Certificate of Service

PROOF OF SERVICE / CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

State of California — Superior Court

CALIFORNIA MAIL EXTENSION RULE (CCP § 1013): When a response period is triggered by service, California adds:
- 5 calendar days for mail within California
- 10 calendar days for mail to an address outside California but within the United States
- 20 calendar days for mail to an address outside the United States
- 2 court days for overnight delivery
- 0 additional days for electronic service (CRC 2.251) or personal service

Note: Many California courts have mandatory e-service or File & Serve portals that may auto-serve parties. Verify your court's requirements.

SECTION 1: COURT HEADER AND CASE CAPTION

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF [________________________________]
[COURTHOUSE NAME AND ADDRESS (if required by local rules)]
[________________________________]
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Judicial Officer: [________________________________]
Department: [________]
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

[________________________________],
      Plaintiff,

v.                                             Case No. [________________________________]

[________________________________],
      Defendant.

SECTION 2: DOCUMENT(S) SERVED

The following document(s) were served:

SECTION 3: DECLARANT INFORMATION

I am employed in the County of [________________________________], State of California. I am over the age of 18 and not a party to this action. My business address is:

[________________________________]
[________________________________], California [________]

Note: Under CCP § 1013a, proof of service by mail must be made by a person over 18 who is not a party to the action. An attorney may sign a certificate of service on behalf of the firm. Verify local rules regarding whether the declarant must be a non-party.

On [__/__/____], I served true and correct copies of the above-listed document(s) on the parties listed below by the method(s) stated.

SECTION 4: RECIPIENTS AND METHODS OF SERVICE

Recipient 1

Name: [________________________________]
Capacity: ☐ Attorney for Plaintiff ☐ Attorney for Defendant ☐ Party in Pro Per ☐ Other: [________________]
Firm/Organization: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]
State Bar No. (if attorney): [____________________]

Method(s) of Service:

☐ Electronic Service via Court's File & Serve Portal / OneLegal / TrueFiling (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 2.251)
(System: [________________________________] | Confirmation No.: [________________________________])
(All parties listed above have agreed to electronic service per CRC 2.251(b) or are required to accept e-service by court order.)

☐ Electronic Mail — Sent to: [________________________________]
(Written consent on file per CCP § 1010.6(a)(2). Email sent at [____:____] [AM/PM] PT.)

☐ First-Class U.S. Mail — Sealed envelope, postage prepaid, deposited in:
☐ U.S. Post Office ☐ Mailbox ☐ Mail chute at [________________________________], California
(+5 days extension for California addresses; +10 days for out-of-state addresses.)

☐ Overnight Delivery (CCP § 1013(c)) — Delivered to courier at:
Location: [________________________________]
Courier/Service: [________________________________]
Tracking No.: [________________________________]
(+2 court days extension.)

☐ Personal Service (CCP § 1011) — Delivered at:
Location: [________________________________]
Time: [____:____] [AM/PM]
Served by: [________________________________]
(No additional days.)

☐ Fax (CRC 2.306 — consent required) — Fax No.: [________________________________]
Time of transmission: [____:____] [AM/PM]
Fax confirmation: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Recipient 2

Name: [________________________________]
Capacity: ☐ Attorney for Plaintiff ☐ Attorney for Defendant ☐ Party in Pro Per ☐ Other: [________________]
Firm/Organization: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

Method(s) of Service:

☐ Electronic service via [________________________________] — Conf. No.: [________________________________]
☐ Email (consent on file) — Sent to: [________________________________] at [____:____] [AM/PM]
☐ First-Class U.S. Mail — Deposited at [________________________________], California
☐ Overnight Delivery — Courier: [________________________________] | Tracking: [________________________________]
☐ Personal Service — At [________________________________] at [____:____] [AM/PM]
☐ Fax — Fax No.: [________________________________]

Recipient 3 (if applicable)

Name: [________________________________]
Capacity: ☐ Attorney for Plaintiff ☐ Attorney for Defendant ☐ Party in Pro Per ☐ Other: [________________]
Address / Email: [________________________________]

Method(s) of Service:

☐ Electronic service — Conf. No.: [________________________________]
☐ Email — Sent to: [________________________________]
☐ First-Class U.S. Mail — Deposited at [________________________________]
☐ Overnight Delivery — Tracking: [________________________________]
☐ Personal Service
☐ Other: [________________________________]

Add additional recipients as needed.

SECTION 5: CALIFORNIA ELECTRONIC SERVICE (CRC 2.251)

Agreement / Requirement to Accept E-Service:

Under California Rules of Court, Rule 2.251, electronic service may be used when:

☐ All parties have agreed to electronic service (voluntary agreement)
☐ The court has ordered electronic service (mandatory e-service by court order)
☐ The party is represented by counsel and the court has a mandatory e-service program

E-Service Provider Used:
☐ OneLegal / File & ServeXpress
☐ TrueFiling
☐ Odyssey eFile (court-specific portal)
☐ [Other approved provider: ________________________________]

Confirmation:

• E-Service Confirmation No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of Transmission: [__/__/____] at [____:____] [AM/PM] PT
• Service Status: ☐ Completed ☐ Rejected (describe: [________________])

Note: Under CRC 2.251(j), proof of electronic service must be filed with the court. Electronic service is complete at the time the transmission is made.

SECTION 6: SELF-REPRESENTED PARTY (PRO PER) SERVICE

(Complete if any party is self-represented.)

