A. Scope. This section applies to all judgments of courts of record of this state, and judgments of courts of record of the United States not subject to the registration procedures of the Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act, which award the payment of money, regardless of whether such judgments also include other orders or relief.
§ 706.Scope of Section - Creation of Lien - Judgment Index - Execution of Judgment - Effect of Filing Or Recording a Judgment - Acceptance By County Clerk
Chapter 12: Judgment · Last amended November 1, 2011 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 706 creates a judgment lien on a debtor's real estate in a county only once a Statement of Judgment is filed with that county's clerk, sets up the judgment index, limits execution to the court that granted the judgment, and governs how judgment liens are released.
Full Text of § 706
B. Creation of Lien. A judgment to which this section applies shall be a lien on the real estate of the judgment debtor within a county only from and after a Statement of Judgment made by the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor's attorney, substantially in the form prescribed by the Administrative Director of the Courts, has been filed in the office of the county clerk in that county.
1. Presentation of a Statement of Judgment and tender of the filing fee, shall, upon acceptance by the county clerk, constitute filing under this section.
2. A lien created pursuant to this section shall affect and attach to all real property, including the homestead, of judgment debtors whose names appear in the Statement of Judgment; however, judgment liens on a homestead are exempt from forced sale pursuant to Section 1 of Title 31 of the Oklahoma Statutes and Section 2 of Article XII of the Oklahoma Constitution.
C. Judgment Index. A judgment index shall be kept by each county clerk in which the name of each person named as a judgment debtor in a Statement of Judgment filed with the county clerk shall appear in alphabetical order.
1. It shall be the duty of the county clerk, immediately after the filing of the Statement of Judgment, to make in the judgment index a separate entry in alphabetical order of the name of each judgment debtor named therein, which entry shall also contain the name(s) of the judgment creditor(s), the name of the court which granted the judgment, the number and style of the case in which the judgment was filed, the amount of the judgment, including interest, costs and attorney's fees if shown on the Statement of Judgment, the date of the filing of the judgment with the court clerk of the court which granted it, and the date of filing of the Statement of Judgment with the county clerk.
2. It shall also be the duty of the county clerk, immediately after the filing of a Release of Judgment Lien, to make a notation in each entry in the judgment index made when any Statement of Judgment was filed with respect to the judgment being released, of the date of filing of the Release with the county clerk, the name of the judgment creditor on whose behalf the Release is filed, and whether the Release states that it is only a partial Release.
D. Execution of Judgment. Execution shall be issued only from the court which granted the judgment being enforced.
E. Release of Lien of Judgment. The lien of a judgment upon the real estate of judgment debtor in any county, which has not become unenforceable by operation of law, is released only upon the filing in the office of the county clerk in that county of a Release of Judgment Lien, or a copy thereof certified by the court clerk of the court which granted the judgment.
1. A judgment lien may be released, in whole or in part, by filing a Release of Judgment Lien with the county clerk by the judgment creditor or his or her attorney.
a. A Release of Judgment Lien shall either recite the name of the court which granted the judgment, the number and style of the case, the name of each judgment debtor with respect to whom the lien is being released, the name of each judgment creditor in favor of whom the lien was created, or otherwise adequately identify the judgment lien being released and the judgment debtor against whom the lien is indexed. The Administrative Director of the Courts shall prescribe a form of Release of Judgment which may be used at the option of the judgment creditor.
b. If the release is only partial, it shall also contain a description of the lands then being released from the judgment lien or identify the particular judgment debtors, if less than all, with respect to whom the lien is then being released, or both, as the case may be.
c. A Release of Judgment Lien may also be filed with the court clerk of the court which granted the judgment but filing with the court clerk does not release any judgment lien created pursuant to this section.
