(a) "Surety" has the meaning provided in Section 2787 of the Civil Code and includes personal surety and admitted surety insurer.
§ 995.185.Surety
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 995.185 defines surety by cross-reference to Civil Code § 2787, covering both personal sureties and admitted surety insurers, and treats terms like bail, guarantor, or bondsman used elsewhere as meaning surety in this chapter's sense.
Full Text of § 995.185
(b) For the purpose of application of this chapter to a bond given pursuant to any statute of this state, the terms "bail," "guarantor," "bondsman," "surety," and comparable terms used in the statute mean "surety" as defined in this section.
Plain-English Summary
Rather than writing a new definition, this section borrows one already established in the Civil Code. A surety, under § 995.185(a), has the meaning Civil Code § 2787 provides, and that umbrella covers both of the categories this chapter's other provisions distinguish between — a personal surety and an admitted surety insurer, as § 995.120 defines the latter.
Subdivision (b) rounds out the vocabulary translation this article performs throughout: other statutes sometimes use "bail," "guarantor," "bondsman," or similar terms for the person or entity backing an obligation. Under this chapter, all of those mean "surety."
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this chapter's definition of "surety" come from?
Civil Code § 2787, incorporated by reference in § 995.185(a).
Does "surety" cover both individuals and insurance companies?
Yes, it includes both a personal surety and an admitted surety insurer.
If a statute uses "guarantor" or "bondsman" instead of "surety," does that change anything?
No. Section 995.185(b) reads those and comparable terms as meaning "surety" as defined in this section.
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
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