Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 3. Execution and Filing · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 995.320 requires a bond to be a signed, sworn writing stating that the sureties are jointly and severally liable, giving an address for service under this chapter, and, if the bond amount is tied to property value, describing the property and stating an estimated value, with the sureties jointly and severally liable on the bond, this chapter, and the underlying statute.
(a)A bond shall be in writing signed by the sureties under oath and shall include all of the following:
(1)A statement that the sureties are jointly and severally liable on the obligations of the statute providing for the bond.
(2)The address at which the principal and sureties may be served with notices, papers, and other documents under this chapter.
(3)If the amount of the bond is based upon the value of property or an interest in property, a description of the property or interest, and the principal's estimate of the value of the property or interest, or if given pursuant to the estimate of the beneficiary or court, the value as so estimated.
(b)The sureties signing the bond are jointly and severally liable on the obligations of the bond, the provisions of this chapter, and the statute providing for the bond.
Plain-English Summary
This section lists what has to be on the page. Subdivision (a) requires the bond to be in writing, signed by the sureties under oath, and to include three things: a statement that the sureties are jointly and severally liable on the obligations the statute providing for the bond creates; an address where the principal and sureties can be served with notices, papers, and other documents under this chapter; and, if the bond amount is based on the value of property or an interest in it, a description of that property or interest along with an estimate of its value — either the principal's own estimate, or, if the bond was given based on an estimate from the beneficiary or the court, that figure instead.
Subdivision (b) makes the joint-and-several liability real rather than just a required recital: by signing, the sureties become jointly and severally liable not just on the bond's own terms, but on this chapter's provisions and on the statute that required the bond in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What three things must every bond include?
A statement that the sureties are jointly and severally liable, an address for service under this chapter, and, if the bond amount depends on property value, a description of that property and an estimate of its value.
Whose estimate of the property's value goes in the bond?
Usually the principal's own estimate, unless the bond was given based on a value estimated by the beneficiary or the court, in which case that estimate controls.
Are the sureties liable only on the terms written into the bond itself?
No. Section 995.320(b) makes them jointly and severally liable on the bond, on this chapter's own provisions, and on the statute providing for the bond.
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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