A California judgment is not a check — it’s a hunting license, valid ten years and renewable (CCP §683.020, §683.110), accruing 10% simple interest under §685.010 while you work it. Small-claims winners, wage claimants with unpaid awards, deposit plaintiffs: this is the machine.
Find the assets first. The debtor’s examination (CCP §708.110) hauls the debtor into court, under oath, to answer questions about accounts, employers, and property — with a bench warrant available for no-shows. In small claims, form SC-133 (statement of assets) is mandatory from a non-paying debtor. Subpoenas can reach banks directly.
The wage garnishment. Apply for a writ of execution (form EJ-130), then an earnings withholding order (form WG-001) served by the sheriff on the employer — collecting up to the CCP §706.050 cap (roughly 20% of disposable earnings) every payday until satisfied. Slow, steady, and demoralizing to debtors, which is why it produces settlements.
The bank levy. The same writ directs the sheriff to sweep identified accounts — timing matters (post-payday levies collect best), and exempt floors under §704.220 will protect a baseline amount.
The real property lien. Record an Abstract of Judgment (form EJ-001) in every county where the debtor owns or might own real estate — a §697.310 lien that waits silently for the sale or refinance and gets paid through escrow with a decade of interest.
Business debtors: the till tap and keeper (sheriff collects the register receipts) reach cash businesses; judgment liens on personal property file with the Secretary of State (§697.510).
Costs come back: filing, sheriff, and recording fees add to the judgment via memorandum of costs (§685.070).
The courts’ collection self-help guide maps every form. Most judgments go uncollected because winners stop at the verdict. The statute book assumed you’d keep going.
Every letter, form, and deadline referenced above is packaged in the free kits at JusticePrompt.com. No credit card, no upsell — the documents and the law, ready to use.
