Is Your Judgment About to Expire? Renewing a California Judgment

Ten Years Goes Fast

Once 10 years have passed since a money judgment was entered, the judgment can’t be enforced, any enforcement under way has to stop, and liens created by enforcement are extinguished (CCP § 683.020). The clock runs from the date the judgment was entered. Payments, levies and settlement talks don’t restart it.

The application for renewal has to be filed before the 10 years end (§ 683.130(a)). A judgment entered on March 15, 2017 has to be renewed before March 15, 2027. A renewed judgment runs 10 years from the date the application was filed (§ 683.120(b)), and the same rule applies to it: renew it again before that period ends. A judgment can’t be renewed within five years of its last renewal (§ 683.110(b)).

Support judgments are the exception. Child, family and spousal support judgments under the Family Code are enforceable until paid in full and don’t have to be renewed, though they can be (Family Code § 291).

Filing the Application for Renewal

Renewal is a filing, not a motion, and there’s no hearing. The creditor files an Application for and Renewal of Judgment (form EJ-190) with the court that entered the judgment (§ 683.120(a)), together with a Notice of Renewal of Judgment (form EJ-195). The filing fee is $45 (Gov. Code § 70626(b)(3)).

The application is signed under oath and shows the renewed amount: the judgment, plus the costs and interest that have accrued, minus payments and other credits (§ 683.140; § 683.150). Costs after judgment are claimed on a Memorandum of Costs After Judgment (form MC-012). Leave out any debtor who is no longer liable, for example because of a bankruptcy discharge (§ 683.140).

The renewed amount becomes the new principal, so interest after renewal runs on the interest that had accrued before it. For a judgment that has sat for years at 10%, that adds up.

File early. A paper filing can sit in a clerk’s queue, and an e-filing can be rejected for a problem that takes a day to fix. If a rejection comes back near the deadline, our article on e-filings rejected near a deadline covers what to check.

Serving the Notice of Renewal

After the renewal is entered, the creditor serves the notice of renewal on the judgment debtor, personally or by first-class mail, and files a proof of service with the court (§ 683.160(a)). Serve a copy of the application with the notice. The person who serves or mails the papers has to be at least 18 and not a party to the case, and the proof goes on form POS-020 for personal service or POS-030 for mail.

Don’t let this step wait. Until the proof of service is filed, no writ can issue and no enforcement can start on the renewed judgment, except what the judgment would have allowed without the renewal (§ 683.160(b)). If the address in the file is years old, check it before you serve.

The Debtor’s 60 Days

The notice tells the debtor they have 60 days after service to ask the court to vacate or change the renewal. Before 2023 it was 30 days. The debtor can raise any ground that would be a defense to an action on the judgment, including a wrong amount, and the court can vacate the renewal or enter a different one. A renewal filed within five years of an earlier renewal has to be vacated (§ 683.170).

Keeping Liens and Levies Alive

Renewing the judgment doesn’t carry its liens forward on its own. Each one needs its own step, taken before it expires, using a certified copy of the application for renewal from the court clerk:

• Real property liens. Record the certified copy with the county recorder in each county where an abstract of judgment was recorded, before the lien expires. The lien is then extended with the judgment (§ 683.180(a)). Our article on recording an abstract of judgment covers the lien itself.
• Property transferred before the renewal. If the debtor transferred the property, or someone acquired an interest in it, and the transfer was recorded before the application for renewal was filed, the extension doesn’t reach that interest unless the transferee is personally served and proof of service is filed within 90 days after the application was filed (§ 683.180(b)).
• Levies and wage garnishments in progress. File a certified copy with the levying officer before the judgment’s current period ends, and the levy or wage garnishment can continue (§ 683.200).
• Other enforcement liens. Serve or file a certified copy with the same person, and in the same way, as the notice or order that created the lien, before it expires (§ 683.190).

Consumer and Medical Debt Judgments: One Renewal Only

SB 1200 (Stats. 2022, ch. 883) changed the rules for some judgments against individuals, starting January 1, 2023. They apply when the debtor is a person, not a business, and the judgment is for:

• personal debt, meaning money owed for something bought or borrowed mainly for personal, family or household purposes, with unpaid principal under $50,000, or
• medical expenses, with unpaid principal under $200,000.

