Filing a Memo Of Costs

I am not an attorney, I am a judgment matchmaking specialist (Judgment Broker). This article is my opinion, based on my experience in California, and laws vary in every state. Nothing in any of my articles can ever be considered legal advice. This article explains how to fill out a MC-12 California judicial council form to record interest and costs on a judgment.

How to fill out page one of a MC-12 form:

The top of the form is for your name, address, and phone number. If you are the attorney or are an assignee of record, make note of that here.

Then, fill in the court name and address, e.g., Santa Clara County Superior Court, and the court's address. Then fill in the defendant and plaintiff names. Be sure to use the precise same names and spellings as listed on the judgment itself. After that is the case number, which must match the judgment.

Next is the number and calculation fields:

A) Preparing and issuing an abstract of judgment. Here you put what the court fees were for an unrecorded abstract. If you got abstracts for several counties, you can multiply this number. It is a good idea to print "3 Abstracts" here, if you claimed three abstracts. Pick a date that most of the abstracts were purchased.

B) Recording and indexing an abstract of judgment. Same as above, for what the county recorder charged to record those abstracts.

C) Filing notice of judgment lien on personal property. In real life, this means the ten dollars spent to buy a state-wide UCC lien at the secretary of state.

D) Issuing writ of execution, to the extent not satisfied by CCP 685.050 (specify county). This means what the court charged for a writ of execution in a particular county. If you bought a writ for more than one county, you multiply this amount. It is a good idea to print "three writs", if you claimed 3 writs. Be sure to list which county(s). If you are claiming more than one county, write in the date when most of the writs were purchased.

E) Levying officer's fees, to the extent not satisfied by CCP 685.050 or wage garnishment. This is for the sheriff levy file fee, and for the costs of having a registered process server or a sheriff serve a garnishment on a judgment debtor's assets, savings, or wages. There is very little room here, so sum the total of what you spent on process servers or sheriffs, and choose a date when most of the money was spent.

F) Approved fees on an application for an appearance of a debtor, or other approved costs starting around CCP 708.110. This is for the court's charge to schedule a hearing, and the costs to serve debtors or third parties that possess, or know about the judgment debtor's assets. I am not a lawyer, but in my opinion, the cost of a court reporter should be allowed here.

G) Attorney fees, if allowed by CCP 685.040. Adding post-judgment attorney charges are not allowed here unless the judgment specifically awards attorneys fees. This often means the underlying agreement or contract used, as the basis of the lawsuit that resulted in the judgment, specified that lawyer fees were allowed for collection of the debt.

H) Other: (Statute authorizing cost): This is a flexible area, for miscellaneous explainable, reasonable, and legally authorized expenses. Court clerks often allow reasonable-looking numbers, explanations, and cites here. The more money claimed here, and the more unusual the descriptions are, the more likely a judgment debtor or their lawyer will challenge them.

I) Total of the claims costs on this form. Sum the costs of all the items you claimed on this form.

Section 2: All previously allowed post-judgment costs: This is the total recorded on any previous MC-12s that were filed. If this is the first MC-12, type 0.00.

Section 3: Total of current and previous post-judgment costs: The sum of all previous and newly-claimed costs go here.

Section 4: Acknowledgement of credit: This is where you report the sum of any funds the debtor paid you, or any money that was received from a sheriff.

Section 5: Declaration of Accrued interest. This is where one affirms they calculated (using non-trivial math) or had software to determine the interest currently owed.

Section Six: I am the: judgment creditor, agent for the judgment creditor, or attorney for judgment creditor. If one is the Original Judgment Creditor (OJC), or the lawyer working on behalf of the OJC, the choice of which box to check is easy. If one is the assignee of record, what box should be checked? Not being an attorney, I recommend checking the "I am the judgment creditor" box, as it is the least-wrong choice.

Next, you sign and date the MC-12 form. If you are the assignee of record, type "assignee of record" next to your name.

The second page of a MC-12 is the Proof Of Service (POS). This page must always be filled out at least partially, and needs to be served on the judgment debtor if there are any claimed costs on the current MC-12.

How to fill out page two of a MC-12 form:

Check the Mail or Personal Service box.

Section 2: Put in your mailing address.

Section 3: Most often, the MC-12 is mailed to the debtor. If the judgment debtor will be personally served, leave section 3-B blank. If the person signing the POS will be dropping the envelope off at a post office directly, check box A. If the person signing the POS will be dropping the envelope in a mailbox where mail is picked up daily, check box B.

To finish section 3, fill out the same debtor name and address as is written on the stamped envelope to them. Print the city and state, and the date of mailing.

If the debtor was personally served, have the person who served complete section 3 B.

Finally, at the end of the MC-12, is the declaration area. The person serving should put the date personal service was made, or the date the envelope was mailed. Usually the date is the same as the first date you put on this form. The person who served the debtor prints their name and signs the POS.


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