Pen. Code, § 740 · Title 2. MODE OF PROSECUTION

Pen. Code, § 740

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)

Except as otherwise provided by law, all misdemeanors and infractions must be prosecuted by written complaint under oath subscribed by the complainant. Such complaint may be verified on information and belief.

Notes and commentary — not statutory text

History

Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 931, Sec. 357. Effective September 28, 1998.

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=PEN&sectionNum=740.
Text hash: sha256 8e7e8123da7bd11dcfcb8afbb3a4530aa8d5be97cf19ada6709ec77903720fc8
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 2 provisions

Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 740. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.

Penal Code

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.