# California — How long a money judgment stays enforceable before it must be renewed, by state

For California, how the statute states the period is upon the expiration of 10 years after the date of entry of a money judgment or a judgment for possession or sale of property: (a) The judgment may not be enforced; section is 683.020, verified against its source on 2026-09-01.

- **State:** California _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **How long the judgment stays enforceable before it must be renewed or revived:** 10 years from the date the judgment was entered. At the end of it the judgment may not be enforced at all: enforcement procedures must cease, and any lien created by an enforcement procedure is extinguished. _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **What has to happen to extend it:** Renewal by application, filed before the 10 years run out. The creditor files an application for renewal with the court that entered the judgment, and the filing itself extends enforceability for a further 10 years from the date the application is filed - no hearing and no new judgment. A narrow class of judgments identified in section 683.110(c) may be renewed only once, and for five years rather than ten. _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **How the statute states the period:** upon the expiration of 10 years after the date of entry of a money judgment or a judgment for possession or sale of property: (a) The judgment may not be enforced. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Section:** 683.020 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> 683.020. Except as otherwise provided by statute, upon the expiration of 10 years after the date of entry of a money judgment or a judgment for possession or sale of property: (a) The judgment may not be enforced. (b) All enforcement procedures pursuant to the judgment or to a writ or order issued pursuant to the judgment shall cease. (c) Any lien created by an enforcement procedure pursuant to the judgment is extinguished.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### State

> California Code, CCP 683.020

### What has to happen to extend it

> 683.120. (a) The judgment creditor may renew a judgment by filing an application for renewal of the judgment with the court in which the judgment was entered. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this article, the filing of the application renews the judgment in the amount determined under Section 683.150 and extends the period of enforceability of the judgment as renewed for a period of 10 years from the date the application is filed.

## Source

- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=683.020
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=683.120

Last verified: 2026-09-01. Review by: 2027-09-01.
Part of [How long a money judgment stays enforceable before it must be renewed, by state](https://referencesource.org/judgment-renewal-deadlines-by-state/).