgment debtor, the account debtor shall make payments to the levying officer as they become due unless otherwise directed by court order or by the levying officer. Payments made to the judgment debtor after the account debtor has received notice of the levy do not discharge the obligation of the account debtor to make payments as required by this subdivision.
(b) If the account debtor has been making payments to a third person or is required to make payments to a third person (whether pursuant to a security agreement, assignment for collection, or otherwise), the account debtor shall continue to make such payments to the third person notwithstanding the levy until the account debtor receives notice that the obligation to the third person is satisfied or is otherwise directed by court order or by the third person. After the account debtor receives notice that the obligation to the third person is satisfied, the account debtor shall make payments to the levying officer as they become due unless otherwise directed by court order or by the levying officer.
(c) If pursuant to a security agreement the judgment debtor has liberty to accept the return of goods or make repossessions under the account receivable or chattel paper, the account debtor shall deliver to the levying officer property returnable to the judgment debtor unless otherwise directed by court order or by the levying officer.
Plain-English Summary
An account debtor is someone who owes money on an account receivable, chattel paper, or general intangible — a customer, for instance, who still owes payments the debtor is entitled to collect. Once served with a copy of the writ and notice of levy, subdivision (a) covers the simplest case: if the account debtor already pays, or is supposed to pay, the judgment debtor directly, those payments now have to go to the levying officer instead as they come due. Paying the judgment debtor after receiving notice of the levy does not count — it does not discharge the obligation.
Subdivision (b) covers the more layered case where the account debtor already owes payments to some other third party, say under a security agreement or an assignment for collection. Those payments keep flowing to that third party even after the levy, until the account debtor learns the third party's claim has been satisfied. Only then does the obligation switch over to paying the levying officer as amounts come due.
Subdivision (c) handles a different wrinkle: if the security agreement lets the judgment debtor accept returned goods or take repossessions under the account receivable or chattel paper, the account debtor has to deliver that returnable property to the levying officer instead, unless a court order or the officer directs otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an account debtor for purposes of this section?
Someone obligated on an account receivable, chattel paper, or general intangible owed to the judgment debtor and served with a copy of the writ of execution and notice of levy.
Does paying the judgment debtor after the levy still count once notice is received?
No. Subdivision (a) states that payments made to the judgment debtor after the account debtor has received notice of the levy do not discharge the obligation to pay the levying officer.
What if the account debtor already owes payments to a different third party?
Those payments continue to that third party until the account debtor is notified the third party's claim is satisfied, at which point payments switch to the levying officer.
What happens to goods the judgment debtor had a right to take back under the account?
Subdivision (c) requires the account debtor to deliver returnable property to the levying officer instead, unless a court order or the officer says otherwise.
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: account debtor duties levy californialevy on account receivable california