California exemptions: the homestead floor of $300,000, and the ones you lose by not claiming

California protects more home equity from creditors than almost any other state, and since 2021 the figure has moved with the local housing market rather than sitting at a fixed number.

But the protection is not automatic across the board. Some exemptions apply on their own; most are waived if not claimed, and the difference decides cases.

Where exemptions apply — and where they don't

CCP 703.010(a): the exemptions "apply to all procedures for enforcement of a money judgment."

Subdivision (b) is the carve-out: they do not apply where the judgment being enforced "is for the foreclosure of a mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien or encumbrance on the property," other than a lien created under the Enforcement of Judgments Law itself or under the attachment provisions beginning at CCP 481.010.

So a homestead does not defeat the lender foreclosing on the mortgage over that home. Exemptions protect the debtor against general creditors, not against a creditor whose claim is secured by the very property.

Only natural persons — CCP 703.020(a): the exemptions "apply only to property of a natural person." A corporate judgment debtor has none.

Who may claim — subdivision (b):

• (1) In all cases, by the judgment debtor or a person acting on their behalf.
• (2) In the case of community property, by the spouse of the judgment debtor, whether or not the spouse is also a judgment debtor.
• (3) In the case of community property, by the domestic partner of the judgment debtor, as defined in Family Code section 297, whether or not the domestic partner is also a judgment debtor.

A non-debtor spouse or registered domestic partner can therefore step in and claim over community property in their own right.

Claimed, or waived

CCP 703.030 draws the distinction that matters most in practice.

Subdivision (a) — the claim rule:

An exemption for property that is described in this chapter or in any other statute as exempt may be claimed within the time and in the manner prescribed in the applicable enforcement procedure. If the exemption is not so claimed, the exemption is waived and the property is subject to enforcement of a money judgment.

Subdivision (b) — the automatic ones: "except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, property that is described … as exempt without making a claim is not subject to any procedure for enforcement."

Two categories, then. Some property is exempt without a claim and simply cannot be taken. Everything else is exempt only if you claim it, on time and in the prescribed way — and silence forfeits it.

Subdivision (c) — the safety net: nothing in the section "limits the authority of the court pursuant to Section 473 to relieve a person upon such terms as may be just from failure to claim an exemption within the time and in the manner prescribed."

CCP 473 relief is available for a missed exemption claim. It is discretionary, and it runs on CCP 473's own six-month outer limit, so it is a remedy rather than a plan. The guide on setting aside a California default covers CCP 473.

The homestead

What counts as a dwelling — CCP 704.710(a): "a place where a person resides," which "may include but is not limited to":

• (1) a house with outbuildings and the land; (2) a mobilehome with outbuildings and the land;
• (3) a boat or other waterborne vessel; (4) a condominium; (5) a planned development;
• (6) a stock cooperative; (7) a community apartment project.

The list is expressly non-exhaustive, and it reaches forms of housing many exemption statutes miss.

The amount — CCP 704.730(a): the homestead exemption is "the greater of the following":

(1) The countywide median sale price for a single-family home in the calendar year prior to the calendar year in which the judgment debtor claims the exemption, not to exceed six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000). (2) Three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000).

And it moves — subdivision (b): both amounts "shall adjust annually for inflation, beginning on January 1, 2022, based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers … with each adjusted amount rounded to the nearest twenty-five dollars ($25)."

Three consequences.

There is a floor. No California homeowner has less than the (b)-adjusted $300,000 figure protected, whatever their county's prices.

There is a ceiling. Even in the most expensive counties, the median-price route stops at the (b)-adjusted $600,000.

And the published figures are not the statutory ones. Because subdivision (b) has been escalating both numbers each January since 2022, the current amounts are higher than the figures printed in the section. Work from the current-year adjusted amounts, not from $300,000 and $600,000 as written.

Proceeds — CCP 704.720(b): where a homestead is sold under this division, damaged, destroyed or acquired for public use, the proceeds are exempt in the amount of the CCP 704.730 exemption "for a period of six months after the time the proceeds are actually received" — except that if the homestead exemption is applied to other property of the debtor or their spouse during that period, the proceeds cease to be exempt.

Six months to reinvest, and you cannot claim it twice at once.

Spouses in separate homes — subdivision (c): where the debtor and spouse "reside in separate homesteads, only the homestead of one of the spouses is exempt."

Separation — subdivision (d): a debtor not currently residing in the homestead continues to be entitled to the exemption where "his or her separated or former spouse continues to reside in or exercise control over possession of the homestead," until entry of a judgment or other legally enforceable agreement dividing the community property, or a later time as specified.

That provision does real work. Moving out during a separation does not, by itself, surrender the homestead.

