Code Civ. Proc., § 397 · Chapter 1. Place of Trial
Code Civ. Proc., § 397
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
The court may, on motion, change the place of trial in the following cases:
(a) When the court designated in the complaint is not the proper court.
(b) When there is reason to believe that an impartial trial cannot be had therein.
(c) When the convenience of witnesses and the ends of justice would be promoted by the change.
(d) When from any cause there is no judge of the court qualified to act.
(e) When a proceeding for dissolution of marriage has been filed in the county in which the petitioner has been a resident for three months next preceding the commencement of the proceeding, and the respondent at the time of the commencement of the proceeding is a resident of another county in this state, to the county of the respondent’s residence when the ends of justice would be promoted by the change. If a motion to change the place of trial is made pursuant to this paragraph, the court may, prior to the determination of such motion, consider and determine motions for allowance of temporary spousal support, support of children, temporary restraining orders, attorneys’ fees, and costs, and make all necessary and proper orders in connection therewith.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 163, Sec. 19. Effective January 1, 1993. Operative January 1, 1994, by Sec. 161 of Ch. 163.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=397.
- Text hash
- sha256 72a6e543a48303cb9e6f15c78d2f3ded4c79cd8ac607cc015d4df751299af719
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Cited by 4 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Code Civ. Proc., § 397. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Civil Procedure
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.