Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.325 · Chapter 10. Government Child Support Cases (Title IV-D Support Cases)
Procedures for clerk's handling of combined summons and complaint
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Purpose
This rule provides guidance to court clerks in processing and filing the Summons and Complaint or Supplemental Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations (Governmental) (form FL-600) for actions under Family Code section 17400 or 17404.
(b) Filing of complaint and issuance of summons
The clerk must accept the Summons and Complaint or Supplemental Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations (Governmental) (form FL-600) for filing under Code of Civil Procedure section 411.10. The clerk must issue the original summons in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 412.20 by filing the original form FL-600 and affixing the seal of the court. The original form FL-600 must be retained in the court's file.
(c) Issuance of copies of combined summons and complaint
Upon issuance of the original summons, the clerk must conform copies of the filed form FL-600 to reflect that the complaint has been filed and the summons has been issued. A copy of form FL-600 so conformed must be served on the defendant in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 415.10 et seq.
(d) Proof of service of summons
Proof of service of the Summons and Complaint or Supplemental Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations (Governmental) (form FL-600) must be on the form prescribed by rule 2.150 or any other proof of service form that meets the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 417.10.
(e) Filing of proposed judgment and amended proposed judgment
The proposed judgment must be an attachment to the Summons and Complaint or Supplemental Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations (Governmental) (form FL-600) and must not be file-endorsed separately. An amended proposed judgment submitted for filing must be attached to the Declaration for Amended Proposed Judgment (form FL-616), as required by Family Code section 17430(c), and a proof of service by mail, if appropriate. Upon filing, the Declaration for Amended Proposed Judgment may be file-endorsed. The amended proposed judgment must not be file-endorsed.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2003.)
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2003.)
(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2003.)
(Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2003.)
(Subd (e) amended effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2003.)
Rule 5.325 amended effective January 1, 2007; adopted as rule 1280.5 effective July 1, 1998; previously amended and renumbered effective January 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/five/rule5_325
- Text hash
- sha256 4095a56c5876c2c87180979f6d1f25dc521bf06aadaaf0abbb6593e1c31710c7
- 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.
Code of Civil Procedure
Family Code
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.325. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
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.