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Chapter I, Rules 1.8 to 1.11: non-court personnel photocopying public documents within case files registered with the court (1.8); the court's additional fees - off-site retrieval of files at $20.00 per file, copies on compact discs for copies of 30 pages or more from $ 14.00 for 1-50 pages to $ 44.00 for 151-200 pages, the trust fund and warrant reissuance fees, a fee of $14.50 for every quarter hour for media platform copies, photocopies from hardcopies and search fees, postage by the number of pages, and postage for a CD at $ 4.86 (1.8.1); facsimile filing of probate and family law documents (1.9); electronic filing mandatory for all filings by parties represented by counsel in limited and unlimited civil, family law, probate, parentage, CEQA, civil writ and unlawful detainer cases, habeas corpus excepted - a request to be excused on form EFS-007 with form EFS-008, consent to electronic service on form EFS-005, documents filed between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. deemed filed that business day, filing through an Electronic Filing Service Provider, text searchable PDF, documents required to be kept confidential designated "confidential" in the security field, the documents not eligible for electronic filing - sealed documents, subpoenaed documents, bonds, undertakings, civil bench warrants, original contracts and instruments, over-sized documents and exhibits, sister-state judgments, affidavits re real property of small value, original wills and codicils, appeal-related documents and electronic evidence - and applications for entry of a judgment electronically filed with the original instrument filed at the Clerk's office (1.10); and the return of exhibits absent a stipulation of the parties (1.11).
California > Fifth Appellate District > Kern County > Superior Court of California, County of Kern
Rule 1.8 Photocopying Documents by Non-Court Personnel (Effective 7/1/09; renum. 1/1/13) (a) Any and all persons, designated as non-court personnel, requesting public access to any operational department of the Kern County Superior Court for purposes of photocopying only public documents within case files must be registered and identified accordingly as a Professional Photocopier pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 22450. (b) A Professional Photocopier requiring public access will contact the Receptionist of the Kern County Superior Court to initiate the request. The respective department(s) will arrange place, time and case file availability with the requestor. Under no circumstances will any confidential material be accessed for photocopying or viewing. (c) Upon accessing the Kern County Superior Court for photocopying purposes, the Professional Photocopier must present the identification card issued by the County Clerk pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 22457 and in exchange will be issued a temporary “Visitor” badge. The “Visitor” badge must be worn throughout the duration of the visit in the department and promptly returned upon departure at which time the Court will return the identification card issued by the County Clerk. (d) The Professional Photocopier shall be responsible at all times for maintaining the integrity of the files and information accessed. All case files accessed for copying must be returned to the department in the same condition as received. (e) The Professional Photocopier is responsible for all necessary equipment/resources for photocopying requested case files. (f) Failure to follow any of the outlined rules will result in limited or denied access and may include relevant action(s) as outlined in statutory law. Rule 1.8.1 Additional Court Fees (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/22; rev. 1/1/23; rev. 1/1/24; rev. 7/1/24) The Superior Court of California, County of Kern will charge the following fees: (a) Off-site retrieval of files – $20.00 per file (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20) (b) Copy requests on compact discs (CD provided by Court) for copies of 30 pages or more: (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/22) Number of pages Total Cost 1-50 pages - $ 14.00 51-75 pages - $ 19.00 76-100 pages - $ 24.00 101-125 pages - $ 29.00 126-150 pages - $ 34.00 151-200 pages - $ 44.00 (c) Additional fees: (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/22; rev. 1/1/23; rev. 7/1/24) 1. One-time fee to set up, administer and close out trust for funds on deposit with the Court in civil cases – $50.00 (Effective 1/1/23) 2. Cancellation of warrant and reissuance in civil trust due to attorney error – $22.00 (Effective 1/1/23) 3. Hourly research fee for trust administration – $49.00 (Effective 1/1/23) 4. Media platform (Blu-Ray, Cassette, VHS, etc.) (Effective 1/1/22) 5. Fee of $14.50 for every quarter hour for: (Effective 1/1/22; rev. 7/1/24) a) media platform copies, transfers, recordings, and processing; (Effective 1/1/22; rev. 7/1/24) b) making photocopies from hardcopies; and (Effective 1/1/22) c) search fees. (Effective 1/1/22; renum. 