Accurate as of September 2026
Here’s what’s changing July-September 2026 in the California courts you file in most: filing procedures, service-of-process rules, and clerk’s-office hours across roughly 20 counties. Every entry below is dated and links back to the court’s own notice, order, or local rules page. Check the source before you rely on it, since court notices can be revised after they’re posted.
If a county isn’t listed, we didn’t find a verified change this quarter. For California’s statewide service-of-process reform, see our SPARE Act Guide for Paralegals.
Riverside County
Civil filing location reassignments, effective August 1, 2026. Riverside Superior Court rebalanced where civil cases must be filed: unlimited civil cases from Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Winchester, Homeland, Wildomar, and Murrieta now go to the Historic Courthouse in Riverside; limited civil, small claims, and unlawful detainer cases from Lake Elsinore and Wildomar move to the Corona Courthouse; small claims and unlawful detainer cases previously filed at Banning Justice Center move to Moreno Valley Courthouse. Filers should confirm the correct location before submitting. Learn more →
San Bernardino County
FileSubmit discontinued for Family Law cases, announced July 7, 2026. San Bernardino Superior Court is phasing out FileSubmit — its electronic document/payment submission alternative to fax filing — for family law matters; eFile becomes the primary electronic method, with in-person, drop box, or mail as backups. Learn more →
Santa Clara County
Complex Civil Division judicial reassignment, effective August 20, 2026. Judge Peterson has been assigned to the Complex Civil Division; all Department 19 complex cases are reassigned to Judge Peterson in Department 8 at the Downtown Superior Court. Learn more →
Santa Clara’s Local Rules of Court and Local Forms were also updated effective July 1, 2026; the court’s notice doesn’t itemize which specific rules changed, so filers should review the current local rules directly for anything affecting their case type.
Sacramento County
Civil fee schedule updated, per notice posted August 10, 2026. Sacramento Superior Court added several fees to align its civil fee schedule with the Judicial Council’s statewide schedule, including a $75 small-claims-appeal writ petition fee, $870 joint dissolution/legal separation petition fee, $435 joint summary dissolution petition fee, $25 automated-traffic-enforcement appeal fee, and $100 tribal court order recognition application fee. The court states these are additions to match the state schedule, not new obligations. Learn more →
San Francisco County
Proposed local rule changes — not yet adopted. San Francisco Superior Court is taking public comment on proposed changes to its Local Rules of Court, comment period September 16 through October 31, 2026. If adopted, the changes would take effect January 1, 2027. Learn more →
No other verified eFiling, filing-fee, service-of-process, or judicial-assignment change dated between July 1 and September 30, 2026 was found for San Francisco County. (San Francisco clerks’ offices are also set to close to the public at 12:30 p.m. daily starting October 19, 2026 — outside this quarter, so watch for it in the next update.)
Kern County
Proposed local rule amendment — not yet adopted. Kern County Superior Court proposed moving probate document filing deadlines from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the day before hearings, among other local rule changes proposed September 4, 2026. Public comment runs through October 28, 2026; if adopted, the proposed effective date is January 1, 2027. Learn more →
Ventura County
New eDelivery requirement for family law ex parte filings, effective July 1, 2026. Family law non-restraining-order ex parte filings must now be submitted through the court’s eDelivery system rather than traditional methods. Learn more →
San Joaquin County
Temporary reduced clerk’s office hours, continuing through this quarter. As the court rolls out a new case management system, public counter hours at Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, and the Juvenile Justice Center are cut: 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. (August 17–September 4), then back to 8:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (September 7–October 30). Courtrooms, drop boxes, and eFiling remain open throughout. Learn more →
New local rules also take effect July 1, 2026 as part of the court’s standard semi-annual rule cycle; the specific rule changes aren’t detailed in the court’s notice.
Sonoma County
Courthouse relocation, beginning July 20, 2026. The court is relocating to its new courthouse at 625 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, in phases over three consecutive weekends. Filers and process servers should confirm which building handles their case type before appearing in person. Learn more →
Clerk’s office hours extended, effective August 10, 2026. Public counter hours at all Sonoma court locations extended by 30 minutes, now 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Monday–Friday across all divisions. Learn more →
Local rule amendments, effective July 1, 2026. Probate order-filing now requires electronic PDF filing of proposed orders plus a separately emailed editable version to a department-specific address; the probate office address updated to 3055 Cleveland Avenue.
Solano County
Local forms renumbered, effective July 1, 2026. Several local forms were retired in favor of renumbered versions: Forms 910/920 → 3014-CV/3015-CV (extension requests), Forms 7000/7090 → 3703-SC/3705-SC (small claims), Form 4020/SCLF 1940 → 1020-AD/1030-AD, Form 3500 → 7014-PR (investigator fees). Filers using the old form numbers after July 1, 2026 should switch to the new numbering. Learn more →
Marin County
Still worth noting: Administrative Order 26-01, effective February 23, 2026. For non-criminal existing cases, every document requiring its own file stamp and docket entry (motions, declarations, notices, oppositions) must be uploaded as its own standalone PDF rather than bundled. Case-initiating documents and grouped exhibits remain exempt. Learn more →
