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You are here: Small Claims > Collect Your Judgment > Introduction to Collecting Your Judgment
Click on a question below:
Must I collect the money myself?
How long must I wait before I can start to force the debtor to pay?
How much time do I have to collect my judgment?
If the defendant doesn't appeal the original judgment, must they tell me what property they own?
What do I do if I can't find the debtor?
What if I don't know where the debtor works or where their property is located?
How do I do a debtor's examination?
Can I collect against the wages of the debtor's spouse if that person wasn't a defendant in my case?
Will this judgment show up on the debtor's credit report?
What out-of-pocket costs can I get back from the debtor and how do I collect them?
How do I compute the 10% interest that I'm entitled to on the unpaid portion of the judgment?
What do I do if the debtor asks the court to let them pay the judgment in installments?
Can the debtor pay the judgment to the court without telling me?
If the debtor pays the court without telling me, how do I get my money?
Must I collect the money myself?
Yes. The court will not collect the money for you. But the court will issue the orders and other documents required to force the debtor to pay. Keep in mind that not all judgments are collectable because the debtor may not have any income or property of value.
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How long must I wait before I can start to force the debtor to pay?
Enforcement of the judgment is put off until the time for appeal expires (30 days after entry of judgment). If an appeal hearing is held, the judgment can be enforced after the superior court's judgment is sent back to the small claims court. This should occur within 10 days. For more information, check out California Code of Civil Procedure sections 116.780  , 116.810, and 116.820 .
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How much time do I have to collect my judgment?
Judgments are enforceable for 10 years and are renewable for another 10 years and then renewable after that. Once a judgment's been renewed, it can't be renewed again until 5 years later. When the judgment is renewed, the interest that has accrued will be added to the principal amount owing. From that point on you're entitled to interest on the accrued interest. As an example, let's say you have a judgment for $5,000 and after nearly 10 years the debtor hasn't paid you anything. The judgment accrues daily interest of $1.37 ($5,000 x 10% = $500. ÷ 365 days). You seek to renew the judgment after about 9 years and 10 months, or exactly 3,605 days. The accrued interest is $4,938.85 (3,605 days x $1.37). Once that's added to the original judgment, a renewed judgment of $9,938.85 can be entered. The new daily interest will accrue at a rate of $2.72/day ($9,938.85 x 10% = $993.88 ÷ 365 days).
To renew a judgment, review Code of Civil Procedure sections 683.010 to 683.220 . You must use forms EJ-190, Application for and Renewal of Judgment and EJ-195, Notice of Renewal of Judgment. The Notice of Renewal of Judgment must be personally served on the debtor, or served by first-class mail. Liens created at the time of the original judgment also must be renewed.
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If the defendant doesn't appeal the original judgment, must they tell me what property they own?
A debtor that fails to appeal or file a motion to vacate the judgment (and that doesn't voluntarily pay the judgment) must fill out a Judgment Debtor's Statement of Assets (form SC-133) and send it to you. In many counties the court clerk will mail a SC-133 form to the debtor with the original judgment. Unfortunately, many debtors do not fill out and deliver the SC-133. Often this may force you to do a debtor's examination.
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What do I do if I can't find the debtor?
You may not need to know the debtor's location if, for example, you know the bank branch where the debtor has his or her accounts. On the other hand, you may need to do a debtor's examination at the courthouse. If you need to do a debtor's examination, you will need to fill out form SC-134, which must be personally served by a process server or sheriff/marshal. Some ways to try to locate the debtor:
- Use the Internet and its search tools: white pages, reverse look-up, etc.
- Check with the county assessor to see if the debtor, debtor's spouse, or the debtor's domestic partner owns real property. Some county assessors will confirm if a debtor owns real property over the phone. Click here to find a local tax assessor .
- Search the county clerk's records to find if the person has a fictitious business name statement on file with an address.
- Check with the court to see if there are any other lawsuits filed against the debtor, the debtor's spouse, or the debtor's domestic partner and see if an address is listed in that file.
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What if I don't know where the debtor works or where their property is located?
- You might know where the debtor works. But if you don't, you could contact a credit reporting agency (listed under "C" in the yellow pages of your phone book) and pay a fee to get a copy of the debtor's credit report. The fee will not be recoverable. If you use this method, the debtor probably will not be told that you've requested a copy of their credit report. Some credit reporting agencies may require that you provide them with the debtor's social security number and a certified copy of your judgment; others may not require that information.
- You could do a debtor's examination to learn what property the debtor owns and where the debtor works.
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How do I do a debtor's examination?
You need to use form SC-134 (Application and Order to Produce Statement of Assets and to Appear for Examination) and form SC-133 (Judgment Debtor's Statement of Assets). Then the court will give you a hearing date where you can ask the debtor:
- What type of property they own,
- Where that property is located, and
- Whether or not the debtor has a job.
