Claim and Delivery in California: Getting Business Property Back With a Writ of Possession

Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).

Claim and delivery is the California procedure for recovering specific personal property before judgment, while the lawsuit is pending. A business entitled to possession of equipment, inventory, or other goods files suit and applies for a writ of possession. If the court finds the claim probably valid and an undertaking is on file, a levying officer takes the property and delivers it to the plaintiff. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 512.010, 512.060.) Kolmogorov Law, P.C. represents companies and their owners in business disputes, including disputes over equipment and inventory.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss business property that someone refuses to return.

What claim and delivery is, and what it is not

The remedy is provisional. It decides who holds the property while the lawsuit is pending. The court's findings at the writ hearing have no effect on the other issues in the case and may not be referred to at trial. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.110.)

Three other remedies differ. A conversion claim asks for money for property that was taken or kept. A writ of attachment is a separate pretrial remedy tied to a claim for money. A landlord's writ of possession, used in a commercial eviction, concerns real property after a judgment.

When a business uses it

The applicant can show its right to the property, by a document or by sworn statement, and the other side will not hand it over.

• An equipment lessor whose lessee stopped paying and kept the machine. See our page on equipment lease disputes.
• A secured lender whose borrower defaulted and refuses access to the collateral.
• A manufacturer whose tooling sits at a former supplier's plant.
• A wholesaler that cannot get unsold consignment goods back.

What the application must show

The plaintiff may apply when the complaint is filed or at any time afterward. The application is made under oath, and declarations may supply its showings. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.010, subds. (a), (b), (c).) It must cover five things.

1. The basis of the claim and the right to possession, with a copy of any written instrument relied on.
2. The wrongful detention, how the defendant came to hold the property, and the reason for the detention as best the plaintiff knows.
3. A particular description of the property and its value.
4. The property's location and, if a private place may have to be entered, probable cause to believe the property is there.
5. That the property was not taken for a tax, assessment, or fine, or seized under an execution against the plaintiff's property (the statute allows one alternative statement).

The hearing, the standard, and the undertaking

Unless an exception applies, a writ issues only after a hearing on a noticed motion. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.020, subd. (a).) The defendant must first be served with the summons and complaint, a notice of application and hearing, and the application with its declarations. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.030, subd. (a).)

The writ issues if the plaintiff establishes the probable validity of its claim to possession and the undertaking requirements are satisfied. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.060, subd. (a).) Probable validity means it is more likely than not that the plaintiff will obtain a judgment on the claim. (Code Civ. Proc., § 511.090.)

The undertaking must be at least twice the value of the defendant's interest in the property. That interest is the market value, less amounts owed under any conditional sales contract or security agreement and less all liens and encumbrances, among other factors. If the court finds the defendant has no interest, it waives the plaintiff's undertaking. (Code Civ. Proc., § 515.010, subds. (a), (b).) An owner whose property is simply being held can ask for that finding.

Asking for the property without notice

The court may issue an ex parte writ on probable cause that the defendant feloniously took the property from the plaintiff, or that the property is a credit card. The first ground excludes property that was entrusted to the defendant and then fraudulently appropriated. The court may also act ex parte where the defendant acquired the property in the ordinary course of its trade or business for commercial purposes. The commercial ground also requires an immediate danger that the property will be transferred, concealed, removed from the state, or substantially impaired, among other conditions. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.020, subd. (b).)

A temporary restraining order may also issue ex parte if the plaintiff shows probable validity, provides the undertaking, and establishes a probable immediate danger that the property will become unavailable or substantially impaired. (Code Civ. Proc., § 513.010, subd. (b).) The order may not stop sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business, though it may restrict what happens to the proceeds. (Code Civ. Proc., § 513.020.) Our page on TROs and preliminary injunctions explains emergency orders generally.

How the writ is carried out

The levying officer takes custody of the described property by removing it or installing a keeper. If the property is in a private place and is not handed over, the officer may have the building opened, but may not enter a private place that neither the writ nor another court order specifies. (Code Civ. Proc., § 514.010, subds. (a), (c), (d).)

If no notice of a redelivery undertaking or of an objection to the plaintiff's undertaking arrives within 10 days after the levy, the officer delivers the property to the plaintiff. (Code Civ. Proc., § 514.030, subd. (a).) The court may also order the defendant to hand the property over, with a warning that refusal may be treated as contempt. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.070.)

If your business is the one holding the property

A defendant has two ways to oppose. It can file declarations with evidence sufficient to defeat the plaintiff's right to the writ, or it can file an undertaking to keep the property. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.040, subd. (c).)

The undertaking equals the plaintiff's, or the amount the court set, and may be filed before or after the levy. (Code Civ. Proc., § 515.020, subds. (a), (c).)

If the plaintiff fails to recover judgment, it must return the property and pay the damages proximately caused by the restraining order, the levy, and the loss of possession. (Code Civ. Proc., § 512.120.)

What to bring to the first meeting

• The lease, security agreement, or other document that gives your business the right to the property.
• Serial numbers, photographs, and the address where the property is kept.
• Your written demand for return and any response.
• An estimate of current market value and of any amount still owed.

Frequently asked questions

A former customer is holding our leased equipment and refuses to return it. Can a California court order it returned before trial?

Yes, through claim and delivery. After filing suit, the lessor applies for a writ of possession under Code of Civil Procedure section 512.010, with a sworn description of the equipment, its value, its location, and the lessor's right to it. If the court finds the claim probably valid and the undertaking is filed, a levying officer retrieves the equipment.

What is a writ of possession in California?

In a claim and delivery proceeding, it is a California court order directing a levying officer to take specific personal property from the defendant before judgment. Unless a statutory exception applies, the court acts only after a noticed hearing. The same name is used for a different order that enforces a judgment for possession of real property.

How much is the undertaking for a writ of possession?

California Code of Civil Procedure section 515.010 sets the plaintiff's undertaking at not less than twice the value of the defendant's interest in the property. That interest is market value reduced by amounts owed under a security agreement or conditional sales contract and by liens. The court waives the undertaking if the defendant has no interest.

We are owed money and the customer still has our machine. Should we ask for a writ of possession or a writ of attachment?

They answer different questions. A California writ of possession returns a specific item your business has the right to possess, such as the machine. A writ of attachment relates to a claim for money and has its own statutory requirements. The contract shows which right your business holds, and a dispute may involve both.

Can a writ of possession be issued without notice?

Only in limited cases. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 512.020, an ex parte writ requires probable cause of a felonious taking from the plaintiff, a credit card, or commercial property that meets further conditions. Those conditions include an immediate danger that the property will be transferred, concealed, removed from the state, or substantially impaired. Property obtained by fraud, false pretenses, or embezzlement falls outside the felonious taking ground. Otherwise the court holds a noticed hearing, and a temporary restraining order can protect the property meanwhile.

Talk to a California civil litigation attorney

If your business needs specific property returned, or has been served with an application for a writ of possession, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is a business litigation firm in Irvine, California.

Related reading: our civil litigation practice and equipment lease disputes.

This page provides general information about California law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the documents, the property, and the court.