A. When a general execution is issued and placed in the custody of a sheriff for levy, a certified copy of the execution shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county whose sheriff holds the execution and shall be indexed in the same manner as judgments. At the time the execution is filed, the court clerk shall collect from the party seeking a general execution all fees necessary for the payment of the disinterested persons or a legal entity for services in appraising the subject property pursuant to the requirements of subsection B of this section.
§ 759.Filing and Index of Execution - Appraisement of Property - Extension of Judgment Lien
Chapter 13: Limitation of Actions · Last amended November 1, 2019 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 759 requires a certified copy of every execution to be filed and indexed with the county clerk, sets the appraisal procedure real estate must go through before an execution sale, and lists the four filings that extend a judgment lien if made before the lien's statutory period runs out.
Full Text of § 759
B. If a general or special execution is levied upon lands and tenements, the sheriff shall endorse on the face of the writ the legal description and shall have three disinterested persons who have taken an oath to impartially appraise the property levied on or a legal entity which has provided a written affidavit of impartiality, upon actual view; and the disinterested persons or legal entity shall return to the officer a signed estimate of the real value of the property. If an estimate is obtained from a disinterested legal entity, such estimate shall be developed by the legal entity using at least three independent, credible sources, each of which has estimated the real value of the subject property independently. The disinterested persons or legal entity shall be paid for such services by the court clerk of the county where the property is located within thirty (30) days of the date that they return their estimate of the real value of the property.
C. To extend a judgment lien beyond the initial or any subsequent statutory period, prior to the expiration of such period, a certified copy of one of the following must be filed and indexed in the same manner as judgments in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the statement of judgment was filed and the lien thereof is sought to be retained:
1. A general execution upon the judgment;
2. A notice of renewal of judgment;
3. A garnishment summons issued against the judgment debtor; or
4. A notice of income assignment sent to a payor of the judgment debtor.
Amendment History
Amended by Laws 2019, c. 122, s. 1, eff. 11/1/2019. Amended by Laws 1988, HB 1737, c. 22, § 2, eff. 11/1/1988; Amended by Laws 1997, SB 441, c. 320, § 4, eff. 11/1/1997; Amended by Laws 2000, SB 1520, c. 384, §2, eff. 11/1/2000; Amended by Laws 2010, SB 2063, c. 404, §2, eff. 11/1/2010.
Plain-English Summary
Section 759 handles the paperwork side of execution against real estate. When a general execution goes out for levy, a certified copy has to be filed and indexed with the county clerk just like a judgment, and the court clerk collects, up front, whatever fees the appraisal process in subsection B will require.
That appraisal has real structure: once a general or special execution is levied on land, the sheriff endorses the legal description on the writ, and either three disinterested people under oath, or a legal entity that files a written affidavit of impartiality and draws on at least three independent, credible sources, appraise the property by actual view. The court clerk of the county where the property sits has to pay the appraisers or the legal entity within thirty days after they return their estimate.
Subsection C is where the limitations piece comes in: to keep a judgment lien alive past its initial or any later statutory period, the creditor must file and index, before that period runs out, one of four things, a general execution, a notice of renewal of judgment, a garnishment summons, or a notice of income assignment, the same four acts that keep the underlying judgment itself from going dormant under Section 735.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must be filed with the county clerk when a general execution issues?
A certified copy of the execution, filed and indexed in the office of the county clerk the same way judgments are indexed.
How is real estate appraised before an Oklahoma execution sale?
By three disinterested people who take an oath to appraise impartially, or by a legal entity that files a written affidavit of impartiality and draws on at least three independent, credible sources, all based on an actual view of the property.
How quickly must the appraisers be paid?
Within thirty days of the date they return their estimate of the property's value, paid by the court clerk of the county where the property is located.
How does a judgment creditor extend a judgment lien before it expires?
By filing and indexing, before the lien's statutory period runs out, one of four things: a general execution on the judgment, a notice of renewal of judgment, a garnishment summons, or a notice of income assignment.
Are these the same four actions that keep a judgment from becoming dormant under Section 735?
Yes, subsection C's list of filings that extend a judgment lien matches the four qualifying acts Section 735 uses to keep the underlying judgment enforceable.
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: extend judgment lien oklahomahow is property appraised for execution sale oklahoma12 O.S. § 759filing execution with county clerk oklahoma