No courtroom, no hearing - just written questions the debtor must answer under oath within 30 days. Every bank account, every vehicle, every income source. On paper. Signed.
Post-judgment interrogatories are written questions you send to the judgment debtor that they must answer in writing, under oath, within 30 days. Under CCP § 708.020, you can propound interrogatories to discover property available to satisfy your judgment.
Unlike debtor examinations, you don't need to drag them into court. Just mail the questions. They have 30 days to respond. Their answers are signed under penalty of perjury. If they lie, it's a felony.
Send interrogatories right after you get your judgment. You can do this the same day. While waiting for responses, run asset searches. By the time they respond (or fail to), you'll have a complete picture and be ready to levy.
California law limits you to 35 interrogatories (including subparts) without a court order. Make each one count. Here are the categories you must cover:
California limits you to 35 interrogatories including subparts. "State all banks where you have accounts" = 1. But "For each bank, state (a) name, (b) address, (c) account number, (d) balance" = 4 questions counting toward your limit. Draft carefully.
Prepare up to 35 interrogatories covering all asset categories. Include definitions and instructions.
Serve by mail to debtor's last known address. Include proof of service form.
Debtor has 30 days plus 5 days for mailing to respond. Mark your calendar.
When responses arrive, use the info to levy. If no response, file motion to compel.
Unlike debtor examinations, interrogatories can be served by mail under CCP § 1013. This is a major advantage - no process server needed. Simply mail the interrogatories to the debtor's last known address with a proof of service.
The debtor has 30 days to respond, plus 5 days if served by mail within California (10 days if outside California, 20 days if outside the US). Calendar it carefully - you need to know exactly when responses are due so you can file a motion to compel if they ignore you.
Many debtors ignore interrogatories. That's actually a powerful position for you - their non-compliance gives you leverage.
Under CCP § 2030.290, if the debtor fails to respond, you can file a motion to compel responses. The court will order them to respond and may impose sanctions.
If they don't respond by the deadline, file your motion to compel promptly. Courts look unfavorably on creditors who wait months to enforce. A quick motion shows the court (and the debtor) that you're serious about collecting.
Both are powerful tools, but they serve different purposes. Use them together for maximum effect.
| Feature | Interrogatories | Debtor Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Service Method | Personal service only | |
| Court Appearance | Not required | Required |
| Response Time | 30+ days | At hearing (10+ days) |
| Follow-Up Questions | Limited (35 total) | Unlimited at hearing |
| Cost | Low (postage only) | Higher (filing, service) |
| Arrest for No-Show | No | Yes (bench warrant) |
| Document Production | Separate request needed | Can order at hearing |
| Frequency Limit | None stated | Every 120 days |
Send interrogatories first (they're cheaper and easier). Use the responses to prepare targeted questions for the debtor examination. At the exam, you can confront them with their own written answers and probe inconsistencies. Contradictions between their written and oral answers support perjury findings.
Yes, but you need a court order or a stipulation from the debtor. You can file a motion demonstrating why additional interrogatories are necessary. Courts generally grant these motions for post-judgment discovery, but you'll need to show the additional questions are relevant and not duplicative.
File a motion to compel further responses. If they answer "none" to a question about bank accounts but you have evidence they have accounts, that's either an incomplete response or perjury. The motion to compel puts pressure on them to come clean, and if they don't, you have grounds for sanctions and contempt.
Yes. Under CCP § 708.030, you can serve written demands for production of documents. Request bank statements, tax returns, vehicle registrations, property deeds, and any documents showing asset ownership or transfers. These can be served with your interrogatories.
No. As a judgment creditor, you can propound post-judgment interrogatories yourself. However, poorly drafted interrogatories waste your 35-question limit and may not get useful answers. Having an attorney draft comprehensive interrogatories often pays for itself in better asset discovery.
Yes, but objections to post-judgment interrogatories are limited. They can't object on relevance grounds - any property that could satisfy the judgment is relevant. They can object if a question is truly unintelligible, or on narrow privilege grounds, but "I don't want to answer" isn't a valid objection. Boilerplate objections can be overcome with a motion to compel.
You can serve interrogatories at the last known address. If mail is returned, you'll need to locate them through skip tracing. For debtor examinations, you'll eventually need personal service at their current address. Consider hiring a professional to locate them, then serve both interrogatories and a debtor exam order.
I draft comprehensive interrogatories that maximize your 35-question limit and get actionable information. When they don't respond, I handle motions to compel and sanctions.