Federal Bank Levies: Our U.S. Marshal Checklist

California Procedure, a Federal Levying Officer

A federal money judgment is enforced by a writ of execution, and the procedure on execution follows the law of the state where the court sits, except where a federal statute applies (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69(a)(1)). In California, that means the bank levy itself works the way it does in state court. The bank is served with a copy of the writ and a notice of levy (CCP § 700.140) at its designated location for legal process (CCP § 684.115), and the debtor receives the notice and the exemption forms. Our article on bank levies in California covers those state rules.

Two things are different. The levying officer is the U.S. Marshals Service, not the county sheriff, so the levy is opened and closed at the Marshal’s office. And who may serve is set by federal rule: process other than a summons or a subpoena is served by a U.S. marshal or deputy marshal, or by a person specially appointed for that purpose (Rule 4.1(a)). In state court, a registered process server can make a bank levy without a court order (CCP § 699.080). In federal court, the registered process server needs an order appointing them, and the Marshal’s office in Los Angeles asks for that order in the opening packet.

Why not leave service to the Marshal? Timing. A Marshal’s office serves levies as its schedule allows; the Northern District’s levy form says levies are executed in the order received, with no guaranteed date. A bank levy generally reaches what’s on deposit when the bank is served, so control over the service date matters.

Getting the Writ From the Clerk

• Two forms. The request is form CV-24, Affidavit and Request for Issuance of Writ of Execution, and the writ itself is form CV-23. Attorneys e-file them in CM/ECF, with the CV-24 as the lead document and the proposed CV-23 attached. The clerk’s office doesn’t take them over the counter from attorneys (L.R. 5-4.1).
• No fee. There’s no filing fee for the request.
• What the clerk checks. Use the date the judgment was entered on the docket (for a judgment registered from another district, the date it was entered in the Central District), list each debtor’s name exactly as it appears in the judgment, and fill every amount line, with $0 where nothing applies. An error brings a deficiency notice, and both forms are corrected and filed again.
• Issued electronically. The clerk issues the writ with a digital signature and court seal and enters it on the docket. Print it from the notice of electronic filing; the Marshal accepts the electronically issued writ printed in color.
• 180 days. Writs expire after 180 days. An unexpired writ can be printed again from the docket. An expired one is replaced by an alias writ, with “Alias” added to the titles of both forms.

The other three California districts have their own procedures for issuing writs, so check the clerk’s page for the district where the judgment was entered.

The Checklist We Follow in Los Angeles

Bank levies in the Central District are opened with the U.S. Marshals Service Civil Section at the First Street Courthouse, 350 W. 1st Street, 3rd floor, in Los Angeles. As of October 2026, the civil intake window is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, and the packet is delivered in person. Each process, meaning each bank, gets its own USM-285 (Process Receipt and Return).

1. Opening packet: one set, for the Marshal’s file

• A check for $65 per process, payable to the U.S. Marshals Service. Several processes in the same case go on one check.
• The writ (CV-23): the original, or the electronically issued writ printed in color.
• A copy of the writ.
• The request for the writ (CV-24).
• The court order appointing the registered process server.

2. Service packets: two sets, one for the Marshal and one served on the bank

• Notice of Levy (EJ-150, revised July 1, 2026).
• Memorandum of Garnishee (AT-167/EJ-152).
• A copy of the writ.

3. Mailing packets: two sets for each mailing, one for the Marshal and one to mail

• Notice of Levy (EJ-150).
• Claim of Exemption (EJ-160, revised January 1, 2026).
• Financial Statement (EJ-165).
• Exemptions From Enforcement of Judgments (EJ-155).
• Current Dollar Amounts of Exemptions (EJ-156, revised July 1, 2026).
• A copy of the writ.
• In the process server’s set only, a stamped envelope addressed for the mailing, which the Marshal checks.

4. Closing

After the bank is served and the debtor’s papers are mailed, three proofs of service for each process go back to the Marshal’s office with the USM-285, with the dates of service and mailing noted in the remarks: the original for the court, one copy for the Marshal, and one for the process server. California gives a registered process server five court days after a levy to file the writ and proofs with the levying officer (CCP § 699.080), so plan the closing before the bank is served.

Our one-page Federal Bank Levy Checklist (PDF) has this list with each form’s revision date, for your file or your staff.