The motor vehicle exemption

CCP 704.010(a): any combination of the following is exempt in the amount of $7,500:

(1) the aggregate equity in motor vehicles; (2) the proceeds of an execution sale of a motor vehicle; (3) the proceeds of insurance or other indemnification for the loss, damage or destruction of a motor vehicle.

Equity, not value. A financed car with little equity is largely protected already.

Proceeds — subdivision (b): exempt "for a period of 90 days after the time the proceeds are actually received."

Valuation — subdivision (c): fair market value "shall be determined by reference to used car price guides customarily used by California automobile dealers" unless the vehicle is not listed in them.

The single-vehicle rule — subdivision (d): where the debtor "has only one motor vehicle and it is sold at an execution sale, the proceeds are exempt in the amount of $7,500 without making a claim." The levying officer "shall consult and may rely upon the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles" in determining whether the debtor has only one vehicle. In that case the subdivision (a) exemption is not available.

This is one of the automatic exemptions under CCP 703.030(b) — no claim needed, but it applies only to the sale proceeds of a sole vehicle.

Like the homestead figures, the $7,500 is subject to the periodic adjustment mechanism the chapter applies to exemption amounts, so check the currently published figure rather than the number printed in the section.

Bankruptcy: the 703(b) election

CCP 703.140 governs which set of exemptions applies in a federal bankruptcy case, and it is the reason California practitioners talk about "the 703s" and "the 704s."

Subdivision (a): in a case under Title 11, all the exemptions in the chapter including the homestead apply "regardless of whether there is a money judgment against the debtor or whether a money judgment is being enforced" — but the exemptions in subdivision (b) "may be elected in lieu of all other exemptions provided by this chapter."

One set or the other, and spouses must agree — subdivision (a)(1): where spouses are joined in the petition, "they jointly may elect" either the ordinary chapter exemptions or the subdivision (b) set, "but not both."

Individual filings — subdivision (a)(2)(A): where the petition is filed individually for a spouse, the ordinary exemptions apply, except that if both spouses effectively waive in writing the right to claim them during the pendency of the case, they may elect the subdivision (b) set instead.

The practical shape: the 704 set is generally chosen by debtors with real home equity, because of the homestead; the 703 set, with its wildcard, by debtors without it. The choice is made once, and both spouses are bound.

Which exemptions need a claim

The claim itself is made through the enforcement procedure in play — for a levy, the forms served with the notice of levy under CCP 700.010(a)(3); for wage garnishment, the claim of exemption and financial statement filed with the levying officer under CCP 706.105. Both are covered in the guides on enforcing a California money judgment and on wage garnishment.

A short checklist

If you are the debtor

1. Claim, and claim on time. CCP 703.030(a) waives an unclaimed exemption outright.
2. Use the current adjusted figures, not the amounts printed in the sections. Both homestead numbers have escalated every January since 2022.
3. Check the median-price route. In an expensive county it may beat the $300,000 floor, up to the capped figure.
4. A mobilehome, boat, condominium or co-op can be a homestead. The CCP 704.710 list is not exhaustive.
5. If you moved out during a separation, you may still have the homestead — CCP 704.720(d).
6. After a homestead sale, you have six months before the proceeds lose their protection.
7. Your spouse or registered domestic partner can claim over community property, whether or not they are a judgment debtor.
8. If you missed the deadline, CCP 473 relief exists — discretionary, and on CCP 473's own clock.

If you are the creditor

1. Check whether your judgment is secured. CCP 703.010(b) removes exemptions where you are foreclosing your own lien.
2. Check whether the debtor is a natural person. An entity has no exemptions.
3. Value vehicles from the dealer price guides, and look at equity rather than sticker value.
4. Expect the automatic ones to apply without any filing — including the proceeds of a sole vehicle sold at execution sale.

Where these sections live

• CCP 473 — Relief from judgment, order or proceeding
• CCP 695.010 — Property subject to enforcement
• CCP 700.010 — What the debtor is served at levy
• CCP 703.010 — Where exemptions apply
• CCP 703.020 — Whose property, and who may claim
• CCP 703.030 — Claimed exemptions and automatic ones
• CCP 703.140 — Exemptions in bankruptcy; the election
• CCP 704.010 — Motor vehicles
• CCP 704.710 — Homestead definitions
• CCP 704.720 — What the homestead exempts
• CCP 704.730 — The amount of the homestead exemption
• CCP 706.105 — Claim of exemption in wage garnishment

This page explains what the Code says. It isn't legal advice. The annually adjusted exemption amounts are published separately under CCP 703.150 and are outside what this site reproduces — check the current figures before relying on the numbers written into these sections.