Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 511.010, 512.010 et seq.
Claim and delivery: how to get the property back before the case ends
A claim in California superior courts · Last verified August 26, 2026
This is not a cause of action. It is a provisional remedy — a procedure for getting specific personal property back during the lawsuit rather than at the end of it, and there is no CACI instruction for it because there is nothing for a jury to decide.
The underlying claim is usually conversion. But conversion pays the property's value, and a plaintiff who wants the thing itself — equipment a business cannot operate without, a vehicle, an irreplaceable item, collateral securing a loan — needs a different mechanism.
Claim and delivery is that mechanism. Historically called replevin, it lets the court order the sheriff to seize the property and hold or deliver it while the case proceeds.
What it is
An application, made in an action for the recovery of specific personal property, for a writ of possession directing the levying officer to take the property from the defendant.
The recurring situations: a lender recovering collateral after default; a lessor recovering equipment after a lease terminates; a business recovering equipment or records from a departed partner or employee; an owner recovering a vehicle from someone refusing to return it; recovery of goods from a repair shop or storage facility asserting a lien.
Where it comes from
CCP § 511.010 and following — definitions — and CCP § 512.010 and following, which supply the application and hearing procedure.
The statute was rewritten in 1973 after the United States Supreme Court held that prejudgment seizure of property without notice and a hearing violated due process. Everything procedurally distinctive about the modern scheme comes from that: the noticed hearing, the probable-validity finding, and the undertaking all exist to satisfy due process before the state takes property from someone who has not yet lost a lawsuit.
What the applicant has to show
CCP § 512.010 requires an application supported by affidavit showing:
- The plaintiff is the owner of the property or is entitled to possession of it, and the basis of that right.
- The property is wrongfully detained by the defendant, the manner in which it came into their possession, and the reason for the detention according to the plaintiff's best knowledge.
- A particular description of the property and its value.
- The location of the property, according to the plaintiff's best knowledge.
- That the property has not been taken for a tax, assessment, or fine, or seized under an execution — or, if it has, that it is exempt.
And the court must find the plaintiff has established the "probable validity" of the claim — CCP § 512.060 — meaning it is more likely than not that the plaintiff will obtain a judgment on the claim.
That is a merits finding made early, which is what makes the remedy powerful and what makes it contested.
The procedure
1. File the action. The writ is available only in a pending action to recover possession of personal property.
2. Apply, with notice. The application is served with a notice of hearing and the supporting affidavit. The defendant may oppose, and may file their own affidavits.
3. The hearing. The court determines whether the plaintiff has shown the probable validity of the claim and whether the property is being wrongfully detained.
4. The undertaking. If the writ issues, the plaintiff must file an undertaking — a bond — in an amount not less than twice the value of the defendant's interest in the property, under CCP § 515.010. The bond secures the defendant against loss if it turns out the plaintiff was not entitled to the property.
5. Levy. The levying officer takes possession.
6. The defendant may get it back. The defendant may file a redelivery undertaking and retain or recover the property pending trial, which is the counterweight to the whole procedure.
When you can skip the hearing
CCP § 512.020 permits an ex parte writ, but only on a showing that the defendant would conceal, substantially impair the value of, or transport the property out of the state if given notice, or would otherwise make it unavailable to the levying officer.
The showing is specific and it is enforced. A general fear that the defendant might do something is not enough — the applicant must identify facts.
And there is a temporary restraining order alternative. Rather than seizing the property, the court may issue an order prohibiting the defendant from transferring, concealing, or impairing it — often the better request, because it protects the property without the bond and the levy.
Character: a procedural gate on a provisional remedy, not on the underlying claim. Failing to obtain a writ costs the plaintiff possession pending trial. It does not affect the conversion claim, which proceeds to judgment either way.
Who can use it — and against whom
Any plaintiff in an action to recover possession of personal property who can show ownership or a right to possession.
Secured creditors are the most frequent users. But note the alternative: a secured party may generally repossess collateral without judicial process under the Commercial Code, provided it can be done without a breach of the peace. Claim and delivery is what they use when self-help would breach the peace — which is why it appears most often where the debtor is resisting.
Not against property already seized under execution or for taxes, unless exempt.
