(a) The undertaking to release property shall contain a description of the property to be released and shall describe the interest of the third person.
§ 720.630.Requirements
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 4 · Chapter 6. Third-Party Undertaking to Release Property · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 720.630 requires the undertaking to describe the property and the third person's interest, sets its amount at twice the property's market value or twice the creditor's lien -- whichever is less -- unless the creditor already posted its own undertaking, in which case the two match, and caps the third person's ultimate liability at the debt or the property's value, whichever is less.
Full Text of § 720.630
(b) The undertaking shall be made in favor of the creditor and shall provide that, if the debtor is finally adjudged to have an interest in the property levied upon, the third person shall pay to the creditor the lesser of the following:
(1) The amount required to satisfy the judgment against the debtor of the creditor who had the lien on the property.
(2) A sum equal to the market value of the debtor's interest in the property levied upon.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (d) and unless the third person elects to file an undertaking in a larger amount, the amount of the undertaking shall be the lesser of the following amounts:
(1) Twice the market value of the property sought to be released.
(2) Twice the amount of the creditor's lien on the property sought to be released.
Plain-English Summary
This section fixes both the shape and the size of the undertaking. It has to describe the property to be released and describe the third person's own interest in it, so the record is clear about exactly what's being freed and on what claimed basis.
Subdivision (b) sets the outer limit on what the third person ultimately owes if the debtor turns out to have an interest in the property after all: the lesser of the amount needed to satisfy the creditor's judgment, or the market value of the debtor's interest in the levied property. The undertaking amount itself, under subdivision (c), tracks that same lesser-of logic at double strength — twice the market value of the property sought to be released, or twice the creditor's lien on it, whichever is smaller — unless the third person chooses to post a larger undertaking voluntarily.
Subdivision (d) handles one wrinkle: if the creditor already gave an undertaking in response to the third person's original claim under § 720.160 or § 720.260, the third person's undertaking here has to match that same amount, rather than being independently calculated.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the undertaking describe?
The property to be released and the interest the third person claims in it.
How is the undertaking amount calculated?
Normally the lesser of twice the market value of the property or twice the amount of the creditor's lien on it, unless the third person elects a larger amount.
What's the most the third person could end up owing the creditor?
The lesser of the amount needed to satisfy the creditor's judgment or the market value of the debtor's interest in the levied property.
Does the creditor's own undertaking change this calculation?
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: amount of undertaking to release property californiathird party undertaking requirements