Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.540 · Chapter 3. General Conduct of Juvenile Court Proceedings
Orders of referees not acting as temporary judges
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Effective date of order (§ 250)
Except as provided in (b) and subject to the right of review provided for in rule 5.542, all orders of a referee become effective immediately and continue in effect unless vacated or modified on rehearing by order of a juvenile court judge.
(b) Orders requiring express approval of judge (§§ 249, 251)
The following orders made by a referee do not become effective unless expressly approved by a juvenile court judge within two court days:
(1) Any order removing a child from the physical custody of the person legally entitled to custody; or
(2) Any order the presiding judge of the juvenile court requires to be expressly approved.
(c) Finality date of order
An order of a referee becomes final 10 calendar days after service of a copy of the order and findings under rule 5.538, if an application for rehearing has not been made within that time or if the judge of the juvenile court has not within the 10 days ordered a rehearing on the judge's own motion under rule 5.542.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
Rule 5.540 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as rule 1417 effective January 1, 1990.
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_540
- Text hash
- sha256 7a910a1c1229cb8a5f755a301d1a3a2d6c46f29d577228c61922f82bd5915b76
- 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.
Cited by 5 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.540. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.725Selection of permanent plan (§§ 366.24, 366.26, 727.3, 727.31)Printed as rules 5.538, 5.540, and 5.542
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.770Conduct of transfer of jurisdiction hearing under section 707Printed as rule 5.540(c)
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.406Time to appealPrinted as rule 5.540(c)
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.450Notice of intent to file writ petition to review order setting hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26Printed as rule 5.540(c)
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.454Notice of intent to file writ petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.28 to review order designating specific placement of a dependent child after termination of parental rightsPrinted as rule 5.540(c)
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.