(a) Failure to give notice of sale as required by this article does not invalidate the sale.
§ 701.560.Failure to Give Notice of Sale
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 3. Execution · Article 6. Sale and Collection · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 701.560 provides that a sale isn't invalidated by a failure to give the required notice, but the levying officer who sells without giving that notice is liable to the judgment creditor and debtor for the actual damages that failure caused.
Full Text of § 701.560
(b) A levying officer who sells property without giving the required notice is liable to the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor for actual damages caused by failure to give notice.
Plain-English Summary
Notice requirements protect people, but § 701.560 makes clear they don't create a trap that unravels a completed sale. A sale held without the notice this article requires still stands — it isn't invalidated on that basis alone.
The consequence instead falls on the officer personally. A levying officer who sells property without giving the required notice is liable to both the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor for whatever actual damages that failure caused. That puts the incentive to get notice right on the officer conducting the sale, while protecting buyers and the finality of the transaction itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does failing to give notice of sale undo the sale?
No, § 701.560(a) says a sale isn't invalidated for failure to give the required notice.
Who bears responsibility if required notice wasn't given?
The levying officer, who is liable to the judgment creditor and judgment debtor for actual damages caused by the failure.
Can a purchaser lose the property because notice wasn't given properly?
No, this section protects the sale's validity; the remedy runs against the levying officer instead.
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: failure to give notice of sale california