Debts that come from tortious or fraudulent conduct, and judgments for unpaid wages, damages or penalties owed to an employee, aren’t covered (§ 683.110(d)). For the judgments that are:

• One renewal, for five years. The judgment can be renewed only once, and the renewal lasts five years from the filing of the application (§ 683.110(c); § 683.120(c)).
• Renewed before 2023, no more renewals. A judgment that was renewed on or before December 31, 2022 can’t be renewed again (§ 683.120(c)).
• No new lawsuit on the judgment. The creditor can’t bring an action on the judgment instead (§ 683.050(b)).
• Interest at 5%. Judgments entered or renewed on or after January 1, 2023 earn 5% a year instead of 10% (§ 685.010).

The current application form asks which kind of claim the judgment is for, so check the complaint and the unpaid principal before you file. For a judgment in this group, the five-year renewal is the last one. Plan the levies and lien work for the time that’s left.

After Renewal: Levies and Locating Assets

Once the proof of service of the notice is filed, a writ of execution can issue on the renewed judgment, and the usual tools are back: bank levies, wage garnishments, and liens on real property.

A lot changes in 10 years. The debtor has probably moved, changed banks, or changed jobs, so start with a fresh search rather than the addresses in the file. Our articles on locating a judgment debtor’s assets and what to assemble before a bank levy cover the next steps.

Renewal Checklist

• List every judgment entered, or last renewed, more than eight years ago, with the date of entry or renewal and the date the 10 years end.
• Confirm the date of entry from the court’s records.
• Check whether it’s a judgment against an individual for personal debt under $50,000 or medical expenses under $200,000, and whether it was renewed before 2023.
• Prepare the memorandum of costs (MC-012) if costs after judgment will be added, and compute interest at the right rate.
• File EJ-190 and EJ-195 well before the deadline, and order certified copies of the application.
• Serve the debtor with the notice of renewal and a copy of the application, personally or by first-class mail, and file the proof of service.
• Record a certified copy in every county where an abstract was recorded, before the lien expires.
• Personally serve anyone whose interest in the property was recorded before the application was filed, and file proof within 90 days.
• File a certified copy with the levying officer for any levy or garnishment still in progress, before the current period ends.
• Calendar the debtor’s 60 days and the date the renewed judgment ends.

Filing, Serving and Recording the Renewal

You prepare the application. We can handle the rest anywhere in California: e-file it or file it in person at the court that entered the judgment, get certified copies from the clerk, serve the notice of renewal on the debtor and on anyone who acquired an interest in the property, with a signed proof of service, record the certified copy in each county where an abstract was recorded, and deliver a certified copy to the levying officer for a levy in progress.

If the debtor’s address is out of date, our skip tracers can find a current one before the notice goes out.

About This Article

Sources

• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.020
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.050
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.110
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.120
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.130
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.140
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.150
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.160
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.170
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.180
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.190
• Code of Civil Procedure section 683.200
• Code of Civil Procedure section 685.010
• Family Code section 291
• Government Code section 70626
• SB 1200 (Stats. 2022, ch. 883), chaptered text
• Judicial Council form EJ-190, Application for and Renewal of Judgment
• Judicial Council form EJ-195, Notice of Renewal of Judgment
• Judicial Council form MC-012, Memorandum of Costs After Judgment, Acknowledgment of Credit, and Declaration of Accrued Interest
• Judicial Council form POS-020, Proof of Personal Service, Civil
• Judicial Council form POS-030, Proof of Service by First-Class Mail, Civil
• California Courts Self-Help Guide: Renew a civil judgment
• Judicial Council of California, Invitation to Comment SPR23-09 (forms to implement SB 1200)

Keep Reading

• Recording an Abstract of Judgment in California2026 · Judgment Enforcement and Evictions
• Bank Levies in California: What to Assemble Before the LevyUpdated 2026 · Judgment Enforcement and Evictions
• Enforcement of Judgment: Locating a Judgment Debtor's AssetsUpdated 2026 · Judgment Enforcement and Evictions

See all 32 articles on the Direct Legal blog

How We Can Help

• Process servingRegistered, bonded service of process throughout California and nationwide.
• E-recordingDeeds, liens, abstracts of judgment, and other documents recorded with California counties.
• Writ leviesWage garnishments, bank levies, and other judgment enforcement through the Sheriff.