Court filing in San Francisco happens at the Superior Court at 400 McAllister, where we e-file via an approved vendor or hand papers to the clerk's window, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. except the lunch hour. Anything submitted online by 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day counts for that date, and accepted papers come back to you as conformed copies.
San Francisco keeps its civil filing in one building, the Civic Center Courthouse at 400 McAllister Street, but the papers inside it go to different places. A trial continuance goes to Department 206, an extension of time to serve goes to Department 610, an eviction request goes to Department 501, and most other orders go through Law and Motion in Departments 301 and 302. A proposed order sent to the wrong department can sit unread, and the clerk does not have to warn you before your deadline runs.
On-Call Legal files through an approved Electronic Filing Service Provider and on paper at the Room 103 counter, and we pick the channel before the document moves. Since December 8, 2014 the court has required represented parties to e-file under Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and Local Rule 2.11, while self-represented parties, small claims and a few first filings still go on paper. We check the department, the fee and the format first, because a problem caught before submission costs minutes and one caught at the clerk’s window can cost a day.
Once the court accepts a filing, we return the file-stamped conformed copy. If a clerk rejects it, we tell you the reason and the fix. Alongside filing, we also serve the documents you file, so a summons can be filed and served through one office.
Attorneys and paralegals hiring a San Francisco filing service care about three things: getting the document to the right department, meeting the format and fee rules, and hearing about a rejection in time to fix it. On-Call Legal files under Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and Local Rule 2.11, and follows the court’s paper rules for the documents that still go to the counter. We watch every submission to acceptance and flag a rejection when it comes in. The same office serves the documents you file, handles eFiling, retrieves records, prepares subpoenas and runs messenger deliveries across San Francisco.
Standard jobs go in at the next available window, and rush moves you ahead in the queue when a hearing or deadline is close. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6, a document the court receives electronically by 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed filed that day, so an e-filing can still meet a deadline after the Room 103 counter closes at 4:00 p.m.
San Francisco closed its own e-filing portal on May 15, 2018, so every e-filing now goes through a court-approved Electronic Filing Service Provider, with File & ServeXpress acting as the court’s e-filing manager. We file through an approved provider, with each document titled the way the court’s special instructions ask and paired with the right fee.
We file with the Civil Division at the Civic Center Courthouse and route each paper to the department that acts on it: 206 for the master calendar and trial continuances, 610 for case management, 501 for real property and evictions, 304 and 613 for complex cases. We confirm the department from your case number before the document reaches the clerk.
You see when the document is submitted, when the court accepts it and when a clerk flags a problem. The court posts file-stamped copies online the day after a filing is processed, and we send you the conformed copy as soon as it is available. If a department wants a paper courtesy copy, we deliver that too.
The court’s rejection email names the clerk who rejected the document and the reason, and the court asks callers to have the Transaction ID ready. Most rejections trace back to a short list: a caption page without the clerk’s blank space, a proposed order not uploaded on its own, a fee that does not match, or a default packet split across transactions. We check those before a filing leaves our hands and handle the correction if one comes back.
One office for the whole job. Alongside court filing we serve the documents you file, handle eFiling, retrieve court records, prepare subpoenas and run messenger deliveries across San Francisco.
Local Rule 2.7(B) requires a paper courtesy copy of any document that needs a judge’s review, action or signature, delivered straight to the department. Some departments add their own clock: Department 610 wants the courtesy copy of a case management statement by 1:30 p.m. the day after it is e-filed. We deliver the copy on the department’s terms and return the conformed copy once the court accepts the filing.
Court Websites
Court Forms
California Secretary of State
Superior Court Holidays
Federal Rules and Practice Procedures
Filing in San Francisco? A few questions come up before a document goes to the clerk. These guides walk through them:
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