7/1/24) 6. Postage/Shipping (envelope provided by Court) for hardcopies: (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/22) Number of pages Total Cost 1-15 pages - $ 2.13 16-30 pages - $ 2.73 31-45 pages - $ 3.13 46-60 pages - $ 3.73 61-75 pages - $ 4.13 7. Postage for CD – $ 4.86 (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/22) The Court reserves the right to increase these fees when the cost of postage is increased by the U.S. Postal Service. A summary of the calculations and documentation that support any increases in additional fees are available upon written request from: (Effective 7/1/14; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/22) Superior Court of California, County of Kern Accounting Division 1415 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301 (d) Reimbursement for Late Cancellation of Non-Spanish Language Interpreters. (Effective 1/1/24; rev. 7/1/24) Requests for interpreters for limited English proficient (LEP) parties in languages other than Spanish shall be made no later than five (5) court days in advance. The Court will attempt to accommodate untimely requests to the extent possible. If a request for a non-Spanish language interpreter has been made in a civil matter, and (1) the scheduled hearing’s time and/or date are changed or canceled by the parties, or (2) the individual requiring the interpreter will not be present at the hearing, the party or counsel making the change, cancellation or decision about their presence, must notify the Court as soon as possible. Such notifications must be made not less than two (2) court days in advance of the original scheduled date. To cancel an interpreter, complete the online Request to Cancel an Interpreter Form (PDF) and submit via email to: MetroInterpretersOffice@kern.courts.ca.gov or call (661) 610-6649 within the required time frame. (Effective 1/1/24; rev. 7/1/24) Any time an interpreter is requested and appears but is not used regardless of the reason the attorney or party may be held financially responsible and may be required to reimburse the court for the costs of the interpreter. (Effective 1/1/24; rev. 7/1/24) Rule 1.9 Facsimile Filing (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/06; rev. 1/1/11; rev. 7/1/11; rev. 1/1/12; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 1/1/17; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/20) Notwithstanding Electronic Filing requirements in California and Kern County Local Rules of Court, the Superior Court of California, County of Kern, allows the filing of probate and family law documents by facsimile transmission through the use of a fax filing agency only as defined in California Rule of Court, rule 2.301(7). California Rules of Court, rules 2.300 et seq. applicable to fax filings through a fax filing agency apply. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/11; rev. 7/1/11; rev. 1/1/17; rev 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/20) (a) Fax filings delivered and/or received after 5:00 p.m. or on Court Holidays shall be deemed filed on the next court day. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/11; rev. 7/1/11; rev 7/1/18) (b) Fax filings not in compliance with applicable rules will not be accepted for filing by the court. The proper transmission of a document facsimile is the responsibility of the filing party, not the court. The filing agency must pay all applicable fees at the time of filing. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/11; rev. 7/1/11) (c) Fax filing agencies are to utilize drop boxes outside of Court filing hours and are subject to Drop Box requirements in California Rule of Court, rule 2.210. (Effective 7/1/18) Rule 1.10 Electronic Filing and Service (Effective 1/1/12; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 1/1/17; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 1/1/19; rev. 7/1/19; rev. 7/1/20; rev. 1/1/21; rev. 1/1/23; rev. 1/1/24; rev. 1/1/25; rev. 7/1/26) This rule governs permissive and mandatory electronic filing and service of documents in the Superior Court of California, County of Kern. As authorized by Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) section 1010.6(d) and California Rules of Court (CRC), rule 2.253(b)(1), electronic filing (E-File) will be mandatory for all filings by parties represented by counsel in