2. The lien of any judgment which has been satisfied in full, vacated or become dormant or otherwise unenforceable and which has not been released by the judgment creditor shall be released by the court upon written motion.
a. The motion shall be accompanied by an affidavit stating the grounds for the motion, and shall contain or be accompanied by a notice to the judgment creditor that, if the judgment creditor does not file with the court a response or objection to the motion within fifteen (15) days after the mailing of a copy of the motion to the judgment creditor, the court will order the judgment lien released.
b. A copy of the motion shall be mailed by certified mail by the party seeking release of the lien to the judgment creditor at the last-known address of the judgment creditor, and to the attorney of record of the judgment creditor, if any. There shall be attached to the filed motion, and to each copy of the motion to be mailed, a Certificate of Mailing showing to whom copies of the motion were mailed, the addresses to which they were mailed, and the date of mailing.
c. If the judgment creditor does not file a response or objection to the motion within fifteen (15) days after the mailing of a copy of the motion, the court shall order the judgment lien released.
d. When a judgment lien is ordered released by the court, the court shall cause a Release of Judgment Lien, in the form provided by the Administrative Director of the Courts, to be prepared. Instructions shall be printed on such form advising the judgment debtor to file the Release in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the real estate is situated in order to obtain the release of the lien of the judgment upon the real estate of the judgment debtor in such county.
e. The party filing the motion for release shall pay all costs of the proceeding and any recording fees.
F. Effect of Filing or Recording a Judgment. The filing or recording of a judgment itself in the office of a county clerk on or after October 1, 1993, shall not be effective to create a general money judgment lien upon real estate, but a certified copy of a judgment may be recorded in such office for the purpose of giving notice of its contents whether or not recording is required by law.
G. Acceptance by County Clerk. The county clerk shall accept for filing and file any Statement of Judgment or Release of Judgment Lien without requiring any formalities of execution other than those provided in this section.
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 5148; Amended by Laws 1931, HB 40, p. 3, §1, emerg. eff. 4/21/1931; Amended by Laws 1943, SB 157, p. 34, §1, emerg. eff. 4/13/1943; Amended by Laws 1978, HB 1510, c. 138, §1, eff. 10/1/1978; Amended by Laws 1983, HB 1040, c. 56, §1, eff. 11/1/1983; Amended by Laws 1988, SB 370, c. 102, §1, eff. 11/1/1988; Amended by Laws 1990, SB 881, c. 251, §19, eff. 1/1/1991; Amended by Laws 1991, SB 24, c. 251, §9, emerg. eff. 6/1/1991; Amended by Laws 1993, HB 1468, c. 351, §13, eff. 10/1/1993; Amended by Laws 1997, SB 441, c. 320, §1, eff. 11/1/1997; Amended by Laws 2011, SB 527, c. 187, §2, eff. 11/1/2011.
Plain-English Summary
A money judgment from an Oklahoma court, or from a federal court not covered by the Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act, doesn't automatically tie up the debtor's real estate. Section 706 makes the lien depend on a separate filing: the judgment creditor has to present a Statement of Judgment, in the form the Administrative Director of the Courts prescribes, and pay the filing fee to the county clerk in each county where the debtor owns land. Only then does the lien attach — and it reaches the homestead too, though a homestead lien can't be forced to sale under the constitutional and statutory homestead exemption. The county clerk keeps a judgment index listing each debtor alphabetically along with the creditor, the court, the case number, the amount owed, and the filing dates, and updates that index when a release comes in.
Execution can only issue from the court that granted the judgment. Releasing the lien takes its own filing — a Release of Judgment Lien with the county clerk, whether the creditor files it voluntarily or the court orders it released because the judgment's been satisfied, vacated, gone dormant, or otherwise become unenforceable. A court-ordered release follows a notice procedure: the debtor moves with a supporting affidavit, mails the creditor notice by certified mail, and if the creditor doesn't respond within fifteen days, the court orders the release. Recording the judgment itself with the county clerk on or after October 1, 1993 no longer creates the lien by itself — only the Statement of Judgment does that, though a certified copy of the judgment can still be recorded to give notice of its contents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does winning a money judgment automatically put a lien on the loser's real estate?
No, the lien only attaches once the judgment creditor files a Statement of Judgment with the county clerk in the county where the real estate is located.
Does a judgment lien reach a debtor's homestead?
Which court can issue execution on the judgment?
Only the court that granted the judgment being enforced.
How does a judgment lien get released?
By filing a Release of Judgment Lien with the county clerk, either voluntarily by the judgment creditor or by court order after notice to the creditor, if the judgment has been satisfied, vacated, or become dormant or otherwise unenforceable.
Does recording the judgment itself with the county clerk create the lien?
No, since October 1, 1993, recording the judgment itself doesn't create a lien — only filing a Statement of Judgment does, though a certified copy of the judgment may still be recorded to give notice of its contents.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: Oklahoma judgment lien on real estate12 O.S. § 706Statement of Judgment filing Oklahomarelease of judgment lien Oklahoma