(a) Any judgment recovered is a lien upon all real property belonging to the defendant situated in any county in which the certificate is filed, from the filing of the certificate.
§ 996.550.Lien
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 996.550 makes any judgment recovered in the enforcement proceeding a lien, running from the date of filing, on all real property the defendant owns in every county where the certificate is filed, for the amount that property owner is liable to pay under the judgment.
Full Text of § 996.550
(b) The lien is for the amount for which the owner of the real property is liable upon the judgment.
Plain-English Summary
This is where Article 15's procedure produces something a bare judgment doesn't automatically give: a real property lien. Once a judgment is recovered in the enforcement proceeding, it becomes a lien on all real property the defendant owns in any county where the § 996.530 certificate was filed, reaching back to the moment of that filing, not just the moment judgment was entered.
Subdivision (b) ties the lien's size to the individual owner's actual liability: it secures the amount for which that owner of the real property is liable on the judgment, rather than automatically covering the full judgment against every defendant regardless of that defendant's share of the liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the lien on the defendant's real property attach?
From the filing of the § 996.530 certificate, once judgment is recovered.
Does the lien cover real property in every county, or just where the action was filed?
Every county in which the certificate was filed.
How much does the lien secure?
The amount for which the owner of that real property is liable on the judgment.
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: judgment lien real property state bond californiahow bond lien attaches to property