§ 720.140.Service On Creditor; Time For Objecting to Undertaking Or Filing Undertaking
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 4 · Chapter 2. Third-Party Claims of Ownership and Possession · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 720.140 requires the levying officer to serve the creditor within five days of a filed third-party claim with a copy of the claim and a notice explaining the undertaking process, gives the creditor ten days after that service to object or file an undertaking, and requires the debtor be served on the same timeline.
(a)Not later than five days after the third-party claim is filed with the levying officer, the levying officer shall serve the following personally or by mail on the creditor:
(1)A copy of the third-party claim.
(2)A statement whether the third person has filed an undertaking to release the property pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 720.610).
(3)If the third person has filed an undertaking to release the property, a notice that the property will be released unless, within the time allowed as specified in the notice, the creditor objects to the undertaking.
(4)If the third person has not filed an undertaking to release the property, a notice that the property will be released unless, within the time allowed as specified in the notice, the creditor files with the levying officer an undertaking that satisfies the requirements of Section 720.160.
(b)The time allowed the creditor for objecting to the third person's undertaking to release the property or for filing an undertaking is 10 days after service under subdivision (a).
(c)Within the time allowed for service on the creditor under subdivision (a), the levying officer shall serve a copy of the papers specified in subdivision (a) on the debtor. Service shall be made personally or by mail.
(d)The levying officer may serve the copy of the third-party claim and the statement and notice pursuant to this section notwithstanding any defect, informality, or insufficiency of the claim.
Plain-English Summary
Once a third-party claim is filed, the levying officer acts as the messenger who keeps the process moving. Within five days, the officer serves the creditor — personally or by mail — with a copy of the claim, a statement of whether the third person has already filed an undertaking to release the property under Chapter 6 (§ 720.610), and a notice explaining what happens next: if an undertaking's already been filed, the property will be released unless the creditor objects within the allowed time; if not, the property will be released unless the creditor files its own qualifying undertaking under § 720.160.
That allowed time is ten days after the creditor is served. The debtor gets the same package of documents on the same five-day timeline the creditor does, so both sides know where things stand.
Subdivision (d) keeps minor defects from derailing the process — the levying officer can serve the claim, statement, and notice regardless of any defect, informality, or insufficiency in the claim itself; those issues get sorted out later, not at the service stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly must the levying officer notify the creditor of a third-party claim?
Within five days after the claim is filed, serving a copy of the claim along with a statement and notice about the undertaking process.
How much time does the creditor get to respond?
Ten days after being served, to either object to the third person's undertaking or file the creditor's own undertaking under § 720.160.
Does the debtor also get notified?
Yes, the levying officer serves the debtor with the same documents within the same time allowed for serving the creditor.
Can a defective claim still be served on the creditor?
Yes, § 720.140(d) lets the officer serve the claim, statement, and notice notwithstanding any defect, informality, or insufficiency in the claim.
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:service of third party claim on creditor california