The plaintiff shall name as defendants in the action the persons having adverse claims to the title of the plaintiff against which a determination is sought.
§ 762.010.Generally
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 4. Quiet Title · Article 3. Defendants · Enacted 1980 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 762.010 requires the plaintiff in a quiet title action to name as defendants every person who has an adverse claim to the title the plaintiff is asking the court to determine.
Full Text of § 762.010
Plain-English Summary
This is the basic joinder rule for quiet title actions: name everyone whose claim you're asking the court to cut off. A judgment can only bind the people who had a chance to be heard, so the plaintiff has to identify and sue every person holding an adverse claim to the title in question.
The sections that follow this one handle the practical difficulties that rule creates — what to do when a claimant's name isn't known (§ 762.020), when a claimant is dead (§ 762.030), or when the plaintiff wants to sweep in claimants nobody has even identified yet (§ 762.060).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to be named as a defendant in a California quiet title action?
Every person who has an adverse claim to the title the plaintiff is asking the court to determine.
What if the plaintiff isn't sure who might have a claim to the property?
Sections 762.020 and 762.060 provide mechanisms for naming unknown persons and unknown claims as defendants.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1980, Ch. 44, Sec. 15.
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: who to name as defendant quiet title california