(a) The provisions of this chapter apply to a bond or undertaking executed, filed, posted, furnished, or otherwise given as security pursuant to any statute of this state, except to the extent the statute prescribes a different rule or is inconsistent.
§ 995.020.Applicability of Chapter; Effective Date
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 1. Preliminary Provisions and Definitions · Last amended 1983 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 995.020 makes this chapter's rules apply to every bond or undertaking given under a California statute unless that statute sets a different or inconsistent rule, applies to bonds given on or after January 1, 1983, with limited carryover for earlier bonds, and excludes bail bonds entirely.
Full Text of § 995.020
(b) The provisions of this chapter apply to a bond or undertaking given at any of the following times:
(1) On or after January 1, 1983.
(2) Before January 1, 1983, to the extent another surety is substituted for the original surety on or after January 1, 1983, or to the extent the principal gives a new, additional, or supplemental bond or undertaking on or after January 1, 1983. Except to the extent provided in this section, the law governing a bond or undertaking given before January 1, 1983, is the law applicable to the bond or undertaking immediately before January 1, 1983, pursuant to Section 414 of Chapter 517 of the Statutes of 1982.
(c) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to a bail bond or an undertaking of bail.
Plain-English Summary
This is the chapter's reach provision. Subdivision (a) makes the Bond and Undertaking Law the default rulebook for any bond or undertaking given under a California statute, stepping aside only where that particular statute prescribes a different or inconsistent rule.
Timing gets its own treatment in subdivision (b). The chapter governs bonds given on or after January 1, 1983. For bonds given earlier, the chapter still applies to the extent a new surety is substituted, or a new, additional, or supplemental bond is given, on or after that date — otherwise the older law that applied before January 1, 1983 continues to govern.
Subdivision (c) draws one hard boundary: this chapter never applies to a bail bond or an undertaking of bail. That category runs under its own separate rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this chapter override the specific bond rules in other statutes?
No. Section 995.020(a) makes this chapter's rules apply only to the extent the statute providing for the bond doesn't prescribe a different or inconsistent rule.
Does the Bond and Undertaking Law apply to bonds given before 1983?
Generally not, except to the extent a new surety is substituted, or a new, additional, or supplemental bond is given, on or after January 1, 1983.
Does this chapter cover bail bonds?
No. Section 995.020(c) excludes bail bonds and undertakings of bail entirely.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 18, Sec. 18.2. Effective April 21, 1983.
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: when does bond and undertaking law applybail bond excluded california bond law