☐ A party in pro per was served. Details:

Pro Per Party Name: [________________________________]
Mailing Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

Method:
☐ First-Class U.S. Mail — Deposited at [________________________________], California on [__/__/____]
(+5 days extension for California address.)
☐ Certified Mail — Cert. No.: [________________________________]
☐ Personal Service — At [________________________________] on [__/__/____]
☐ Electronic service — The pro per party has consented to e-service per CRC 2.251(b)(2)

Note: Under CRC 2.251(b)(2), a self-represented party may consent to electronic service. Without consent, self-represented parties must be served by traditional means (mail or personal delivery).

SECTION 7: MULTIPLE-PARTY SERVICE TABLE

SECTION 8: MAILING / DELIVERY DETAILS

For Mail Service:
The envelope(s) were sealed, with postage fully prepaid, and deposited with the United States Postal Service in the mail at [________________________________], California, on [__/__/____].

For Electronic Service:
The transmission was completed through [________________________________] at [____:____] [AM/PM] PT on [__/__/____]. No error message or undeliverable notification was received.

For Personal Service:
Service occurred at [________________________________] on [__/__/____] at [____:____] [AM/PM]. Delivered by [________________________________].

For Overnight Delivery:
The envelope was deposited with [________________________________] courier service on [__/__/____] at [________________________________] with instructions for overnight delivery.

SECTION 9: CALIFORNIA MAIL EXTENSION — TIME COMPUTATION (CCP § 1013)

California Mail and Service Extension Rules:

Note: The date of mailing is Day 0. Count forward from the day after mailing.

Example (Mail within California):

• Motion served by California mail on Monday, March 9
• Response period: 21 days (CCP)
• Without extension: due March 30
• With 5-day California mail extension: due April 4

SECTION 10: JUDICIAL COUNCIL FORM POS-030

When to Use POS-030:
The Judicial Council Form POS-030 ("Proof of Service by First-Class Mail — Civil") is an official California court form for documenting mail service. It may be required in some counties or by some judges instead of or in addition to a certificate of service.

☐ A Judicial Council Form POS-030 is attached (for mail service)
☐ A Judicial Council Form POS-030 is not required by this court's local rules for this document
☐ This certificate of service complies with and is equivalent to Form POS-030

Always verify whether the court requires the POS-030 form or accepts an attorney certificate of service in lieu of it. Some courts require POS-030 for all proof of mail service; others accept an attorney certificate.

SECTION 11: DECLARATION

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on [__/__/____] at [________________________________], California.

_____________________________________________
[________________________________]
[Attorney / Authorized Agent / Legal Professional]
[Law Firm]
[Address]
[City, CA ZIP]
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email: [________________________________]
[State Bar No.: _______ (if attorney)]

SECTION 12: E-FILING INSTRUCTIONS (CALIFORNIA)

California E-Filing Environment:

California's e-filing landscape varies by court. Most large counties (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange, Sacramento) have mandatory e-filing for represented parties in complex civil cases and many civil departments. Each court uses an approved e-filing service provider.

Key Providers:

• OneLegal / File & ServeXpress — Used in many California Superior Courts
• TrueFiling — Used in courts of appeal and some superior courts
• Odyssey eFile — Direct filing portal for some courts

How E-Service Works:

1. Attorney files through the court's approved e-filing portal
2. The portal simultaneously e-serves all parties who have been identified as e-service recipients
3. Filer receives a confirmation with timestamp and service details
4. Service is complete at the time of transmission (CRC 2.251)

Proof of Electronic Service (CCP § 1013b):
A proof of electronic service must state: (a) the date of electronic service; (b) the names and email addresses of the persons served; (c) the name and address of the person making the service; and (d) whether the document was sent by e-mail, electronic notification, or electronic filing service provider.

SECTION 13: COUNTY-SPECIFIC NOTES

Los Angeles County:
LA Superior Court has mandatory electronic filing in civil departments. The court uses multiple approved e-filing service providers. Complex litigation matters have additional local rules.

San Francisco County:
SF Superior Court uses electronic filing. Check current local rules, as San Francisco has been expanding its e-filing requirements.

San Diego County:
San Diego Superior Court has e-filing requirements in most civil departments. Verify current requirements at sdcourt.ca.gov.

Orange County:
Orange County Superior Court uses e-filing in most civil departments. Verify current vendor requirements.

Alameda County:
Alameda County Superior Court has e-filing. Verify local rules for family and probate matters.

Riverside and San Bernardino Counties:
Inland Empire courts have specific local rules. Verify current procedures.

SECTION 14: PRACTITIONER NOTES

POS-030 vs. Attorney Certificate:
Some California courts require the Judicial Council form POS-030 for mail service; others accept an attorney's certificate of service. The safest practice is to verify the court's local rules and, when in doubt, use POS-030 or attach it along with a certificate.

CCP § 1013 — Mail Rule Applicability:
The 5-day extension applies when a party must take some action "within a specified period of time" after service. It does NOT extend deadlines that are triggered by something other than service (e.g., a court-set hearing date). Apply the mail rule only where the statute or rule says "after service of [document], you have [X] days to [act]."

Out-of-State Mail:
When serving out-of-state parties by mail, remember California's extension is 10 days (not 5). This is important for calculating response times when opposing counsel is not in California.

Electronic Service — No Extension:
Electronic service under CRC 2.251 carries no extension of time. This is a significant advantage over mail service and a reason to establish e-service agreements with opposing counsel at the outset of litigation.

Five-Year Retention:
Retain proofs of service (including electronic confirmations) in the litigation file for at least 5 years from the conclusion of the matter, consistent with California Rules of Professional Conduct.

This template was prepared for use in California state court practice. It is not a substitute for independent legal research and attorney judgment. Verify all citations, county-specific rules, and procedures against current California Code of Civil Procedure and California Rules of Court.