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§ 674.Abstract of Judgment Requiring Payment of Money

Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 8. The Manner of Giving and Entering Judgment · Last amended 2008 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 674 lists what a certified abstract of a money judgment must contain — court and case information, entry and renewal dates, the parties' identifying information, the judgment amount, partial identifiers for the debtor, and any enforcement stay — and provides a way to amend an abstract missing required identifiers or add aliases the debtor is known by.

Full Text of § 674

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 4506 of the Family Code, an abstract of a judgment or decree requiring the payment of money shall be certified by the clerk of the court where the judgment or decree was entered and shall contain all of the following:
(1) The title of the court where the judgment or decree is entered and cause and number of the action.
(2) The date of entry of the judgment or decree and of any renewals of the judgment or decree and where entered in the records of the court.
(3) The name and last known address of the judgment debtor and the address at which the summons was either personally served or mailed to the judgment debtor or the judgment debtor's attorney of record.
(4) The name and address of the judgment creditor.
(5) The amount of the judgment or decree as entered or as last renewed.
(6) The last four digits of the social security number and driver's license number of the judgment debtor if they are known to the judgment creditor. If either or both of those sets of numbers are not known to the judgment creditor, that fact shall be indicated on the abstract of judgment.
(7) Whether a stay of enforcement has been ordered by the court and, if so, the date the stay ends.
(8) The date of issuance of the abstract.
(b) An abstract of judgment, recorded after January 1, 1979, that does not list the social security number and driver's license number of the judgment debtor, or either of them, as required by subdivision (a) or by Section 4506 of the Family Code, may be amended by the recording of a document entitled "Amendment to Abstract of Judgment." The Amendment to Abstract of Judgment shall contain all of the information required by this section or by Section 4506 of the Family Code, and shall set forth the date of recording and the book and page location in the records of the county recorder of the original abstract of judgment. A recorded Amendment to Abstract of Judgment shall have priority as of the date of recordation of the original abstract of judgment, except as to any purchaser, encumbrancer, or lessee who obtained their interest after the recordation of the original abstract of judgment but prior to the recordation of the Amendment to Abstract of Judgment without actual notice of the original abstract of judgment. The purchaser, encumbrancer, or lessee without actual notice may assert as a defense against enforcement of the abstract of judgment the failure to comply with this section or Section 4506 of the Family Code regarding the contents of the original abstract of judgment notwithstanding the subsequent recordation of an Amendment to Abstract of Judgment. With respect to an abstract of judgment recorded between January 1, 1979, and July 10, 1985, the defense against enforcement for failure to comply with this section or Section 4506 of the Family Code may not be asserted by the holder of another abstract of judgment or involuntary lien, recorded without actual notice of the prior abstract, unless refusal to allow the defense would result in prejudice and substantial injury as used in Section 475. The recordation of an Amendment to Abstract of Judgment does not extend or otherwise alter the computation of time as provided in Section 697.310.
(c)
(1) The abstract of judgment shall be certified in the name of the judgment debtor as listed on the judgment and may also include the additional name or names by which the judgment debtor is known as set forth in the affidavit of identity, as defined in Section 680.135, filed by the judgment creditor with the application for issuance of the abstract of judgment. Prior to the clerk of the court certifying an abstract of judgment containing any additional name or names by which the judgment debtor is known that are not listed on the judgment, the court shall approve the affidavit of identity. If the court determines, without a hearing or a notice, that the affidavit of identity states sufficient facts upon which the judgment creditor has identified the additional names of the judgment debtor, the court shall authorize the certification of the abstract of judgment with the additional name or names.
(2) The remedies provided in Section 697.410 apply to a recorded abstract of a money judgment based upon an affidavit of identity that appears to create a judgment lien on real property of a person who is not the judgment debtor.
End

Plain-English Summary

An abstract of judgment is what typically gets recorded against real property to create a judgment lien, and § 674 sets what that document has to say. Subdivision (a) requires the certified abstract to include the court and cause information, the judgment's entry and renewal dates, the debtor's name and last known address along with where the summons was served or mailed, the creditor's name and address, the judgment amount as entered or last renewed, the last four digits of the debtor's Social Security and driver's license numbers if known, whether enforcement has been stayed and when that stay ends, and the abstract's issuance date.

Subdivision (b) fixes a common gap: an abstract recorded after January 1, 1979 that's missing the required Social Security or driver's license digits can be corrected by recording an "Amendment to Abstract of Judgment," which relates back to the original recording date for priority purposes — with a narrow protection for anyone who bought, encumbered, or leased the property between the original recording and the amendment without actual notice of the original abstract.

Subdivision (c) handles debtors who go by more than one name: the abstract is certified in the name on the judgment, and can add other names the debtor is known by if the creditor files a court-approved affidavit of identity supporting those additional names, with the remedies in § 697.410 available to protect anyone who isn't the judgment debtor from an abstract wrongly creating a lien against their property.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a certified abstract of judgment include?

Court and case details, entry and renewal dates, the parties' identifying information, the judgment amount, the last four digits of the debtor's Social Security and driver's license numbers if known, stay information, and the issuance date.

Can an abstract missing the debtor's identifying numbers be fixed after recording?

Yes, by recording an Amendment to Abstract of Judgment, which relates back to the original recording date for priority.

Can the abstract list other names the debtor is known by?

Yes, if the creditor files a court-approved affidavit of identity supporting those additional names.

What protects someone who isn't the judgment debtor from a lien created by an affidavit of identity?

The remedies provided in § 697.410.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats 2007 ch 189 (SB 644),s 1, eff. 1/1/2008. Amended by Stats 2000 ch 639 (AB 2405), s 1, eff. 1/1/2001. Amended by Stats 2001 ch 159 (SB 662), s 39, eff. 1/1/2002.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: abstract of judgment californiajudgment lien real property california