Upon the hearing of the application, the court shall determine whether injury to the beneficiary would result from substitution or release of the surety. If the court determines that release would not reduce the amount of the bond or the number of sureties below the minimum required by the statute providing for the bond, substitution of a sufficient surety is not necessary and the court shall order the release of the surety. If the court determines that no injury would result from substitution of the surety, the court shall order the substitution of a sufficient surety within such time as appears reasonable.
§ 996.120.Determination Upon Hearing
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 11. Release or Substitution of Sureties on Bond Given in Action or Proceeding · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 996.120 requires the court, at the hearing on an application to release or substitute a surety, to decide whether releasing the surety would injure the beneficiary, ordering outright release when the bond would still meet the statutory minimum without a substitute, and otherwise ordering a sufficient substitute surety within a reasonable time.
Full Text of § 996.120
Plain-English Summary
This section picks up where § 996.110's application leaves off. At the hearing, the court has one central question to answer: would releasing the surety injure the beneficiary the bond protects?
If the bond would still satisfy the statutory minimum, in amount and in the number of sureties, even after the surety is let go, the court doesn't need to require a substitute at all. It can order the surety released outright, because the remaining bond already covers what the underlying statute demands.
If the bond wouldn't meet that minimum without the departing surety, the analysis shifts to substitution: if putting a new, sufficient surety in place would eliminate the risk of injury to the beneficiary, the court orders that substitution to happen within whatever time it decides is reasonable. Section 996.130 then spells out what happens once that substitute surety is given.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the court decide at the hearing on a request to release or substitute a surety?
Whether releasing the surety would injure the beneficiary the bond protects.
When can the court release a surety without requiring a substitute?
When release wouldn't drop the bond's amount or its number of sureties below the minimum required by the statute providing for the bond.
What happens if a substitute surety is needed to avoid injury to the beneficiary?
The court orders substitution of a sufficient surety within whatever time appears reasonable.
What governs what happens after the court orders a substitute surety?
Section 996.130 governs the effect of giving a substitute surety, including release of the original surety.
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: release or substitute surety california bondsurety substitution hearing california