the following case types: Limited and Unlimited Civil, Family Law, Probate, cases affecting parentage (adoptions, surrogacies, abandonments, terminations of parental rights, and emancipations), cases related to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Civil Writ cases, and Unlawful Detainers. Habeas Corpus proceedings are not subject to the mandatory e-filing requirement. Document types not permitted to be filed electronically are set forth in subdivision l. (Effective 1/1/12; rev. 1/1/17; rev. 7/1/19; rev. 7/1/20; rev. 1/1/21; rev. 7/1/26) Except as otherwise specified, this requirement is specific to all attorneys, justice partners, and vendors. Represented parties in Habeas Corpus proceedings, attorneys in proceedings filed under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, attorneys in proceedings filed under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, attorneys representing minors in Family Law or Probate proceedings, and self-represented litigants are not required to E-File but are encouraged to participate. (Effective 1/1/12; rev; 7/1/18; rev 7/1/19; rev. 7/1/20; rev. 1/1/21) Unless this rule provides otherwise, parties filing and serving documents electronically shall comply with all the requirements set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and California Rules of Court, rules 2.252 et seq. (Effective 1/1/12; rev. 1/1/17; rev. 7/1/19) (a) An attorney or party who is required to file and receive documents electronically under this rule may request to be excused from those requirements by showing undue hardship or significant prejudice. An attorney or party requesting to be excused from mandatory electronic filing should serve on all parties and file with the court a Request for Exemption from Mandatory Electronic Filing and Service (Judicial Council Form EFS-007), with Proposed Order (Judicial Council Form EFS-008). Until an order on the Request for Exemption from Mandatory Electronic Filing is issued, an attorney will be allowed to file documents in paper form. (Effective 7/1/19) (b) All parties are encouraged to agree to electronic service. To indicate their willingness to accept electronic service, parties should serve on all parties and file with the court a Consent to Electronic Service and Notice of Electronic Service Address (Judicial Council Form EFS-005- CV). Consent to receive electronic service may be completed only by a party or other person entitled to service or that person’s attorney. This affirmative consent allows all electronically filed documents to be served electronically, except when personal service is required by statute or rule. (Effective 7/1/19) (c) Consent to electronic service may be withdrawn at any time. Parties wishing to withdraw their consent should serve on all parties and file with the court a Withdrawal of Consent to Electronic Service (Judicial Council Form EFS-006). The withdrawal of consent to receive electronic service may be completed only by a party or other person entitled to service or their attorney. (Effective 7/1/19) (d) Electronic documents filed between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. shall be deemed filed on that business day pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6(b)(3). Any document that is filed electronically on a non-court day shall be deemed filed on the next court day. Nothing in this rule shall limit the clerk’s ability to reject deficient filings in accordance with California Rules of Court, rule 2.259. (Effective 1/1/12; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/19) (e) The proper electronic transmission of a document is the responsibility of the filing attorney or party, not the court. Documents must be filed using an Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) located on the court’s website at www.kern.courts.ca.gov. (Effective 1/1/12; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/19) (f) The EFSP must pay all applicable fees at the time of filing and may charge reasonable fees in addition to any filing fees required by the court. Any party who has received a fee waiver from the court is exempt from the fees and costs associated with electronic filing and must designate so in related field(s) upon submission. (Effective 7/1/19) (g) Each represented party, or unrepresented parties who consent to electronic service, must furnish their electronic service address(es) on the first occasion they electronically file any paper. Each party may have two electronic service addresses in each case. The electronic service addresses provided will be deemed proper for service. (Effective 1/1/25; rev. 7/1/26) (h) A party whose electronic service address changes while the action or proceeding is