§ 996.490.Payment By Surety Constitutes Discharge; Contribution to Cosureties

Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 14. Liability of Principal and Sureties · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 996.490 provides that a surety who pays the full amount of the bond is completely discharged from further liability on it, and requires each surety to contribute to cosureties who already paid, in proportion to the amount each surety is liable for.

Full Text of § 996.490

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) Payment by a surety of the amount of a bond constitutes a full discharge of all the liability of the surety on the bond.

(b) Each surety is liable to contribution to cosureties who have made payment in proportion to the amount for which each surety is liable.

Plain-English Summary

Paying the bond in full ends a surety's exposure entirely. Subdivision (a) discharges the surety from all liability on the bond once it pays the bond's full amount, nothing more can be collected from that surety on that bond afterward.

Subdivision (b) settles things among multiple sureties on the same bond. A surety who has already paid isn't left to absorb the whole loss alone; each surety on the bond owes contribution to the cosureties who paid, apportioned by how much each surety was liable for in the first place.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens once a surety pays the full amount of the bond?

The surety is fully discharged from all liability on the bond.

If one surety pays the whole claim, can it recover from the others?

Yes. Section 996.490(b) requires each surety to contribute to cosureties who paid, in proportion to its own liability.

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: surety contribution cosureties californiafull payment discharges surety bond