California Appeal Bond: The 1.5x Rule Under CCP 917.1
A California appeal (supersedeas) undertaking secured through an admitted surety insurer is set at 1.5 times the judgment. The same undertaking backed by two individual (personal) sureties is set at 2 times the judgment instead. There's no dollar cap either way — Code of Civil Procedure § 917.1(b) applies the same multiplier whether the judgment is $50,000 or $50 million. That multiplier is the entire story of a California appeal bond, so start here:
Filing a notice of appeal alone does not stop collection on a money judgment in California — CCP 917.1(a) specifically excludes money judgments from any automatic stay. Only an approved undertaking does that.
Judgment Size → Undertaking Amount → Annual Premium
California appeal bond math under CCP 917.1(b), by judgment size
| Judgment Amount | Admitted Surety (1.5x) | Personal Sureties (2x) | Est. Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $150,000 | $200,000 | $1,500-$6,000 |
| $500,000 | $750,000 | $1,000,000 | $7,500-$30,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 | $15,000-$60,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $30,000-$120,000 |
| $5,000,000 | $7,500,000 | $10,000,000 | $75,000-$300,000 |
Premium estimated at 1%-4% of the undertaking amount, priced on collateral quality and judgment risk — not a fixed statutory rate.
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 917.1(b)
- Who requires it: California courts, under Code of Civil Procedure 917.1. Filing a notice of appeal alone does not stop collection on a money judgment; an approved undertaking does.
- Amount: 1.5 times the judgment when an admitted surety insurer backs it, or 2 times the judgment with two personal sureties (CCP 917.1(b)), with no dollar cap.
- Typical cost (estimate): about 1%-4% of the undertaking amount, priced on collateral quality and judgment risk. The surety sets the final price.
- Timing: Same-day submission; most quotes within one business day.
Why Almost Nobody Uses Personal Sureties
CCP 917.1(b) gives appellants a choice of who backs the undertaking — but the statute prices that choice directly into the bond amount. Here's the fork, side by side.
California Appeal Undertaking: Two Paths
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 917.1(b)
Admitted Surety Insurer
1.5x the judgment
- Undertaking = judgment x 1.5, per CCP 917.1(b)
- Surety must be an admitted surety insurer authorized by the California Department of Insurance
- Full collateral typically required — cash, ILOC, or marketable securities
- Court clerk accepts the bond on the surety's own filed power of attorney; no separate court hearing needed unless the creditor objects
- How nearly every California appeal bond is actually written
Two or More Personal Sureties
2x the judgment
- Undertaking = judgment x 2, per CCP 917.1(b) — a full extra half-turn of the judgment versus an admitted surety
- Each individual surety must qualify under CCP 995.510, showing net worth (over and above debts, liabilities, and exemptions) sufficient to cover their share of the undertaking
- Sureties must justify their qualifications in a sworn affidavit filed with the court
- Judgment creditor can move to have personal sureties examined and rejected if their assets are illiquid or hard to verify
- Rarely used for large judgments — mainly seen on small, family-and-friends-backed undertakings
An admitted surety insurer must be authorized by the California Department of Insurance to transact surety business. Personal sureties must individually qualify under CCP § 995.510.
The math nobody explains up front
On a $2,000,000 judgment, going with personal sureties instead of an admitted surety doesn't just add paperwork — it adds $1,000,000 to the required undertaking ($4,000,000 vs. $3,000,000), and every dollar of that extra million has to be shown as real, verifiable net worth by individuals willing to put their own assets behind someone else's appeal. That's the mechanical reason admitted-surety undertakings dominate California appellate practice.
How the Stay Actually Happens
A notice of appeal does not pause collection by itself. The stay is a three-step chain — and a fourth, optional step where the creditor gets to push back.
Notice of Appeal Filed
Collection is not stayed. Per CCP 917.1(a), money judgments are expressly excluded from any automatic appellate stay.
Undertaking Filed With Trial Court
Bond for 1.5x (admitted surety) or 2x (personal sureties) is executed and filed with the clerk of the court that entered judgment — not the Court of Appeal.
Enforcement Stayed
Once the undertaking is given, enforcement of the money judgment is stayed while the appeal is pending, subject to the creditor's right to challenge the bond's sufficiency.
10-Day Objection Window
Per CCP 995.930, the creditor has 10 days after service of the bond to object to its sufficiency by noticed motion — or the objection is generally waived.
