The person enforcing the liability may file with the court in the proceedings an affidavit stating the following:
§ 996.520.Affidavit By Person Enforcing Liability
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 15. Enforcement Lien · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 996.520 lets the person enforcing liability on a state bond file an affidavit with the court identifying which defendants executed the bond, confirming the bond falls within this article, naming the county or counties where the defendants hold real property, and stating that liability is being enforced for the state's benefit.
Full Text of § 996.520
(a) The bond was executed by the defendant or one or more of the defendants (designating whom).
(b) The bond is one to which this article applies.
(c) The defendant or defendants have real property or an interest in real property (designating the county or counties in which the real property is situated).
(d) The liability is being enforced for the benefit of the state.
Plain-English Summary
Article 15's lien procedure starts with this optional affidavit. A person enforcing liability on a qualifying state bond may file it with the court handling the enforcement proceedings, and it has to cover four points: which defendants executed the bond, that the bond is one Article 15 applies to, which county or counties the defendants hold real property in, and that the enforcement is for the state's benefit.
Filing this affidavit sets the lien machinery in motion, the clerk's certification under § 996.530, and ultimately the recorded lien under § 996.550, all trace back to this one document.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must the affidavit under § 996.520 state?
Which defendants executed the bond, that the bond is one this article applies to, the county or counties where they hold real property, and that liability is enforced for the state's benefit.
Is filing this affidavit mandatory?
No. The statute makes it available to the person enforcing liability -- it's the trigger for the lien procedure, not a required step to enforce the bond at all.
What happens after this affidavit is filed?
The clerk certifies specified information to the county recorder under § 996.530.
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: affidavit enforcing state bond californialien on real property state bond