A certified copy of the judgment shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the action was commenced. Any party or the successor in interest of any party to the action may file the entire judgment roll for record in the office of the county recorder.
§ 751.16.Recording Certified Copy of Judgment
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 3.5. Actions to Re-establish Destroyed Land Records · Enacted 1953 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 751.16 requires a certified copy of the judgment to be recorded in the county recorder's office where the action was commenced, and permits any party or successor in interest to also record the entire judgment roll.
Full Text of § 751.16
Plain-English Summary
Winning the judgment isn't the end of the process — recording it is what puts the reconstructed title on the public record going forward. This section requires a certified copy of the judgment to be recorded in the recorder's office of the county where the action was commenced, the same office whose destroyed records prompted the action in the first place.
Beyond the judgment itself, any party or any successor in interest of a party may also file the entire judgment roll for record. Recording the fuller record gives future title searchers more of the underlying detail than the judgment alone would show.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has to be recorded once judgment is entered?
A certified copy of the judgment, recorded in the recorder's office of the county where the action was commenced.
Can more than just the judgment be recorded?
Yes. Any party, or any successor in interest of a party, may file the entire judgment roll for record.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 52.
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: recording judgment destroyed land records action