SC-104: Proof of Service (Small Claims)

County name (after 'Superior Court of California, County of') plus the courthouse street address. Must match the SC-100 or SC-120 you are serving.

• Writing only the county and forgetting the street address.
• Picking a different courthouse than the one on the SC-100 / SC-120, the proof gets routed to the wrong courtroom.

The case number assigned by the clerk on the filed SC-100 or SC-120. Same number on both pages of the SC-104.

• Filing SC-104 before the SC-100 has been filed, there is no case number to write yet.
• Mismatched case number between page 1 and page 2 of the same SC-104; the clerk treats this as a typo and the proof can be misfiled.

Plaintiff name v. Defendant name, exactly as captioned on the SC-100 or SC-120.

• Filer abbreviates names; the caption needs the same form as on SC-100/SC-120.
• Filer drops middle name listed on SC-100.

The hearing date the clerk wrote on the ORDER half of the SC-100 (or SC-120) when accepting the filing. The 5-day filing deadline runs backward from this date.

• Writing the date the SC-100 was filed instead of the hearing date.
• Leaving blank because the SC-100 was filed online and the user has not yet received the conformed copy with the hearing date stamped on it.

Hearing time from the same ORDER half. Most small claims calendars start at 8:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.

• Server lists a date instead of a time. Item 2 has separate date and time fields; copy time only here.
• Server uses 24-hour format when the form expects 12-hour with AM/PM.

Department, division, or room number assigned by the clerk for the hearing.

• Server lists a courtroom number from a year ago. Department assignments change; verify against the SC-100 ORDER half being served.
• Server confuses 'department' with 'division'. Small claims is its own division; the dept/room is the specific courtroom within.

Drives whether item 1a (individual name) or item 1b (business / entity + authorized person) gets filled.

• Server checks individual when the defendant is an LLC or corporation. The SC-100 caption tells which path applies; use 1a for individuals, 1b for entities.
• Server checks both boxes. Exactly one applies; the form needs a single answer.

Full legal name of the individual defendant being served. Match the SC-100 / SC-120 caption.

• Using a nickname or 'Mr./Ms. Last name' instead of the full legal name.
• Filling 1a when serving a business; the form expects 1b in that case.

Full legal name of the corporation, LLC, partnership, or public entity. Match the SC-100 / SC-120 caption.

• Server shortens the entity name (drops 'LLC', 'Inc.', 'dba'). Match the SC-100 caption character-for-character; the clerk verifies entity service against the SC-100.
• Server lists only the dba name when the SC-100 names the legal entity. List both: 'Acme Corp dba Acme Coffee'.

Name and role of the human who actually accepted the papers. Must match a category authorized by statute (officer, general manager, partner, registered agent, clerk, chief officer).

• Naming a receptionist or front-desk staff who is not authorized; the proof is technically defective.
• Naming the corporation itself instead of the human (e.g., 'Acme Properties LLC' in the person field).

Checkbox: SC-100, Plaintiff's Claim, was served.

• Server forgets to check this when SC-100 was the document served. Check explicitly; clerks reject blanks even when 'obvious'.
• Server checks both SC-100 and SC-120 when only one was served. Match the actual documents handed over.

Checkbox: SC-120, Defendant's Claim (countersuit), was served.

• Server checks this when no SC-120 (counterclaim) exists. Check only if the defendant filed a counterclaim and it was actually served.
• Server thinks SC-120 means 'small claims response'. SC-120 is the defendant's COUNTERCLAIM, not a response.

Checkbox: an order for examination (debtor exam) was served. Sub-choice between SC-134 and AT-138/EJ-125 then identifies which order.

• Forgetting that civil arrest warrants for non-appearance only issue if a registered process server, sheriff, marshal, or court-appointed person personally served the order; a friend or family member's service does not support the warrant.

Which examination order was served: SC-134 (small claims-specific) or AT-138 / EJ-125 (general civil collections).

• Server checks SC-134 for a general-civil judgment debtor exam. SC-134 applies only to small-claims judgments; for general civil, use AT-138 or EJ-125.
• Server selects neither when an examination order was served. Pick the actual form type.

Checkbox: a document not listed in 3a-3c was served. Must be paired with a written specification.

• Server checks 'other' but leaves “Specify the other documents served” blank.
• Server uses 'other' for documents that are already listed (SC-100, SC-120, examination order). Use the specific checkbox first; 'other' is only for documents not listed.

Title and form number of the additional document served.

• Server writes a vague description ('attached papers'). The form needs the document title and form number (e.g., 'SC-104B Page 2: Notice of Sub-Service').
• Server omits the form number. Title + form number lets the clerk verify what was served.

Personal service (handed to the defendant) vs substituted service (left with another adult and mailed). Drives which page-2 block must be filled.

• Checking both 4a and 4b; the clerk rejects the proof.
• Checking neither and leaving page 2 blank.

Date of personal handover.

• Server uses the date the documents were prepared rather than the date of personal handover. Use the actual handover date.
• Server estimates the date. Use the actual date; the date triggers the answer-deadline clock.

Time of personal handover.