Official California Requirements
"(a) Unless an undertaking is given, the perfecting of an appeal shall not stay enforcement of the judgment or order in the trial court if the judgment or order is for any of the following: (1) Money or the payment of money, whether consisting of a special fund or not, and whether payable by the appellant or another party to the action. ... (b) ... The undertaking shall be for double the amount of the judgment or order unless given by an admitted surety insurer in which event it shall be for one and one-half times the amount of the judgment or order."California Code of Civil Procedure • Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 917.1(a)-(b)
Know your judgment amount? We can price both the admitted-surety and personal-surety undertaking side by side.
Get Your Undertaking QuoteWhat Underwriters Actually Require for Large Undertakings
An appeal bond is not a licensing formality — the surety is underwriting the real financial risk that the appeal fails and it has to pay the full undertaking. Because most published appeal-success rates run well under 50%, admitted sureties collateralize appeal undertakings far more conservatively than contract or license bonds.
Collateral Sureties Will Ask For
- Cash held in a collateral trust account for the full undertaking amount
- An irrevocable letter of credit (ILOC) from a federally insured bank, evergreen through the appeal
- Marketable securities with a haircut applied for volatility
- A general indemnity agreement (GIA) from the appellant and any corporate affiliates
- Audited or CPA-reviewed financial statements for undertakings in the seven-figure range and up
The Circular 570 Ceiling
Every U.S. Treasury-listed surety has an underwriting limitation — the largest single bond it can write on its own paper — published in Treasury Circular 570.
A California judgment large enough to require, say, a $15 million undertaking may exceed one surety's limitation. When that happens, the bond is either:
- •Co-surety'd across two or more admitted carriers, each taking a percentage, or
- •Reinsured with excess capacity behind the front surety, or
- •Fully cash-collateralized so the surety's own capacity is not at risk
This is one reason a $10M+ appeal bond quote takes longer than a $250,000 one — it isn't just paperwork, it's syndication.
Skipping the Bond: Depositing Cash Directly Under CCP 995.710
A surety undertaking isn't the only way to secure a stay. CCP § 995.710 lets an appellant deposit an approved form of collateral directly with the court clerk instead of buying a bond. Under § 995.710(b), the deposit must equal or exceed the amount that would be required if the bond were given by an admitted surety insurer — for an appeal from a money judgment, 1.5x the judgment.
Acceptable Deposits Under § 995.710
- Lawful money of the United States or a cashier's check, payable to the court officer
- United States or California bonds or notes
- Certificates of deposit, not exceeding the federally insured amount
- Federally insured savings accounts or investment certificates, assigned to the officer
- Credit union share certificates, payable to the officer
Under § 995.710(b), the deposit must equal or exceed the amount that would be required if the bond were given by an admitted surety insurer. Some deposit types also require a signed agreement or assignment to the officer; confirm the paperwork with the court clerk.
Bond vs. Cash Deposit — the Real Tradeoff
| Admitted Surety | § 995.710 Deposit | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount required | 1.5x judgment | Same as an admitted-surety undertaking (1.5x) |
| Annual cost | 1%-4% premium | $0 premium |
| Liquidity impact | Collateral often < full amount | 100% of funds tied up directly |
| Underwriting delay | Days to weeks | None — clerk accepts on filing |
In practice, appellants use the § 995.710 deposit route when they have the full undertaking amount sitting in cash and want to avoid underwriting delay or an annual premium — and use an admitted-surety bond when they'd rather pay 1-4% a year than freeze that much liquidity for the length of the appeal (often 12-24 months). See our surety bond cost guide for how premium pricing works across bond types.
Get Your California Appeal Bond Quote
Tell us the judgment amount and surety type — we calculate the exact undertaking and price the bond against it.
California Appeal Bond FAQ
Answers specific to CCP 917.1 and California appellate practice
What's the actual difference between an admitted surety and personal sureties on a California appeal bond?
Does filing a notice of appeal automatically stop collection in California?
Can a California trial court reduce the 1.5x or 2x undertaking amount?
What happens if the judgment creditor objects to my appeal bond or its sureties?
Is there a dollar cap on California appeal bond amounts, like Texas or Florida?
How long does it take to get a large California appeal bond issued?
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
A $2M Judgment Means a $3M Undertaking — Know the Number Before You File
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