§ 720.250.Sale Or Delivery of Possession to Creditor Prohibited If Claim Timely Filed
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 4 · Chapter 3. Third-Party Claim of Security Interest or Lien · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 720.250 bars the levying officer from selling the levied property, delivering it to the creditor, or paying over collection proceeds once a third-party claim is timely filed, while making clear that a secured party or lienholder who never files a claim doesn't lose the underlying security interest or lien as a result.
(a)Except as otherwise provided by statute, if a third-party claim is timely filed, the levying officer may not do any of the following with respect to the personal property in which the security interest or lien is claimed:
(1)Sell the property.
(2)Deliver possession of the property to the creditor.
(3)Pay proceeds of collection to the creditor.
(b)The interest of a secured party or lienholder in the property levied upon is not affected by the failure of the secured party or lienholder to file a third-party claim under this chapter.
Plain-English Summary
Filing a timely claim under this chapter freezes the levying officer's hands. Once that happens, the officer can't sell the property, hand it over to the creditor, or pay the creditor any proceeds already collected from it -- except as some other statute may separately allow. That freeze holds until the creditor responds under § 720.240, whether by posting an undertaking, making a deposit, or letting the deadline pass.
Subdivision (b) answers a question a lienholder might reasonably worry about: does skipping this chapter's claim procedure put the underlying security interest or lien itself at risk? It doesn't. A secured party or lienholder who never files a third-party claim keeps the interest intact -- filing a claim here is a way to protect that interest against the immediate levy, not a precondition to the interest's continued existence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can the levying officer not do once a third-party claim is timely filed?
Sell the property, deliver possession of it to the creditor, or pay proceeds of its collection to the creditor, except as otherwise provided by statute.
Does a secured party lose the security interest by not filing a third-party claim?
No. Section 720.250(b) says the interest of a secured party or lienholder in the levied property isn't affected by a failure to file a claim under this chapter.
How long does this restriction on the levying officer last?
Until the creditor responds under § 720.240 -- by objecting to or filing an undertaking, or making a deposit -- which then triggers the procedures in §§ 720.260 through 720.290.
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:sale prohibited third party claim californiaeffect of not filing third party claim lien