• Server estimates time to the nearest hour. Be precise to within 5-10 minutes; courts have rejected POS where the time is suspiciously round.
• Server uses 24-hour format when the form expects 12-hour with AM/PM.

Whether the time is morning or afternoon.

• Server checks AM when the actual time was PM (or vice versa). Double-check before signing; mismatch with the time field is grounds for challenge.
• Server leaves blank thinking the AM/PM is implicit in the time. The form has separate AM/PM checkboxes; check one.

Street address (or other physical location) where service happened.

• Server lists 'home' or 'work' without the actual address. Use the specific street address; this is what allows the court to verify geographic competence.
• Server lists the defendant's residence when service happened at their workplace. Use the actual location of personal handover.

City of personal service.

• Server lists the county instead of the city.
• Server abbreviates ('LA' instead of 'Los Angeles').

State of personal service. Defaults to CA.

• Server spells out 'California' when 'CA' is expected.
• Server uses lowercase ('ca').

ZIP of personal service.

• Server omits ZIP.
• Server guesses ZIP.

Where the substituted service happened: home (with cohabiting adult), workplace (in-charge adult), or mail location (only if no known physical address).

• Picking 'mail location' when a physical address is known; the form's own text only allows that option when no physical address is known.
• Picking 'workplace' when the adult given the papers was not actually 'in charge' (e.g., a coworker rather than a manager).

Date the documents were left with the adult.

• Server uses the date the documents were prepared. Use the actual date the documents were left with the adult.
• Server confuses sub-service date with the mailing date that follows. The two dates are usually different; both are required.

Time of substituted service.

• Server estimates to the nearest hour.
• Server uses 24-hour format.

Whether the substituted-service time is morning or afternoon.

• Server checks the wrong half.
• Server leaves blank.

Street address where the documents were left.

• Server lists 'work' without the address. Use the specific street address.
• Server lists the defendant's residence when sub-service happened at the workplace. Use the actual location.

City where substituted service happened.

• Server lists the county instead of the city.
• Server abbreviates.

State of substituted service. Defaults to CA.

• Server spells out 'California'.
• Server uses lowercase.

ZIP of substituted service.

• Server omits ZIP.
• Server guesses.

Name of the adult who actually accepted the papers, or, if name was refused, a clear physical description and any stated relationship.

• Writing 'wife' or 'son' without any other description; the judge needs more than a one-word relationship label.

Date the follow-up first-class envelope was deposited in the mail. Service is complete 10 days after this date.

• Mailing the same day as substituted service is fine; mailing weeks later defeats the purpose and may make service untimely for the hearing.

City and state where the envelope was deposited (where the post office or USPS collection box is).

• Server lists where the documents were addressed instead of where they were mailed FROM. Use the post office or collection-box location.
• Server omits the state. The form expects 'City, State' on one line.

Where the envelope was deposited: USPS mail drop, business mail drop with daily USPS pickup, or through a third-party mailer (with attached SC-104A).

• Picking the third option without attaching a completed SC-104A; the proof is incomplete.

The non-party adult who actually served the papers. Cannot be the plaintiff or any defendant.

• Plaintiff signs as the server; the form's penalty-of-perjury declaration says the server is 'not named in this case', a self-serving proof is rejected.

Server's phone number.

• Server lists the plaintiff's phone instead of the server's. Server is a different person from the party; use the server's contact.
• Server leaves blank. Phone is required for the court (or the parties) to reach the server if questions arise.

Server's street address.

• Server lists a P.O. Box only. CCP requires a residence or business address; P.O. Box alone is insufficient.
• Server uses the same address as the plaintiff. Server must be a non-party; the address should reflect that.

Server's city.

• Server lists the county.
• Server abbreviates.

Server's state.

• Server spells out 'California'.
• Server uses lowercase.

Server's ZIP.

• Server omits ZIP.
• Server guesses.

Dollar amount charged for service. Recoverable as a cost by the prevailing party. Often $0 when a friend or family member serves.

• Server lists $0 when the server actually charged. The fee is recoverable as a cost; understating means the prevailing party loses the recovery.
• Server lists a high fee for a friend who 'served as a favor'. CCP 1033.5 requires actual fees; inflated amounts are recoverable as the lesser of actual fee and $40 per attempt.

California county where the process server is registered. Only applies to professional registered process servers.

• Friends and family servers fill this when they are not registered. Only registered process servers fill items 5a-5c; non-registered servers leave blank.
• Registered server lists the wrong county. Match the county on the registration certificate.

Process server's registration number.

• Friends and family servers fill this when they have no registration number.
• Registered server lists their driver's license number instead of the registration number. Use the number from the County Clerk's process server registration.

Date the server signs under penalty of perjury.

• Server signs days after the service event. Best practice: sign the same day as the latest service event (or mailing, for sub-service).
• Server post-dates the signature. Use the actual date of signing.

Printed name of the server. Must match item 5.

• Server prints a different name than item 5 (server identification). Match item 5 character-for-character.
• Plaintiff signs as the server. Server CANNOT be a party to the case; this is the most common reason small-claims POS gets rejected.