(a) Whenever the court orders service by publication, the publication may:
(1) Name only the defendants to be served thereby.
(2) Describe only the property in which the defendants to be served thereby claim interests.
§ 763.030.Defendants Named and Property Described In Publication
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 4. Quiet Title · Article 4. Service of Process · Enacted 1980 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 763.030 lets a publication under a service-by-publication order name only the defendants being served that way and describe only the property they claim, and limits any judgment against a non-appearing defendant served this way to the property described in the publication.
Full Text of § 763.030
(b) Judgment against a defendant who fails to appear and answer following service under this section shall be conclusive against the defendant named in respect only to property described in the publication.
Plain-English Summary
Publication doesn't have to cover the whole case at once. Subdivision (a) lets the plaintiff tailor a particular publication to name only the defendants being served through that publication, and describe only the property those particular defendants claim an interest in — useful when different unknown or dead defendants relate to different parcels or interests.
Subdivision (b) ties the consequence to that same scope. If a defendant served this way doesn't appear and answer, the resulting judgment against that defendant is conclusive only as to the property described in the publication that defendant was served under, not the entire property at issue in the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a single quiet title action use more than one publication for different defendants?
Yes. Section 763.030(a) allows a publication to name only the defendants served by it and describe only the property those defendants claim.
If a defendant is served by a publication limited to certain property, how far does the judgment reach?
Only that property. Section 763.030(b) limits a judgment against a non-appearing defendant served this way to the property described in that publication.
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: limited publication service quiet title california