Welf. & Inst. Code, § 290.2 · Article 5.5. Notices in Dependent Child Proceedings
Welf. & Inst. Code, § 290.2
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Upon the filing of a petition by a probation officer or social worker, the clerk of the juvenile court shall issue notice, to which shall be attached a copy of the petition, and he or she shall cause the same to be served as prescribed in this section.
(a) Notice shall be given to the following persons whose address is known or becomes known prior to the initial petition hearing:
(1) The mother.
(2) The father or fathers, presumed and alleged.
(3) The legal guardian or guardians.
(4) The Indian custodian, if it is known that the child is an Indian child, as defined by Section 224.1.
(5) The child, if the child is 10 years of age or older.
(6) The child’s tribe, if it is known that the child is an Indian child, as defined by Section 224.1.
(7) Any known sibling of the child who is the subject of the hearing if that sibling either is the subject of a dependency proceeding or has been adjudged to be a dependent child of the juvenile court. If the sibling is 10 years of age or older, the sibling, the sibling’s caregiver, and the sibling’s attorney. If the sibling is under 10 years of age, the sibling’s caregiver and the sibling’s attorney. However, notice is not required to be given to any sibling whose matter is calendared in the same court on the same day.
(8) If there is no parent or guardian residing in California, or, if the residence is unknown, to any adult relative residing within the county, or, if none, the adult relative residing nearest the court.
(9) Upon reasonable notification by counsel representing the child, parent, or guardian, the clerk of the court shall give notice to that counsel as soon as possible.
(10) The district attorney, if the district attorney has notified the clerk of the court that he or she wishes to receive the petition, containing the time, date, and place of the hearing.
(11) The probate department of the superior court that appointed the guardian, if the child is a ward of a guardian appointed pursuant to the Probate Code.
(b) Notice is not required for a parent whose parental rights have been terminated.
(c) Notice shall be served as follows:
(1) If the child is retained in custody, the notice shall be given to the persons required to be noticed as soon as possible, and at least five days before the hearing, unless the hearing is set to be heard in less than five days in which case notice shall be given at least 24 hours prior to the hearing.
(2) If the child is not retained in custody, the notice shall be given to those persons required to be noticed at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing. If any person who is required to be given notice is known to reside outside of the county, the clerk of the juvenile court shall mail the notice and copy of the petition by first-class mail to that person as soon as possible after the filing of the petition and at least 10 days before the time set for hearing. Failure to respond to the notice is not cause for an arrest or detention. In the instance of a failure to appear after notice by first-class mail, the court shall direct that the notice and copy of the petition be personally served on all persons required to receive the notice and copy of the petition. For these purposes, personal service of the notice and copy of the petition outside of the county at least 10 days before the time set for hearing is equivalent to service by first-class mail. Service may be waived by any person by a voluntary appearance entered in the minutes of the court or by a written waiver of service filed with the clerk of the court at, or prior to, the hearing.
(3) Notice shall not be served electronically under this section.
(d) The notice of the initial petition hearing shall include all of the following:
(1) The date, time, and place of the hearing.
(2) The name of the child.
(3) A copy of the petition.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 833, Sec. 10. (AB 3176) Effective January 1, 2019.
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=WIC§ionNum=290.2.
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- sha256 0cc3123beb28c1db3d282fd6a488648b3d21532920ee34ba742825311eb21b23
- 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
This section 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.
Welfare and Institutions Code
Cited by 6 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Welf. & Inst. Code, § 290.2. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Penal Code
Welfare and Institutions Code
- Welf. & Inst. Code, § 224.3Printed as Sections 290.1 and 290.2
- Welf. & Inst. Code, § 291Printed as Sections 290.1 and 290.2
- Welf. & Inst. Code, § 297Printed as Sections 290.1 and 290.2 | Sections 290.1, 290.2, and 291
- Welf. & Inst. Code, § 338Printed as Sections 290.1 and 290.2
- Welf. & Inst. Code, § 349Printed as Sections 290.1, 290.2, 291, 293, and 294
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.