§ 473.Mistake, Inadvertence, Surprise Or Excusable Neglect

Section 473 does two different jobs, and it helps to keep them separate. Subdivision (a) is the general amendment power: in furtherance of justice, on proper terms, a court may let a party add or drop a party’s name, correct a mistake in a name or in any other respect, enlarge the time to answer or demur, or allow other amendments after notice to the adverse party — postponing trial and shifting costs to the amending party if the amendment makes that necessary.

Subdivision (b) is the relief-from-default provision most litigators mean when they invoke "a 473 motion." A court may relieve a party, or the party’s legal representative, from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken through that party’s mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The motion must attach a copy of the proposed answer or pleading, and it must be made within a reasonable time — never more than six months after the judgment, dismissal, order, or proceeding was taken. Property cases get a narrower alternative rather than more time: when a written notice is personally served in California on both the defaulting party and that party’s attorney of record, warning that relief rights under § 473 expire 90 days after service, the application must instead be made within 90 days after whichever of those two services happens later. No affidavit of merits is required from the party seeking relief.

Layered on top of that discretionary relief is a mandatory rule: whenever an application is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by the attorney’s own sworn affidavit admitting mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect, the court must vacate the resulting default (where it will lead to a default judgment) or the resulting default judgment or dismissal — unless the court finds the default or dismissal was not caused by that attorney’s fault. When relief is granted on that basis, the court must direct the attorney to pay reasonable compensatory fees and costs to the opposing side, but subdivision (c) forbids making that mandatory relief itself conditional on the attorney paying fees, costs, or penalties. The court retains separate discretion under subdivision (c) to impose a penalty of up to $1,000 on an offending attorney or party, direct up to $1,000 to the State Bar Client Security Fund, or grant other appropriate relief. Subdivision (d) lets a court correct clerical mistakes in its own judgments or orders, on motion or on its own initiative, and set aside a void judgment or order after notice. None of this extends the five-year period to bring an action to trial under § 583.310.

Section 473 is a genuine dual-version statute: the text above is effective only until January 1, 2027, when a companion version (added by the same 2025 legislation) becomes operative. The two versions track each other closely, with one notable addition in the version taking effect in 2027 — a new subdivision (e) that, without any six-month or other time limit, lets a party move at any time to vacate a default judgment that is void for lack of proper service. Until that date, a motion attacking a judgment as void for improper service still proceeds under this section’s general framework (and, once the companion § 473.2 becomes operative on the same date, that separate section will govern default judgments challenged specifically on improper-service grounds).