pending must serve on all parties and file with the court a notice of change of electronic address. This notice must be served on all other parties or their attorneys of record and filed with the court within seven (7) days of the change. The party should use the Notice of Change of Electronic Service Address (Judicial Council Form EFS-010). An electronic service address is presumed valid for a party if the party files electronic documents with the court from that electronic address and has not filed and served notice that the electronic address is no longer valid. (Effective 7/1/19; renum. and rev. 1/1/25) (i) All documents electronically filed with the court shall be in a text searchable Portable Document Format (PDF), i.e. containing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, and must adhere to the requirements for general format as required in California Rules of Court, rules 2.256 and 3.1110, including those related to electronic exhibits and bookmarks. (Effective 1/1/12; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/19; renum. 1/1/25) (j) Except as provided in California Rules of Court, rules 2.500 through 2.507, an electronically filed document is a public document at the time it is filed. In order to ensure immediate confidentiality upon electronic filing, the filing parties and filing attorneys shall designate documents that are required to be kept confidential by law as such by selecting “confidential” in the security field on the filing details prompt in the Court’s electronic filing system. The document should also include the word “confidential” in the caption. Filing parties and filing attorneys shall at all times comply with California Rules of Court, rules 2.550-2.551 regarding sealed documents. Nothing herein is intended to contravene California Rules of Court, rules 2.550-2.551 or provisions similar thereto. Further, it is the sole responsibility of the filing parties and filing attorneys to exclude or redact personal data identifiers from all documents, including exhibits, filed with the court, as described in California Rules of Court, rules 1.201 and 2.256. The court will not review documents for compliance. The court may impose sanctions for violation of this rule. (Effective 1/1/19; rev. 7/1/19; rev. 1/1/23; renum. 1/1/25) (k) The Court’s confirmation of filing constitutes verification of filing, as described in California Rules of Court, rule 2.259. (Effective 7/1/18; renum. 1/1/25) (l) Certain documents/filings are not eligible for submission through electronic filing and must be submitted in hard copy format. These documents include: (Effective 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/19; rev. 1/1/21; rev. 1/1/24; renum. 1/1/25; rev. 7/1/26) 1. Any and all documents deemed sealed by California Rules of Court or statute; 2. Any and all documents requested or intended to be sealed by the Court; 3. Subpoenaed documents; 4. Bonds; 5. Undertakings; 6. Civil Bench Warrants; 7. Original Contracts/Instruments; 8. Over-sized Documents/Exhibits; 9. Sister-State Judgments; 10. Affidavits re Real Property of Small Value; 11. Original Wills/Codicils; 12. Any appeal-related documents, including notices of appeal; and 13. Electronic evidence. (m) Foreign Registrations and/or filings requiring notarizations, certification, or apostilles must be electronically filed. However, originals must be lodged at least ten (10) days before any hearing on the matter. (Effective 1/1/21; renum. 1/1/25) (n) Applications for entry of a judgment that include an instrument, contract, or written obligation must be electronically filed and the original instrument must be filed at the Clerk’s office via conventional methods. The original document(s) will then be cancelled and merged if the judgment is entered, in accordance with California Rules of Court, rule 3.1806, after which the document will then be imaged and maintained in the electronic court record. The submitted document(s) will then be returned to the proffering party for safekeeping. Parties must provide a suitable method of return along with the submitted document(s). If no method of return is included, the document(s) will be shredded and recycled. (Effective 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/19; renum. 1/1/21; renum. 1/1/25) (o) For CEQA petition cases the format of the administrative record must comply with California Rules of Court, rules 3.2200 through 3.2208. The party lodging the administrative record must submit two (2) copies of the administrative record, contained on a CD-ROM, DVD, or other electronic format, in a manner that cannot be altered, and one (1) copy of the administrative record in paper format. All copies of the administrative record should be submitted through conventional non-electronic means. The party lodging the administrative record shall file electronically and serve a Notice of Manual Filing for the administrative record. (Effective 7/1/19; renum. 