The levying officer shall release the property described in the third person's undertaking in the manner provided by Section 720.170 promptly after the expiration of the time allowed for objecting to the undertaking, unless the creditor has objected to the undertaking, and filed with the levying officer a copy of the notice of motion as required by Section 720.760, prior to the expiration of that time.
§ 720.660.Levying Officer's Duty to Release Property After Objection Period
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 4 · Chapter 6. Third-Party Undertaking to Release Property · Last amended 1985 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 720.660 requires the levying officer to release property covered by a third person's undertaking once the objection period expires, unless the judgment creditor objected in time and filed the required notice of motion with the levying officer.
Full Text of § 720.660
Plain-English Summary
This section is the payoff of Chapter 6's undertaking procedure: once a third person posts an undertaking under §§ 720.610-720.640, the levying officer must release the described property — using the same release procedure § 720.170 sets out for ownership claims — promptly after the window for objecting to the undertaking closes.
The judgment creditor has one way to stop that automatic release: object to the undertaking and file a copy of the notice of motion with the levying officer, as § 720.760 requires, before the objection period runs out. Miss that deadline, and the levying officer's duty to release becomes essentially automatic, with no further discretion to withhold the property.
Read together with § 720.650, this section marks both ends of the undertaking's operation — § 720.650 says the undertaking becomes effective once release happens, and § 720.660 is what triggers that release in the ordinary case where no timely objection comes in.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must the levying officer release property covered by a third person's undertaking?
Promptly after the time allowed for objecting to the undertaking has expired, using the release procedure set out in § 720.170.
Can the judgment creditor stop the release?
Yes, but only by objecting to the undertaking and filing a copy of the notice of motion with the levying officer, as required by § 720.760, before the objection period expires.
What happens if the creditor misses the deadline to object?
The levying officer's duty to release the property becomes automatic — the statute gives no further discretion to withhold it once the window closes without a timely, properly filed objection.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 41, Sec. 12.
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: levying officer release property undertaking california