California Asset Search

Every link in this guide was opened and verified on Sep. 17, 2026.

California makes the difference between finding an asset and collecting from it especially clear. County records may reveal a house, a business filing may identify an LLC, and court discovery may identify a bank. None of those findings replaces the writ, correct service and follow-up needed for an effective levy.

An asset appearing in a public record is not automatically available to pay a judgment. This guide separates the public-record search from private financial information and the California collection process.

Follow the documents, not just the name

A California property held by an LLC may require searches in more than one state. Compare the entity number, manager information where disclosed, historical addresses, deeds and signed court documents. A registered agent or common mailing address is a lead, not proof of personal ownership.

Start with an enforceable judgment and obtain a Writ of Execution, EJ-130, for the proper collection county. California's guide says the writ generally lasts 180 days. Prepare the current Request for Sheriff to Serve Court Papers, SER-001, and Special Instructions for Writs and Levies, SER-001A, plus any additional documents required for the debtor and debt involved.

Identify the proper bank service location before arranging the levy. A designated central service address may control; the debtor's neighborhood branch is not always the correct recipient. The court's guidance also identifies additional address-verification requirements for covered consumer-debt cases and special documentation that may be needed for other account-name situations.

Use the county's current sheriff or registered-process-server procedure. The California Courts guide explicitly says the sheriff cannot always meet a requested service date. Exact-date arrangements require preparation and coordination; there is no statewide rule that every step must happen on one day.

After service, complete the required handoff and debtor-notice process. Santa Clara's registered-process-server instructions warn that an incorrect, late or inconsistent follow-up submission releases the levy. Its stated handoff deadline is five court days after successful service. That is a concrete local example of how a paperwork defect can defeat an otherwise valuable lead.

Finally, track the bank's response, protected funds and the release of money through the proper process. A standard deposit-account levy is not a promise to capture all future deposits. The initial restraint and eventual payment are different events.

The applicable official starting points are California Courts: bank levy after a civil judgment, California Courts: service timing and small-claims bank levies. Use the current issuer's forms and instructions for the particular case.

An abstract of judgment and a real-estate levy serve different purposes. For a vehicle or physical business property, the officer needs a usable description and location, and deposits can cover towing, storage or sale expenses. Check the current local fee schedule rather than assuming a bank-levy deposit covers every asset type.

The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates report an owner-occupied housing rate of 55.9% and a median value of owner-occupied housing of $734,700 in California. The rate refers to occupied housing units, not a percentage of people. The value is not an estimate of equity available to creditors. Census QuickFacts: California.

Recorded real estate and business-entity tracing are accessible starting points. Bank leads may be valuable but need lawful verification and meticulous service planning. A California search should distinguish a person's assets from property held by a separate company, trust or spouse.

Los Angeles County's instructions ask for the account number if known. Do not spend heavily on a supposedly mandatory secret account-number search before checking what the officer actually requires. The critical file checks are the debtor's legal name, bank recipient, writ, signed instructions, required extra declarations and the post-service deadline.

• California Courts: bank levy after a civil judgment
• California Courts: service timing and small-claims bank levies
• Santa Clara Sheriff: bank and third-party levies
• Los Angeles Sheriff: civil-process questions
• California Code of Civil Procedure section 699.080
• San Diego Sheriff: civil fees

Compare other states and asset types.

A California dissolution is a Superior Court case in one of the 58 counties, filed on Judicial Council form FL-100 and kept by the clerk of that court. Rule 2.550(c) of the California Rules of Court presumes court records open unless confidentiality is required by law, and family law files are not closed as a class. Two rules shape what a stranger sees. The disclosure forms are not filed unless the court orders it, and rule 2.503(c) forbids public remote access to family law records, so the file is read at the courthouse.

The sworn money forms

California splits its disclosure into a served set and a form that is also filed when support or fees are requested. The Income and Expense Declaration, Judicial Council form FL-150, revised September 1, 2024 and signed under penalty of perjury, is filed whenever support or fees are requested and gives the employer's name, address and phone, occupation, salary and all other income, pension and benefits, assets described as cash and checking accounts, savings, credit union, money market and other deposit accounts, stocks, bonds and other property, expenses and debts; once filed it is a court record presumed open. The Declaration of Disclosure, FL-140, and the Schedule of Assets and Debts, FL-142, with their tax returns and statements, are served on the other spouse under Family Code sections 2104 and 2105, and the form instruction is in capital letters: do not file declarations of disclosure or financial attachments with the court. Only the Declaration Regarding Service, FL-141, goes in the file. The public file therefore holds the petition, which lists the community and separate property to be divided, any filed FL-150, requests for order and responsive declarations describing finances, the Judgment, FL-180, with its property division attachments and any marital settlement agreement attached to it, support orders and lodged qualified domestic relations orders.

Finding and reading the file

Each superior court runs its own index, reached through the Judicial Council's find your court directory, and under rule 2.503(b) a court that keeps its indexes, calendars and registers of actions in electronic form must offer them online to the extent feasible, family law cases included. Rule 2.503(c) then provides that a court maintaining family law records in electronic form must provide electronic access to them at the courthouse to the extent feasible but may not provide public remote access, so the documents in a dissolution are viewed on a courthouse terminal or in the paper file and copied at the clerk's counter. Sealing follows rules 2.550 and 2.551: a record must not be filed under seal without a court order, the party moves with a memorandum and a declaration of facts and lodges the record conditionally under seal, and the court may seal only on express findings that an overriding interest overcomes the right of public access, that the interest supports sealing, that a substantial probability of prejudice exists without sealing, that the sealing is narrowly tailored and that no less restrictive means exist. Family Code section 2024.6 separately lets a party ask the court to seal a pleading that lists the parties' financial assets and liabilities and gives their location or identifying information.

Bankruptcy files for California residents

California has four bankruptcy districts: the Northern District at canb.uscourts.gov, the Eastern District at caeb.uscourts.gov, the Central District at cacb.uscourts.gov and the Southern District at casb.uscourts.gov. Their schedules name deposit accounts and the employer and are public under 11 U.S.C. 107, and unlike the family law file they are read remotely on PACER.

After the file: the debtor's examination

Under Code of Civil Procedure sections 708.110 to 708.170 the creditor files form EJ-125, the Application and Order for Appearance and Examination, revised October 1, 2024, and the court orders the judgment debtor, or a third person who holds the debtor's property or owes the debtor money, to appear personally before the court or a referee to give information to help enforce the money judgment, with at least 30 days of personal service on the debtor and contempt and attorney fees for non-appearance. The California judgments and liens page covers the procedure.

• Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.550. What it's useful for: the presumption of open records and the sealing findings.
• Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.503. What it's useful for: courthouse only electronic access to family law records.
• Form FL-150, Income and Expense Declaration. What it's useful for: the filed sworn form.
• Form FL-140, Declaration of Disclosure. What it's useful for: the instruction not to file the disclosures.
• Form EJ-125, Application and Order for Appearance and Examination. What it's useful for: the debtor's examination.

The national guide covers what stays private, the collection tools for every asset class and what a search and levy can cost: Asset Search, what public records reveal and what stays private.