Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, the definitions in this article govern the construction of this chapter.
§ 995.110.Definitions Govern Construction
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 1. Preliminary Provisions and Definitions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 995.110 establishes that the definitions in this article control how the rest of the Bond and Undertaking Law is read, unless the particular provision or context calls for something different.
Full Text of § 995.110
Plain-English Summary
This section sets up the definitional groundwork for the chapter. Terms like "admitted surety insurer," "beneficiary," "bond," "principal," and "surety" don't carry their everyday meanings here — they carry the specific meanings §§ 995.120 through 995.190 assign them, unless the provision being read or its context makes clear something else was intended.
That consistency is part of what makes this chapter work as a general framework other statutes can borrow. When a different statute uses a term like "obligee" or "bonding company," this article's definitions translate that term into the chapter's vocabulary — see, for example, § 995.130's treatment of "obligee" as "beneficiary."
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the definitions in this article always control?
Generally yes, unless the specific provision or its context otherwise requires a different reading.
Why does this chapter bother translating terms like "obligee" or "bonding company"?
So statutes elsewhere in California law that use their own bond terminology can still be read consistently with this chapter's general framework.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 998, Sec. 1.
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: bond law definitions californiadefinitions govern bond and undertaking law