Civ. Code, § 1198 · Article 3. Proof and Acknowledgment of Instruments
Civ. Code, § 1198
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
The execution of an instrument may be established by proof of the handwriting of the party and of a subscribing witness, if there is one, in the following cases:
1. When the parties and all the subscribing witnesses are dead; or,
2. When the parties and all the subscribing witnesses are non-residents of the State; or,
3. When the place of their residence is unknown to the party desiring the proof, and cannot be ascertained by the exercise of due diligence; or,
4. When the subscribing witness conceals himself, or cannot be found by the officer by the exercise of due diligence in attempting to serve the subpoena or attachment; or,
5. In case of the continued failure or refusal of the witness to testify, for the space of one hour, after his appearance.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Enacted 1872.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1198.
- Text hash
- sha256 41cfbb7d86ff4150ec2ab35da830cf81eace1d0382c6beaab7611e39681542e3
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Civ. Code, § 1198. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.