Notwithstanding any other statute, if a statute provides for a bond in an action or proceeding, including but not limited to a bond for issuance of a restraining order or injunction, appointment of a receiver, or stay of enforcement of a judgment on appeal, the following public entities and officers are not required to give the bond and shall have the same rights, remedies, and benefits as if the bond were given:
§ 995.220.Public Entities and Officers Not Required to Give Bond
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 2. General Provisions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 995.220 excuses the State of California, its agencies and officers, local public entities and their officers, and the United States and its instrumentalities and officers from giving any bond a statute would otherwise require in an action or proceeding, while giving them the same rights and benefits as if the bond had been given.
Full Text of § 995.220
(a) The State of California or the people of the state, a state agency, department, division, commission, board, or other entity of the state, or a state officer in an official capacity or on behalf of the state.
(b) A county, city, or district, or public authority, public agency, or other political subdivision in the state, or an officer of the local public entity in an official capacity or on behalf of the local public entity.
(c) The United States or an instrumentality or agency of the United States, or a federal officer in an official capacity or on behalf of the United States or instrumentality or agency.
Plain-English Summary
Governments don't post bonds the way private litigants do, and this section says so directly. Whenever a statute calls for a bond in an action or proceeding — the examples the statute gives are a restraining order or injunction bond, a receiver-appointment bond, or a bond to stay enforcement of a judgment on appeal — the listed public entities and officers are excused from giving it.
That exemption reaches the State of California and its agencies, departments, and officers acting in an official capacity; counties, cities, districts, and other local public entities and their officers; and the United States and its instrumentalities, agencies, and officers. Each still gets the same rights, remedies, and benefits it would have had if the bond had been posted.
The rationale tracks ordinary sovereign-immunity thinking: a bond exists to guarantee payment if things go wrong, and the government's ability to pay isn't something a private surety needs to backstop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the State of California have to post a bond for an injunction or receiver?
No. Section 995.220 exempts the state, its agencies, and its officers acting officially from bond requirements in an action or proceeding.
Does this exemption apply to cities and counties too?
Yes, § 995.220(b) extends it to counties, cities, districts, and other local public entities and their officers.
Does the federal government get the same exemption under California procedure?
Yes, § 995.220(c) covers the United States and its instrumentalities, agencies, and officers.
If a public entity doesn't post the bond, does it lose the benefits the bond would have provided?
No. Section 995.220 gives the exempted entity or officer the same rights, remedies, and benefits as if the bond had been given.
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: government bond exemption californiapublic entity not required to post bond