§ 917.1.Undertaking Required to Stay Enforcement of Judgment Or Order

Title 13. Appeals In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Stay of Enforcement and Other Proceedings · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 917.1 requires an appellant to post an undertaking, ordinarily double the judgment amount or one and one-half times that amount if issued by an admitted surety insurer, before an appeal stays enforcement of a money judgment or of specified cost awards under §§ 998 and 1141.21.

Full Text of § 917.1

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

(a) Unless an undertaking is given, the perfecting of an appeal shall not stay enforcement of the judgment or order in the trial court if the judgment or order is for any of the following:

(1) Money or the payment of money, whether consisting of a special fund or not, and whether payable by the appellant or another party to the action.

(2) Costs awarded pursuant to Section 998 which otherwise would not have been awarded as costs pursuant to Section 1033.5.

(3) Costs awarded pursuant to Section 1141.21 which otherwise would not have been awarded as costs pursuant to Section 1033.5.

(b) The undertaking shall be on condition that if the judgment or order or any part of it is affirmed or the appeal is withdrawn or dismissed, the party ordered to pay shall pay the amount of the judgment or order, or the part of it as to which the judgment or order is affirmed, as entered after the receipt of the remittitur, together with any interest which may have accrued pending the appeal and entry of the remittitur, and costs which may be awarded against the appellant on appeal. This section shall not apply in cases where the money to be paid is in the actual or constructive custody of the court; and such cases shall be governed, instead, by the provisions of Section 917.2. The undertaking shall be for double the amount of the judgment or order unless given by an admitted surety insurer in which event it shall be for one and one-half times the amount of the judgment or order. The liability on the undertaking may be enforced if the party ordered to pay does not make the payment within 30 days after the filing of the remittitur from the reviewing court.

(c) If a surety on the undertaking pays the judgment, either with or without action, after the judgment is affirmed, the surety is substituted to the rights of the creditor and is entitled to control, enforce, and satisfy the judgment, in all respects as if the surety had recovered the judgment.

(d) Costs awarded by the trial court under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1021) of Title 14 shall be included in the amount of the judgment or order for the purpose of applying paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) and subdivision (b). However, no undertaking shall be required pursuant to this section solely for costs awarded under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1021) of Title 14.

End

Plain-English Summary

Money judgments don't get a free automatic stay. Under § 917.1, an appellant who wants to stop enforcement of a judgment for money — whether owed by the appellant or another party — has to post an undertaking. The same rule reaches certain cost awards under § 998 and § 1141.21 that wouldn't otherwise be recoverable as costs under § 1033.5.

The bond amount is set by formula rather than left to the trial court's discretion: double the amount of the judgment, or one and one-half times the amount if the surety is an admitted surety insurer. The undertaking is conditioned on the appellant paying the affirmed amount, plus interest accrued during the appeal and any costs awarded on appeal, once the remittitur issues. If payment doesn't happen within 30 days of the remittitur being filed, the undertaking becomes enforceable, and a surety who pays steps into the judgment creditor's shoes to enforce and collect the judgment.

Subdivision (d) folds trial-court costs awarded under Chapter 6 (commencing with § 1021) into the judgment amount for calculating the bond, but it doesn't require a separate undertaking for those costs alone. And by its own terms, § 917.1 carves out money that's in the actual or constructive custody of the court — the statute directs that those cases are governed instead by § 917.2.

Frequently Asked Questions

How large does the undertaking have to be to stay a money judgment on appeal?

Double the amount of the judgment or order, or one and one-half times that amount if the undertaking is given by an admitted surety insurer.

What happens if the appellant doesn't pay after losing the appeal?

The undertaking becomes enforceable if the amount isn't paid within 30 days after the remittitur is filed in the trial court.

Does § 917.1 cover cost awards as well as damages judgments?

Yes, for costs awarded under § 998 or § 1141.21 that otherwise wouldn't be recoverable under § 1033.5, and Chapter 6 (commencing with § 1021) costs get folded into the judgment total for calculating the bond, though they don't independently trigger the undertaking requirement.

Does this section apply to money already held by the court?

No. Section 917.1(b) excludes money in the actual or constructive custody of the court and directs that those situations are governed instead by § 917.2.

What happens if a surety pays the judgment after it's affirmed?

The surety is substituted to the judgment creditor's rights and may control, enforce, and satisfy the judgment as if the surety had recovered it.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 456, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 1994.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

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