Writ of Execution
California writ of execution for enforcing a money judgment.
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What is EJ-130?
EJ-130 is the Judicial Council writ-of-execution form. After you win a money judgment in California (small claims, limited civil, unlimited civil), the writ is the document the sheriff or marshal uses to enforce that judgment against the debtor's property: levying bank accounts, seizing assets, garnishing wages (with the additional WG-001 form), or selling real estate. The petitioner (the judgment creditor or assignee of record) drafts EJ-130, files it with the clerk, and the clerk issues the writ with seal. The writ is good for 180 days (CCP 699.530); after that it must be returned and a new writ issued. EJ-130 covers three paths: (1) Money Execution against personal or real property, (2) Possession of personal or real property, and (3) Sale of personal or real property. The wizard focuses on the Money Execution path, which is the most common pro se use.
What happens if you miss the deadline: If you request the writ before the appeal period expires, the debtor can move to quash and you waste the filing. If your writ expires (180 days) before the sheriff completes a levy, you must request a new writ; the sheriff returns partial recoveries with the expired writ.
How to file
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Field-by-field guidance
Plain-English notes on every field on the form, with severity for what the AI completeness review treats as a blocker.
Show all 50 fields
Judgment creditor or attorney name. Required. Match the name on the original judgment if you are the creditor.
Creditor mailing address. Required so the sheriff can return the writ to you.
Party name represented. For pro se filers, your own name.
Original judgment creditor or assignee of record. If assignee, EJ-185 must be on file.
Limited (small claims and limited civil up to $35,000) vs Unlimited (civil over $35,000, family, probate). Pick from the original judgment.
County where the judgment was entered.
Plaintiff name from the original judgment. Match exactly.
Defendant name from the original judgment. Match exactly.
Case number from the original judgment. Required.
Money Execution, Possession, or Sale. The vast majority of pro se EJ-130 filings are Money Execution (bank levy / wage garnishment).
Required when writ_type is possession or sale. Personal vs Real property.
County where the sheriff or marshal will enforce. Can differ from the judgment county (sister-county writ under CCP 699.520).
Original judgment creditor or assignee of record name. Match the original judgment.
Judgment debtor name, entity type if not a person, and last known address. Match the original judgment exactly.
- Filers shorten the debtor's name (e.g., 'ABC LLC' when judgment says 'ABC Properties LLC'). The sheriff will not levy on a name that does not match.
- Filers omit the entity type. CCP requires the entity designation be stated.
Date the judge entered judgment. Required for the AI review's appeal-period check.
Item 11. Principal judgment amount.
Item 13 = item 11 + item 12. Math must add up.
Item 15 = item 13 - item 14. Math must add up.
Item 18 = item 15 + item 16 + item 17. The bottom line. Match this exactly to the amount the sheriff is to recover.
Item 19.b. Daily interest = principal balance × 0.10 / 365 (CCP 685.010 sets 10% simple per year).
Item 22.c (personal debt under CCP 683.110(d)). Triggers an additional Declaration of Personal Debt requirement.
Law firm name. Pro se filers leave blank.
California State Bar number. Pro se filers leave blank.
City of the creditor mailing address. Required so the sheriff can return the writ to you.
State of the creditor mailing address.
ZIP of the creditor mailing address.
Telephone number for the clerk and sheriff to reach you about the writ.
Email address. Optional caption field; some clerk's offices use it for issuance notifications.
Branch or division name of the issuing court (e.g., 'Civil Division', 'Lamoreaux Justice Center'). Optional when the court has a single courthouse.
Street address of the courthouse that entered the judgment.
Court mailing address when different from the street address (used when the courthouse uses a P.O. box).
City and ZIP of the issuing courthouse.
Toggle for whether the writ lists additional judgment debtors on page 2 (item 21). Required because the wizard branches to the page-2 entry.
Free-text list of additional debtors (name, entity type, last known address). Required when additional_debtors is true. Names must match the original judgment exactly or the sheriff will not levy.
Toggle for item 4 (judgment renewal). Judgments are enforceable for 10 years from entry under CCP 683.020; CCP 683.110 lets the creditor renew for another 10 by filing EJ-190 before the original 10 expires. The writ must reflect renewal status.
Dates of any judgment renewals (item 4). Required when judgment_renewed is true. Multiple renewals each get a date.
Toggle for item 23 (page 2). Used only when the judgment is against multiple parties jointly and severally and the writ needs to specify a different last-known address or service-of-summons history for one of them under CCP 989-994.
Toggle for item 24 (page 2 / page 3). Required when writ_type is Possession or Sale; carries the property description.
Toggle for item 25 (page 2). True when the writ is on an out-of-state judgment domesticated in California under the Sister State and Foreign Money Judgments Act (CCP 1710.10).
Item 12. Post-judgment costs the creditor has already paid (sheriff fees, levy fees, prior writ fees, MC-012 itemized amounts). Goes into the running judgment total. Costs without an MC-012 backing it up risk objection from the debtor.
Item 14. Partial payments the debtor has made toward the principal. Reduces the amount the sheriff collects.
Item 16. Post-judgment interest accrued from the date of judgment to the writ-issuance date at 10 percent simple per year (CCP 685.010). Computed on the principal balance.
Item 17. Clerk's writ-issuance fee under Government Code 70626(b)(2), typically $40 (some counties charge $45 with surcharges). Recoverable from the debtor under CCP 685.040.
Item 19.a. Principal balance against which daily interest is computed. Same number as item 15.
Item 22.b checkbox. True when the judgment is for unpaid wages. Triggers wage-claim protections; certain exemptions and procedural notices apply.
Item 22.a checkbox. True when the judgment is for child support or spousal support. Support judgments have separate enforcement priority and longer enforceability under Family Code 4502.
Item 22.d checkbox. Catch-all for non-personal, non-wages, non-support debts (e.g., commercial judgments, contract claims).
Free-text description of the 'Other' debt category (item 22.d). Required when debt_other is true. Used by the sheriff to apply correct exemption and priority rules.
Item 3 radio. 'Original judgment creditor' is the party named as plaintiff/creditor on the judgment itself. 'Assignee of record' is a successor that bought or was assigned the judgment and recorded the assignment with the court (CCP 673). Picking the wrong box can void the writ; clerks and sheriffs cross-check item 3 against the underlying judgment.
- Selecting 'Assignee of record' without filing an Acknowledgment of Assignment of Judgment (EJ-185 or local equivalent) under CCP 673(a). The clerk will reject the writ.
- Pro se creditors collecting on their own judgment correctly pick 'Original judgment creditor', even if a collection agency is helping them, unless the judgment was formally assigned.
Item 7 radio. Notice of sale (CCP 701.540) is required only when the levy is on real property or on personal property valued over $5,000 at sale (CCP 701.547). For bank levies, wage garnishments, and most money-execution writs, pick 'Has not been requested'. When picked 'Has been requested', the creditor must list the personal-property details on page 2 item 23 or attach EJ-130 page 3 for real-property descriptions.
- Selecting 'Has been requested' for a routine wage garnishment or bank levy. Notice of sale rules apply to property the sheriff will auction, not to money the sheriff collects.