Not for real property. Recovery of real property is ejectment or unlawful detainer, which are different actions entirely.
Not for money as such. A general debt is not specific personal property, and the remedy for one is a money judgment — the same distinction that limits conversion.
Common defenses
Superior right of possession — the defendant owns it, or holds it under a lease, lien, or security interest that has not terminated.
A valid lien, including a mechanic's, artisan's, or storage lien, which entitles the holder to retain the property until paid.
No probable validity, defeating the writ while leaving the underlying claim alive.
The property is exempt from levy.
The description is insufficient — the property must be described particularly enough for the levying officer to identify it.
The undertaking is inadequate.
And the defendant's own redelivery undertaking, which is not a defense but a counter-move: it returns the property to the defendant pending trial and reduces the remedy to a bond dispute.
What it produces
Possession of the property pending trial — not a judgment, and not damages.
The final judgment in the underlying action determines who keeps it, and CCP § 512.010's procedure is spent once the case is decided.
Damages against the undertaking, where the plaintiff obtained the writ and then lost. The defendant recovers against the bond for the loss of possession, damage to the property, and in some circumstances loss of use — which is the reason the bond is set at twice the defendant's interest.
A judgment in the underlying action may award possession or value, at the prevailing party's election where the property cannot be returned.
No fee-shifting under the claim and delivery statutes themselves. A contract or another statute must supply fees.
Jury trial: no, on the provisional remedy. The underlying claim carries whatever jury right it carries.
What people get wrong
"I'll sue for claim and delivery." It is not a cause of action. Plead conversion, or breach of contract, or the security agreement, and apply for the writ within that action.
"I'll get a writ the same day." Usually not. The default is a noticed hearing. An ex parte writ requires a specific showing that the defendant will conceal, impair, or remove the property.
"There's no cost to trying." You must post a bond of at least twice the defendant's interest, and if you lose, the defendant recovers against it.
"Once the sheriff takes it, I keep it." No. The defendant may post a redelivery undertaking and get it back pending trial.
"I can use this to collect a debt." Only for specific personal property. A general money obligation is not recoverable this way.
"Conversion gets me my property back." Conversion pays the value. If you want the thing itself, this is the procedure.
"I'm a lender, so I need a court order." Often not. Self-help repossession is available under the Commercial Code where it can be accomplished without a breach of the peace — this procedure is what you use when it cannot.
Where it came from
Replevin is one of the oldest common law actions, and it existed for a reason the damages remedies could not serve: some property cannot be replaced with money. It was the action for recovering the specific chattel, as against trover, which awarded its value.
California's modern statute is a due process rewrite. The older scheme allowed a plaintiff to obtain a writ by filing an affidavit and a bond, without notice to the defendant and without any judicial assessment of the claim — the sheriff took the property on the plaintiff's say-so.
A series of United States Supreme Court decisions in the early 1970s held that unconstitutional, requiring notice and an opportunity to be heard before the state deprives someone of property.
California responded in 1973 with the scheme still in force: a noticed hearing as the default, a judicial finding of probable validity rather than a bare affidavit, an ex parte route confined to genuine risk of concealment or removal, and an undertaking sized to protect the defendant.
The result is a remedy that is deliberately harder to obtain than it was, and that trades speed for a finding, early in the case, that the plaintiff will probably win.
Common questions
Is claim and delivery a cause of action?
No. It is a provisional remedy — a procedure for recovering specific personal property while a lawsuit is pending. The underlying claim is usually conversion or breach of a security agreement.
How is it different from suing for conversion?
Conversion pays you the value of the property, at the end of the case. Claim and delivery gets you the property itself, during the case.
Can I get a writ without notifying the other side?
Only on a specific showing that they would conceal, impair, or remove the property if notified. The default is a noticed hearing where they can oppose.
What does it cost?
You must post an undertaking of at least twice the value of the defendant's interest in the property. If you obtain the writ and then lose, the defendant recovers against that bond.
Can they get the property back after the sheriff takes it?
Yes. The defendant may file a redelivery undertaking and retain or recover the property pending trial.
I am a secured lender. Do I need this?
Only if you cannot repossess without a breach of the peace. Self-help repossession is available under the Commercial Code, and this procedure is the alternative when the debtor resists.