E-Filing

E-filing is a procedure adopted by many courts across California and the United States. In many courts this process is now mandatory for attorneys filing papers for their clients. This transition has affected the legal profession like nothing since the advent of on-line legal research. At Process Server One, we are partners with all our clients, especially law firms, in responding to this new procedural environment.

And just to make it a little harder, many trial courts of general jurisdiction have adopted their own rules, mandatory and different from other courts. Courts are adopting new rules every day.

In short, e-filing means sending your pleadings, motions, procedural statements and briefs to courts in PDF form. Most courts require your papers to be signed, scanned, and sent for filing in searchable form. When papers are transmitted to the courts, through Process Server One or other portals – those papers are only filed if they conform to an ever-changing protocol of rules. And nobody needs to explain to a law firm the implications of failing to file papers before deadline.

List of California superior courts now implementing e-filing (list subject to change):

• Alameda County Superior Court
• Butte Superior Court
• Calaveras Superior Court
• Fresno Superior Court
• Kern Superior Court (small claims – paper filing only)
• Kings Superior Court
• Los Angeles Superior Court (Family Law and Small Claims – paper filing only)
• Merced Superior Court
• Monterey Superior Court
• Napa Superior Court
• Orange County Superior Court
• San Francisco Superior Court (subsequent filings only; all Family Law – paper filing only)
• San Luis Obispo Superior Court
• Santa Barbara Superior Court
• Santa Cruz Superior Court
• San Mateo Superior Court
• Sonoma Superior Court
• Stanislaus Superior Court
• Sutter Superior Court
• Yuba Superior Court

Unless noted separately above, all courts in the specified county require e-filing.

For courts not on this list, please contact us for FAX filing or hard-copy courthouse filing.
Persons not represented by counsel may e-file documents, but e-filing is not generally required.