Be advised that media members have preview access to new unlimited civil actions before the clerk’s office processes them. As a reminder, it is the responsibility of the submitting party to ensure filings submitted for processing do not contain sensitive information that should not be available to the public.
Note: Civil Harassment, Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse, Private Postsecondary School Violence, Transitional Housing Program Misconduct, and Workplace Violence restraining orders are ineligible for e-Filing.
Electronic filing or e-Filing allows filers to efficiently process documents and fees online. The filer will submit the documents through an Electronic Filing Service Provider. After review, the court will accept or reject the documents. The documents are returned to the filer through the electronic filing website (portal).
An Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) is a company/organization that provides a service to submit documents (filings) to the court electronically.
No, e-Filing is optional. Petitions for gun violence restraining orders may be filed in person at any Civil Business Office.
First you must select an EFSP. Once selected, that provider will help you with your first filing. Please refer to the full list of providers.
There are no court fees to e-File. However, an EFSP may charge a service fee.
E-Filing is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, however, the system may be temporarily offline from time to time for maintenance purposes. Please plan accordingly when planning for your filing.
Electronically filed documents filed prior to midnight on a court day will be deemed filed as of that day, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and California Rules of Court, rule 2.253(b)(6). Filing occurs at the time the document is received by the court and a confirmation of receipt is created (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.259(a)(1) and (c).) Any electronically filed document received by the court at midnight, or filed on a non-court day, will be deemed filed on the first court day after it is received. This provision concerns only the method and effective date of filing. Any document that is electronically filed must satisfy all other legal filing deadlines and requirements. See Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and California Rules of Court, rules 2.250 through 2.259 for additional information. Gun Violence Retraining Orders and any other gun violence related request will be ruled on the same day, unless received after 3:00 p.m., in which case they will be ruled on the next court day. Fill out your forms completely and accurately to avoid delays in processing. Filers are strongly encouraged to submit documents at least 30 minutes prior to the cutoff time to ensure that there are no technical issues, which may result in the GVTRO being reviewed the next business day.
All documents can be electronically filed except for those outlined in Electronic Filing Requirements (Civil) (SDSC Form #CIV-409).
Documents that are exempt from e-Filing can be submitted for filing by mail or in the business office at the appropriate court location, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
The e-Filing system converts all standard document types (Word, WordPerfect, Corel, Lotus, TIF, JPEG, for example) into PDF upon upload. The court requires that users bookmark documents with exhibits. This can be done with Adobe Acrobat or similar applications.
The signature requirements depend on whether a document must be signed under penalty of perjury and/or requires the signature solely of the e-Filer or the e-Filer and another party (i.e. a stipulation.) Please see Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6, subdivision (b)(2) and Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.257 for information on signature requirements.
There is a 35 MB limit per document when uploading to the system. There is a 60 MB limit to the total files uploaded per order.
Yes. You need to enter the party exactly as it appears on the petition.
Yes. You may enter either your attorney's email address or your email address, depending upon who you would like the court to contact regarding your filing.
Your EFSP will provide you with an email confirming receipt of your submission along with an e-Filing Transaction ID number for tracking purposes.
Yes, support is provided for all users. Each EFSP offers a different type of e-Filing support. When you pick your EFSP look at the level of filing support that is offered and ensure that it meets your needs.
You will receive your order on the same day, unless your application is filed too late in the day to permit effective review, in which case the order shall be issued or denied on the next court day. (Penal Code section 18150(d)). See item 7 above for timeframe for filing. If a gun violence restraining order is needed outside of normal business hours, you may contact law enforcement and request a gun violence emergency protective order.
If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents filed, the litigant is to provide hard copies of documents in court with the e-Filing Transaction ID number noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the document.
- If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents filed, litigant to provide hard copies of documents in court with the e-Filing Transaction ID number noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the document.
- Exhibits to be considered via a Notice of Lodgment shall not be attached to the electronically filed Notice of Lodgment; instead, the submitting party must provide the assigned department with hard copies of the exhibits with a copy of the Notice of Lodgment that includes the e-Filing Transaction ID number noted in the upper right-hand corner.
No. All documents should be filed as stand-alone documents unless filing a Motion. If filing a notice of motion, all documents can be scanned and filed as one document under a filing that most closely captures the type of motion. Please bookmark all filings and exhibits within these filings.
No. Punctuation should not be included as part of a party's name. The court will delete any commas, periods, etc., which adds processing time to each transaction.
No, documents filed in a petition for gun violence restraining order are not available for viewing online. However, a list of the documents filed in the case is available for viewing on the court’s public Register of Actions (ROA). Documents may be viewed in the Clerk's Office between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Contact your EFSP for updates.
Please refer to your EFSP’s website for guidance on how to properly redact PDFs. Improperly redacting PDFs may place you or your client(s) at risk of releasing sensitive case information. To maintain confidentiality and ensure all redactions are appropriately applied, it is imperative that you remove metadata. Metadata is hidden information embedded within a document that, with a few clicks, may reveal a document’s revision history, earlier drafts, information about the document author, file name, file path, date of creation, and so on. This information is still available and accessible, even if the document was converted to a PDF. It is your responsibility to learn more about metadata and how to remove it properly.