California - Opening Post-Judgment Services

Your first trip to the sheriff's office

Why such a process?

The sheriff is the "levying officer" for post-judgment services. This means that all funds being collected will go through the sheriff before being received by the customer. For this reason, the process server will need to create a file for the sheriff to keep track of the procedure.

The Process Itself

1. Documents: Bring the entire bundle you received in the mail, as the sheriff may want to review the whole package. If approved, they will stamp the necessary documents. The sheriff will often give you a file number that is associated with the job in their system, called the "Levying Officer File Number." You will need to fill out, with a blue pen, any sections that say "Levying Officer File No.:"

If you have a Wage Garnishment, this will need to be filled out in the "Earnings Withholding Order" section as well as twice in the "Employer's Return" section. If you are serving a Bank Levy, there are two places where the levying officer number will need to be filled out under the "Enforcement of Judgement" section. 

2. Original Writ: Ask your sheriff what to do with the Original Writ of Execution. Some will take it and keep it on file. Others will have you hang on to the Original Writ. If you are asked to hang on to the Original Writ, do not lose it. There is only one, and it must be returned to the sheriff's office with the proof of service.

3. Sheriff's Check and Documents: The third set of documents in the Sheriff Filing packet, just behind the Original Writ, is a check and set of documents. This all goes to the sheriff for them to keep on file. After you open the job with the sheriff, you should not have the check packet anymore.

Opening with the Sheriff

Now you are ready to scan the first set of documents and email them to ABC Legal at The Sheriff Filing coversheet should be the first page of the scan so that the documents can be properly uploaded. Only after delivering the documents to us, locate the order in ABC Mobile and select "Documents Filed." ABC's copy of the documents should also be mailed to ABC Legal at your earliest convenience.

With the filing accepted, you are ready to deliver the service documents to the bank or business listed on service coversheet.

If Documents Are Rejected by the Sheriff

There will be times when an error will have been made in the initial submission of the documents and this will be caught by the sheriff. If the sheriff indicates that you can make corrections to the documents, please do so.

However, if the sheriff completely rejects the documents, do not to make any changes in the Mobile App. Try to obtain a rejection notice from the sheriff. If one cannot be obtained, write a detailed note of the errors and attach it to the rest of the documents. All documents must be mailed back to ABC Legal. The entire bundle that you originally received, as well as the notice of rejection, should be mailed to ABC Legal.

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