(a) A money judgment may be satisfied by payment of the full amount required to satisfy the judgment or by acceptance by the judgment creditor of a lesser sum in full satisfaction of the judgment.
§ 724.010.When a Money Judgment Is Satisfied
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 5 · Chapter 1. Satisfaction of Judgment · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 724.010 provides that a money judgment is satisfied by full payment or by the creditor's acceptance of a lesser sum in full satisfaction, and specifies that the creditor's duty to acknowledge satisfaction after a levy or a noncash payment arises only once the creditor has received the full amount in hand or the payment has cleared.
Full Text of § 724.010
(b) Where a money judgment is satisfied by levy, the obligation of the judgment creditor to give or file an acknowledgment of satisfaction arises only when the judgment creditor has received the full amount required to satisfy the judgment from the levying officer.
(c) Where a money judgment is satisfied by payment to the judgment creditor by check or other form of noncash payment that is to be honored upon presentation by the judgment creditor for payment, the obligation of the judgment creditor to give or file an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment arises only when the check or other form of noncash payment has actually been honored upon presentation for payment.
Plain-English Summary
This section opens Division 5 by defining what it means for a money judgment to be satisfied. Subdivision (a) covers the two basic paths: payment of the full amount required, or the creditor's acceptance of some lesser amount as full satisfaction — a settlement of sorts on the judgment debt itself.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) answer a timing question that matters a great deal to a debtor waiting on an acknowledgment: when does the creditor's duty to acknowledge truly start? If satisfaction comes through a levy, the duty doesn't arise until the creditor has received the full amount in hand from the levying officer — not merely when the officer collects it. If satisfaction comes through a check or other noncash payment meant to be honored on presentation, the duty doesn't arise until that instrument has been honored, not merely delivered.
That timing protects the creditor from having to acknowledge satisfaction before the money is truly and finally in hand, while still giving the debtor a clear, objective trigger for when the acknowledgment obligations in §§ 724.030, 724.040, and 724.050 kick in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two ways a money judgment can be satisfied?
Payment of the full amount required to satisfy the judgment, or the judgment creditor's acceptance of a lesser sum in full satisfaction.
If a levy collects the money, when must the creditor acknowledge satisfaction?
Only once the creditor has received the full amount in hand from the levying officer, not merely when the officer collects it.
What about payment by check?
The obligation to acknowledge satisfaction arises only when the check or other noncash payment has been honored upon presentation for payment.
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
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