Civil e-Filing FAQ

Please refer to SDSC Rule 2.1.4.

Central: Civil Limited, Civil Unlimited, Unlawful Detainer, Gun Violence Emergency Protective Orders (Law Enforcement Only) and Gun Violence Restraining Orders Only. 

*All Civil Limited and Civil Unlimited cases previously filed in East and South should be filed through the Central branch. 

** All Unlawful Detainer cases previously filed in East, North, and South should be filed through the Central branch.

East: Gun Violence Emergency Protective Orders (Law Enforcement Only) and Gun Violence Restraining Orders Only. 

North: Civil Limited, Civil Unlimited, and Gun Violence Restraining Orders Only.

South: Gun Violence Emergency Protective Orders (Law Enforcement Only) and Gun Violence Restraining Orders Only.

California Rules of Court, rule 2.253, provides that a party may apply for an exemption from e-filing. Optional use forms are available on the Judicial Council's forms page, EFS-007 and EFS-005. Please note that self-represented parties are exempt from mandatory electronic filing.

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 refer to Code of Civil Procedure 1010.6, subdivision (b)(2) and California Rules of Court, rule 2.257 for information on signature requirements.

The e-filing system converts all standard document types (Word, WordPerfect, 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. Please refer to your EFSP's (e-Filing Service Provider's) page for more information on bookmarking.

No. Multiple Document PDFs may not be uploaded to a single Filing Type. Each document submitted within the envelope must be entered as its own Filing Type with its appropriate PDF uploaded.

No.

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.

Contact your e-filing service provider for updates.

If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents being filed, the litigant is to provide hard copies of documents in court with the e-filing Envelope ID noted in the upper right-hand corner of the document's first page.

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 noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the document.

Update, and until further notice:

Please note: The Civil Division has transitioned to a new case management system

We request your patience while we work through some challenges with data conversion and technological issues. Due to the transition, we are experiencing a larger-than-normal backlog. Please rest assured that we are making every effort to focus on time-sensitive matters while processing submissions in the order received.

To assist the court and reduce any unnecessary delays in scheduled hearings, please provide courtesy copies of documents needed for future hearing dates. Documents needed for a future hearing may include stipulations, ex parte requests, law and motion oppositions, and replies, not limited to supporting declarations, lodgments, requests for judicial notice, etc., should be submitted directly to the department with the envelope ID included in the upper right-hand corner of the document.

Please avoid contacting the courtroom or business office regarding the status of any filings submitted if they have been pending for less than a month. The decrease in inquiries regarding pending transactions will allow staff the much-needed time required to focus on processing the backlog.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we navigate this transition.

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 Envelope ID# noted in the upper right-hand corner.

Please refer to SDSC Rule 2.5.6. Absent leave of court, the court will not accept for filing any media storage device, such as a Compact Disc (CD), Digital Video Disc (DVD), or flash drive, that is attached as an exhibit to a motion or pleading. Such exhibits must be "lodged" with the court and will be returned to the submitting party, as provided below. This rule does not apply to exhibits identified and marked for the record at the time of trial or other hearing.

For Construction Defect cases, refer to the department's Policies & Procedures on the court's website for further details regarding courtesy copies.

The court strongly encourages you to file your default as a stand-alone transaction to ensure timely processing.

Please refer to CIV-409.

If the Court directs that the Minute Order is the Order of the Court, no order after hearing should be submitted. However, if you submit an order after hearing, the document will be routed to the department for consideration, and if signed, the document will be returned through the e-filing envelope it was submitted in. A Proposed Order submitted in advance of a hearing date will be received stamp, and it is the submitter's responsibility to resubmit the order per the Court's ruling if the parties are directed to provide one.

Fees may only be assessed for filings submitted electronically. Fees will only be accepted with a filing.

Further, fees for the Fourth District Court of Appeal cannot be assessed through e-filing. Please contact the Appeals Division of San Diego Superior Court for instructions on submitting fees.

Currently, optional services are not offered.

The clerk processing your transaction will modify the transaction to ensure the appropriate fees are assessed; however, if there are insufficient funds available on the card/account on file, the clerk will have to reject the filing. To avoid this, please ensure your card/account has ample funds to cover any fees that may be incurred.

Unfortunately, when the court transitioned to its new case management system, it no longer had the ability to send court-generated documents back to the submitters through the EFSP.

Unfortunately, we are unable to move envelopes/transactions between branches for processing; therefore, unless there is a legal reason why we cannot accept the filing, the clerk's office will process the new case and immediately transfer the case to the correct location to preserve any statutory issues. This will result in an order that will be mailed to the plaintiff/petitioner, along with a new Notice of Case Assignment, and case number.

Do not enter "Does" and "Roes" as parties. You are only required to enter named parties in the case.

Yes. You need to enter the party exactly as it appears on the Complaint. Similar to the issuance of a Summons, your entries for new parties must mirror the Complaint/Cross-Complaint, etc.

Enter the Alternate Name by selecting the appropriate name from the drop-down menu. The only exception is adding an individual as the party with a DBA, as the Organization Name field will not display.

Yes. You may enter either your attorney's email address or your email address, depending upon whom you would like the court to contact regarding your filing.

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.

Notices generated by the Court's case management system are mailed via US Mail rather than electronically served to all parties.

Certain documents have fees associated with them regardless of the correction being made; however, for filings such as a corrected/amended answer or motion, please ensure you are selecting the correct filing type. In most instances, your selection should be entitled/categorized as "Corrected" or "Amended."

Please refer to SDSC Rule 2.1.2 (H). Any party who is exempt from filing fees pursuant to Gov. Code § 6103 must so indicate on the first page of the document submitted for filing and must specifically indicate which parties are exempt. This information must appear in the upper right-hand corner of the document, above the case caption, in an area that will not interfere with the clerk affixing a file stamp.

Additionally, Gov. Code § 6103 does not exempt a government agency from depositing jury fees. To ensure your Notice of Jury Deposit is processed and fees are assessed, the submitter must change the payment type for the filing from "wavier" to a credit card or bank account; otherwise, the filing will be rejected for failing to submit filing fees.

When a stipulation is submitted to the court, staff will review the document to ensure all parties who are stipulating have paid first paper fees. If first paper fees are due, the fee(s) will be collected from the party submitting the document. If first paper fees are not due, the standard stipulation and order fee will be charged.

You may request a refund by submitting the Request for Payment of Trust Funds/Refund, CIV-180. Electronic submission of the CIV-180 will not be accepted; you may mail your request to the appropriate business office.

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.