Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.220 · Chapter 3. Papers to Be Served

Case cover sheet

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)

(a) Cover sheet required

The first paper filed in an action or proceeding must be accompanied by a case cover sheet as required in (b). The cover sheet must be on a form prescribed by the Judicial Council and must be filed in addition to any cover sheet required by local court rule. If the plaintiff indicates on the cover sheet that the case is complex under rule 3.400 et seq., or a collections case under rule 3.740, the plaintiff must serve a copy of the cover sheet with the complaint. In all other cases, the plaintiff is not required to serve the cover sheet. The cover sheet is used for statistical purposes and may affect the assignment of a complex case.

(b) List of cover sheets

(1) Civil Case Cover Sheet (form CM-010) must be filed in each civil action or proceeding, except those filed in small claims court or filed under the Probate Code, Family Code, or Welfare and Institutions Code.

(2) [Note: Case cover sheets will be added for use in additional areas of the law as the data collection program expands.]

If a party that is required to provide a cover sheet under this rule or a similar local rule fails to do so or provides a defective or incomplete cover sheet at the time the party's first paper is submitted for filing, the clerk of the court must file the paper. Failure of a party or a party's counsel to file a cover sheet as required by this rule may subject that party, its counsel, or both, to sanctions under rule 2.30.

Notes and commentary — not rule text

History

(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2009; previously amended effective January 1, 2000, January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2007.)

(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective July 1, 2002, and July 1, 2003.)

(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2007; adopted effective January 1, 2002.)

Rule 3.220 amended effective January 1, 2009; adopted as rule 982.2 effective July 1, 1996; previously amended and renumbered as rule 201.8 effective July 1, 2002, and as rule 3.220 effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2000, January 1, 2002, and July 1, 2003.

Source of truth

Edition: As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
Official file: https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_220
Text hash: sha256 d5aceaa03f0286605b7e3168ce1978608f5c08ee30bde81f8afdb48061256a2d
Composed by: compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph

This rule cites

Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.

California Rules of Court

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.