Perfecting and Renewing Judgment Liens

A judgment is only as good as your ability to get it satisfied. That means you need to ensure that your judgment is properly recorded and turned into a valid lien. This memorandum sets forth the general requirements for creating and renewing judgment liens in Arizona.

1. Judgment Liens Generally

The holder of a judgment (called a “judgment creditor”) may place a lien on the debtor’s real property. This lien gives the judgment creditor the right to sell the debtor’s property to satisfy the judgment. Freeman v. Wintroath Pumps—Div. of Worthington Corp., 13 Ariz. App. 182, 184, 475 P.2d 274, 276 (1970). Also, if the debtor sells the property, the buyer takes the property subject to the judgment lien so long as the buyer has either actual or constructive notice of the lien. Id.

In general, the date the lien is recorded determines whether it has priority over other lienholders. In re Farnsworth, 384 B.R. 842, 848 (Bankr. D. Ariz. 2008). It is therefore important to promptly and properly perfect your judgment lien. Strict compliance with the statutory requirements is necessary to perfect a valid judgment lien. Bryan v. Nelson, 180 Ariz. 366, 369, 884 P.2d 252, 255 (Ct. App. 1994); Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. AHCCCS, 166 Ariz. 514, 517, 803 P.2d 925, 928 (Ct. App. 1990).

1. Requirements for CREATIng and Amending a Judgment Lien
2. Creating a judgment lien