(a) The court if a bond is given or ordered in an action or proceeding, or the officer if a bond is given or ordered other than in an action or proceeding, may determine that the amount of the bond is excessive and order the amount reduced to an amount that in the discretion of the court or officer appears proper under the circumstances. The order is subject to any limitations in the statute providing for the bond.
§ 996.030.Determination Bond Excessive
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 10. Insufficient and Excessive Bonds · Last amended 1988 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 996.030 lets the court or officer determine, on the principal's motion or affidavit, that a bond's amount is excessive and order it reduced to a proper amount under the same procedures used to find a bond insufficient, letting the principal give a new bond for the reduced amount with the same sureties.
Full Text of § 996.030
(b) The determination shall be made upon motion or affidavit of the principal in the same manner as a motion or affidavit for a determination under this article that a bond is insufficient. The notice of motion or the order to show cause made pursuant to affidavit shall be served on the beneficiary. The determination shall be made in the same manner and pursuant to the same procedures as a determination under this article that the bond is insufficient.
(c) The principal may give a new bond for the reduced amount. The sureties may be the same sureties as on the original bond.
Plain-English Summary
Article 9 and the sections just before this one address bonds that aren't big enough; this section addresses the opposite problem. If a bond's amount looks excessive for what it needs to secure, the court (for bonds given in an action or proceeding) or the officer (for bonds given outside one) can reduce it to whatever amount appears proper under the circumstances, subject to any limits the statute requiring the bond imposes.
The procedure for reaching that determination borrows directly from the insufficiency process: the principal moves or submits an affidavit the same way a party would for an insufficiency determination, the beneficiary is served with the notice of motion or order to show cause, and the whole thing proceeds under the same procedures § 996.010 or § 996.020 would use.
Once the amount is reduced, subdivision (c) lets the principal give a new bond reflecting that lower figure -- and the same sureties who backed the original bond can back the reduced one too, with no need to requalify them from scratch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides whether a bond's amount is excessive?
The court, if the bond was given in an action or proceeding, or the officer, if it was given outside one.
What procedure governs a motion to reduce an excessive bond?
The same procedures used for a determination that a bond is insufficient under §§ 996.010 and 996.020.
Can the same sureties back the reduced bond?
Yes, § 996.030(c) allows the principal to use the same sureties as on the original bond.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 309, 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: reduce excessive bond amount californiamotion to lower bond amount california