Collecting Your Judgment

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If the judgment debtor has not paid you the judgment debt when it is due – or made arrangements to pay you over time – California law gives you, the judgment creditor, a number of ways to collect AFTER the 30-day waiting period is over.


TIPS: As you go through this process: 

• Continue to try to get the debtor to pay voluntarily
• Be courteous 
• Be organized
  

If you DO NOT KNOW the debtor’s assets – their value, their location, etc. -- among the things you can do are: 
 

• Ask for his or her Statement of Assets 
• Ask the court to order a Debtor’s Examination at Court 
• Ask the court to order a “Third Party” Examination

NOTE 1:  There are Limits on Use of Examinations ordered by the court, and there are ways to locate the debtor, if you can’t find him or her.

NOTE 2:  The debtor has the right to ask the court to protect some types of wages or property from being used to pay a judgment debt, and you, the judgment creditor, have the right to object to the debtor’s request for an exemption.  Here's how to:

• Object to Claim of Exemptions by the Debtor
• Object to Claim of Exemptions of Wages by Debtor
• Object to Claim of Exemptions - NON-Wages

If you DO KNOW the debtor’s assets and the debtor is an individual, sole proprietor, or general partner, -- among the things you can do are:

• Collect from the debtor’s wages if he or she is employed 
  
• Collect from the wages of the debtor’s spouse or registered domestic partner, if he or she is employed 
• Collect from the debtor’s money in accounts or property located in a safe-deposit box at a bank or credit union 
• Put a lien on the debtor’s real property located anywhere in California 
• Put a lien on the debtor’s personal property located anywhere in California 
• Ask the DMV to suspend debtor’s license -- if the judgment has to do with a vehicle accident 

If you DO KNOW the debtor’s assets and the debtor is a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC): 

• How to collect from a business

Other court processes you may want to know:

• How to get a Writ of Execution
• How to End a Writ of Execution
• How to get an Abstract of Judgment
• How to Renew a Real Property Lien
• How to Renew a Personal Property Lien
• How to Remove a Lien
• How to Renew the Judgment
• How to Get Debtor to Pay the Costs to Collect the Judgment
• What to do with a Partial Payment of the Judgment
• What to do when the Judgement is Paid in Full

The general process for collecting a judgment from a debtor is similar throughout California, but there may be some differences from one county to another.  For example, in many counties the Sheriff is the most commonly-used levying officer, while in other counties, someone else (like a Registered Process Server) might fill that role.  To find out what you must do in your county, contact the Small Claims Advisor.  

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