What the Marshal Charges

• Service fee. For process served or executed personally, the Marshals Service charges $65 per hour or part of an hour for each item served, plus travel and other out-of-pocket costs (28 C.F.R. § 0.114(a)(3)). In Los Angeles, the opening packet carries a check for $65 per process.
• Commission. For levying on property and receiving and paying over money, the Marshals Service also collects a commission of 3 percent of the first $1,000 collected and 1.5 percent of the amount over $1,000, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $50,000 (28 C.F.R. § 0.114(h)). On a $5,000 levy the percentages come to $90, so the $100 minimum applies.
• Our fee. Our fee to open, serve, and close the levy is separate from the Marshal’s. Choose Federal in the rate finder on our writ levies page.

The Other Districts Have Their Own Packets

The checklist above is for the Central District, which covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Forms CV-23 and CV-24 are Central District forms, and the packet list is the Los Angeles Marshal’s office list. California’s other three districts each have a Marshal’s office with its own requirements.

The Northern District is a good example. Its Marshal’s civil division in San Francisco uses its own bank levy instruction form, wants written instructions signed by the creditor’s attorney, asks for the registered process server’s name and phone number when one will serve, and returns incomplete paperwork by mail. The Eastern District, which includes Sacramento, Fresno, and Kern counties, and the Southern District, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, set their own packets as well.

We handle federal levies in all four districts, and before we assemble a packet outside Los Angeles we confirm that office’s current requirements. We have offices in each district: Los Angeles, Monterey Park, Santa Ana, and Palm Springs in the Central District; San Jose and Fremont in the Northern District; Bakersfield in the Eastern District; and San Diego in the Southern District.

Why Firms Send Us Their Federal Levies

• Close to the Marshal. Our Los Angeles office at 1200 Wilshire Boulevard is a short drive from the First Street Courthouse, so packets reach the Marshal’s office within the three-morning intake window.
• Process servers dispatched from Los Angeles. Once the levy is open, we dispatch our own registered process servers from the Los Angeles office to serve the bank at its location for legal process and to mail the debtor’s papers.
• One order, start to finish. We open the levy, serve the bank, mail the debtor’s papers, and return the proofs of service with the USM-285 to close it.
• Current forms. Packets go out with the current Judicial Council revisions, including the EJ-150 and EJ-156 revised July 1, 2026.
• State and federal. We serve state court writs with the sheriff or marshal and federal writs with the U.S. Marshal, throughout California, and we can prepare the levy documents for you.

Direct Legal has helped California law firms collect on their judgments since 1961. For the bank’s address, see our list of locations for serving bank levies.

Ordering a Federal Levy in Our Portal

Federal levies are ordered the same way as state levies, in our client portal:

• Start the order. Log in at directlegal.legalconnect.com, click “Place an Order” and choose “Writ Service.”
• Choose the service. Select “Open Writ with Sheriff and Serve,” writ type “Execution” and “Bank Levy.”
• Add the bank. Add each bank as a party to serve, enter the case number, and add the parties to the case if they aren’t in the portal yet.
• Upload the documents. Upload the issued writ, the CV-24, the order appointing the registered process server, and any levy documents you’ve prepared, one file per document.
• Tell us it’s federal. In Special Instructions, note that the writ was issued by the U.S. District Court and the levy is to be opened with the U.S. Marshal, and ask us to prepare the levy documents if you’d like.
• Submit and print. Submit the order and print the confirmation. If you have a paper original of the writ, mail it with the confirmation to our Monterey Park office.

Our step-by-step guide, How to Place a Writ Levy Order (PDF), walks through every screen. Or call our Litigation Division at (800) 675-5376, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

About This Article

Sources

• Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69, Execution
• Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4.1, Serving Other Process
• 28 C.F.R. section 0.114, fees and commissions of the U.S. Marshals Service
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Writ of Execution (forms CV-23 and CV-24)
• U.S. Marshals Service, Northern District of California, Instructions to the United States Marshal (bank levy)
• Code of Civil Procedure section 699.080
• Code of Civil Procedure section 700.140
• Code of Civil Procedure section 684.115
• Judicial Council form EJ-150, Notice of Levy
• Judicial Council form AT-167/EJ-152, Memorandum of Garnishee
• Judicial Council form EJ-155, Exemptions From Enforcement of Judgments
• Judicial Council form EJ-156, Current Dollar Amounts of Exemptions
• Judicial Council form EJ-160, Claim of Exemption
• Judicial Council form EJ-165, Financial Statement

Keep Reading

• Bank Levies in California: What to Assemble Before the LevyUpdated 2026 · Judgment Enforcement and Evictions
• Recording an Abstract of Judgment in California2026 · Judgment Enforcement and Evictions
• Registered Process Servers: What California Law RequiresUpdated 2026 · Hard-to-Serve Defendants and Process Servers

See all 31 articles on the Direct Legal blog

How We Can Help

• Writ leviesWage garnishments, bank levies, and other judgment enforcement through the Sheriff.
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