(a) If a public entity owes money to the judgment debtor, the obligation of the public entity may be applied to the satisfaction of the money judgment against the judgment debtor only in the manner provided by (1) this article, (2) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 706.010) (wage garnishment), or (3) Article 5 (commencing with Section 708.410) (lien in pending action or proceeding).
§ 708.720.Application of Public Entity's Obligation to Satisfaction of Judgment; Withholding Public Officer's Or Employee's Earning; Obligation Subject of Pending Action Or Proceeding
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 2 · Chapter 6. Miscellaneous Creditors' Remedies · Article 8. Collection of Judgment Where Judgment Debtor Is Creditor of Public Entity · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 708.720 confines collection of a debt a public entity owes the judgment debtor to three exclusive channels, this article, wage garnishment, or a lien in a pending action, bars withholding a public officer's or employee's earnings under this article, and excludes obligations already the subject of a pending lawsuit.
Full Text of § 708.720
(c) If the obligation of a public entity to pay money to the judgment debtor is the subject of a pending action or special proceeding, the procedure in this article does not apply. The payment of the obligation that is the subject of the pending action or special proceeding may be applied to the satisfaction of the money judgment against the judgment debtor only in the manner provided in Article 5 (commencing with Section 708.410).
Plain-English Summary
Before laying out the mechanics, this section fences off the field. If a public entity owes the debtor money, subdivision (a) says the creditor can reach it only through one of three channels: this article's own procedure, wage garnishment under Chapter 5 (commencing with § 706.010), or a lien in a pending action or proceeding under Article 5 (commencing with § 708.410). No other collection method applies to a public entity's debt to the judgment debtor.
Subdivision (b) protects public employees specifically, since their earnings cannot be withheld under this article at all. If a public officer or employee's wages are to be reached, it has to happen through the wage garnishment law, not through this article's public-entity-debt procedure.
Subdivision (c) draws one more line. If the public entity's obligation to the debtor is itself tied up in a pending lawsuit or special proceeding, this article's procedure does not apply, and the creditor instead has to use the pending-action lien procedure of Article 5, because the ordinary tools this article provides are not built for a debt still being litigated.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the only ways to collect a public entity's debt to a judgment debtor?
Can a public officer's or employee's earnings be withheld under this article?
No. Section 708.720(b) reserves that to the wage garnishment law.
What happens if the public entity's debt to the debtor is already the subject of a lawsuit?
This article's procedure does not apply; the creditor must instead use the lien procedure in Article 5, § 708.410 and following.
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: collecting judgment from public entity californiapublic employee wages judgment california