You should come to the hearing with a list of questions to ask the debtor. (Click here to see Sample Questions to Ask the Debtor.) The debtor will be put under oath, but in most counties you will ask the questions yourself. The questioning will probably occur outside the presence of the court commissioner or judge.
You should also serve the debtor with a subpoena for any documents you need to see using form SC-107. The subpoena (form SC-107), notice of debtor's examination and judgment debtor's statement of assets (form SC-134 together with form SC-133) must be personally served on the debtor by a registered process server or sheriff/marshal.
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Can I collect against the wages of the debtor's spouse or domestic partner if that person wasn't a defendant in my case?
Yes. Your local court should allow you to file a noticed motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 706.109 using small claims form SC-105.
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Will this judgment show up on the debtor's credit report?
The credit reporting bureaus will know the debtor hasn't paid your judgment because the debtor's name will appear on the court's "Judgment Roll," and this is a public record. The credit reporting bureaus go to each courthouse and get that information for their records.
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What out-of-pocket costs can I get back from the debtor and how do I collect them?
The law (Code of Civil Procedure section 685.070 ) lets you recover:
- Court clerk fees for issuing a writ of execution or abstract of judgment,
- County recorder fees for recording and indexing an abstract of judgment,
- Statutory fees for the sheriff/marshal,
- Costs associated with a debtor's examination (hearing fee and service of process fee), and
For more information, check out Code of Civil Procedure section 685.070 .
To recover your costs of collection, you must file with the court a Memorandum of Costs After Judgment, Acknowledgment of Credit, and Declaration of Accrued Interest (form MC-012) within 2 years of incurring the costs.
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How do I compute the 10% interest that I'm entitled to on the unpaid portion of the judgment?
Interest begins on the day the final judgment is entered. If partial payments are made, those payments are first applied to the accrued interest and then to the unpaid principal. For more information, check out Code of Civil Procedure sections 685.010 to 685.030 .
To calculate the interest, first determine the daily amount of interest. For example, a $5,000 judgment will accrue $500 of interest per year at a rate of 10%. Dividing $500 by 365 days gives you a daily interest rate of $1.37.
Now, assume that after 145 days the debtor pays you $400. The following computation shows the amount of interest that will accrue after that payment is made:
After 145 days, $198.65 (145 days x $1.37/day) of interest will have accrued on the $5,000 judgment. Out of the debtor's $400 payment, pay yourself the accrued interest first. You then will have $201.35 left ($400 - $198.65 = $201.35). Now credit the remaining $201.35 against the $5,000 judgment ($5,000 - $201.35 = $4,798.65 of unpaid principal). The new daily interest will then accrue at a rate of $1.31/day ($4,798.65 x 10% = $479.86 ÷ 365).
Assume, then, that 215 days later a $1,700 payment is made. During the 215 days, $281.65 (215 days x $1.31/day) of interest will have accrued. Out of the $1,700, pay yourself the accrued interest first ($1,700 - $281.65 = $1,418.35) leaving $1,418.35 to apply to unpaid principal. Now credit the $1,418.35 against the remaining judgment principal of $4,798.65, and we find that $3,380.30 remains unpaid. The new daily interest will then accrue at a rate of $0.93/day ($3,380.30 x 10% = $338.03 ÷ 365).
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What do I do if the debtor asks the court to let them pay the judgment in installments?
The debtor will make the request using form SC-106, Request to Pay Judgment in Installments. The court clerk will mail a copy of the request to you. You have 10 days to tell the court that:
- You'll accept the proposed payment schedule;
- You'll accept payments in a different amount; or
- You don't want to accept installment payments.
If you don't respond within 10 days, the court will assume that you accept the proposed payment schedule and will grant the debtor's request. If you don't accept the proposed payment schedule, the court will probably hold a hearing to discuss the request and your opposition.
Note for creditors: This option affects the interest as it stops all interest from accruing until paid off.
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Can the debtor pay the judgment to court without telling me?
Yes. A debtor in a small claims case can pay the judgment directly to the court. Often this is done so that the debtor can immediately get proof of payment from the court in order to clear their credit record. To pay the judgment to the court, the debtor must pay:
- The principal amount of the judgment;
- Costs after judgment;
- Interest accrued on the judgment; and
- The court's processing fee (usually $25).
The debtor uses form SC-145 to make the request to pay the judgment directly to the court. The court (not the debtor) then tells you that payment has been made to the court. It's very important that the court has your current mailing address at all times. If the court is not able to contact you within 3 years to tell you that it's holding payment of your judgment, the money becomes the property of the court.
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If the debtor pays the court without telling me, how do I get my money?
The court will notify you that the judgment has been paid and tell you to:
- Complete the Judgment Creditor's Request for Funds (a portion of form SC-145); and
- Claim the money by either mailing your completed request to the court or giving the form in person to the court clerk.
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Last modified: 01/05/2009
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