"Undertaking" means a surety, indemnity, fiduciary, or like undertaking executed by the sureties alone.
§ 995.190.Undertaking
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 995.190 defines undertaking as a surety, indemnity, fiduciary, or like instrument executed by the sureties alone, without the principal joining in.
Full Text of § 995.190
Plain-English Summary
This definition marks the one real difference between a bond and an undertaking under this chapter: who signs it. An undertaking is executed by the sureties alone — the same category § 995.140(a)(2) already folds into the broader definition of "bond."
That overlap is why § 995.210 lets a bond and an undertaking substitute for each other wherever a statute calls for one or the other. The distinction in form doesn't carry much practical weight once this chapter's general rules take over.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes an instrument an "undertaking" rather than a bond executed by the principal too?
Whether the principal joins in signing it. An undertaking is executed by the sureties alone.
Does the difference between a bond and an undertaking matter much in practice?
Not usually. Section 995.210 lets one be given in place of the other wherever a statute calls for either.
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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