1/1/21; renum. 1/1/25) (p) If a record in an administrative mandamus matter exceeds 100 pages in length, the party lodging the administrative record must submit two (2) copies of the administrative record, contained on a CD-ROM, DVD, or other electronic format, in a manner that cannot be altered. The copies of the administrative record should be submitted through conventional non-electronic means. The party lodging the administrative record shall file electronically and serve a Notice of Manual Filing for the administrative record. (Effective 1/1/21; renum. 1/1/25) (q) Letters filed electronically in the Probate Department must contain a signature of the appointed individual(s) in the affirmation section of the applicable form. The signature may be electronic, as defined in California Rules of Court, rule 2.257. (Effective 1/1/24; renum. 1/1/25) Rule 1.11 Return of Exhibits (Effective 7/1/20) Absent a stipulation of the parties at the conclusion of the trial or hearing to return exhibits, and provided there is compliance with Penal Code sections 1417.2, 1417.3 and 1417.5 or Code of Civil Procedure sections 1952(a) and 1952.2, upon a noticed motion exhibits received in evidence at the trial or a hearing may be returned by the court to the party who offered them. For felony cases the noticed motion must be filed in the Criminal Calendar Department on the 8:30 a.m. calendar. For misdemeanor cases and civil cases, the noticed motion must be filed in the department that handled the underlying case.
Rule 1.8 Photocopying Documents by Non-Court Personnel (Effective 7/1/09; renum. 1/1/13) (a) Any and all persons, designated as non-court personnel, requesting public access to any operational department of the Kern County Superior Court for purposes of photocopying only public documents within case files must be registered and identified accordingly as a Professional Photocopier pursuant to Busin
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Kern build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-kern/docs/general/local-rules-court-effective-7126.pdf (the court's rule book, its cover “LOCAL RULES OF COURT SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF KERN July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-14; 1712899 bytes, sha256 374bf0cba1a66f90bd6bea59ca9523d5149362ef14f0d1edc454e76ac5738a83; 138 pages; this part PDF pages 23 to 28, printed pages 22 to 27) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): the rules (PDF pages 14 to 128) composed as one text and cut at the chapter headings (“Chapter I. General Rules” to “Chapter IX. Court Communication Protocol for Domestic Violence and Child Custody Orders”) and, in Chapters I, III, VI, VII and VIII, at rule or section headings (“Rule 1.8”, “Rule 1.12”, “Rule 3.14”, “Rule 6.10”, “Rule 7.4”, “Section Three – Proceedings”, “Section Six – Attorney Competency Standards”, “Rule 8.10”), each matched once as a whole line; every page's running header (“SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF KERN”, named) and printed page number (“13” to “127”) removed as chrome - 230 chrome lines; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs, each chapter heading, rule heading, Preamble, section heading and lettered or numbered subdivision starting a line; Rules 1.17 and 1.21's ruled tables (PDF pages 32 and 33, 38 and 39) set a row a line, its cells left to right (the composer's table rows); the strike report (review/strike-report-2026-10-14.txt) finds no struck run; 27 whitespace-only fixes (build/book-fixes.json: 7 line breaks the reflow left before a reference or an inline list item at the paragraph's own margin, rejoined; 19 runs of rows the reflow ran together, split - Rule 1.8.1's two fee tables and the court's mailing address, Rule 3.3.1's regional courts and their telephone numbers, Rule 3.6(a)'s scale of fees, and the side heading “Preamble” of Chapters VI and VII; 1 word the page break split at its hyphen, closed up - “20-calendar-day”); the vertical-gap, short-line, page-break, false-break, structural-break and row-join audits (review/book-gap-audit-2026-10-14.txt, review/book-short-lines-2026-10-14.txt and its run after the fixes, review/book-extra-audits-2026-10-14.txt) list candidates read one by one (build/book_fixes.py) - the rest kept as printed; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover (PDF page 1), the table of contents (2 to 13) and the index (129 to 138) belong to no card; Appendix A, a separate document, is decided in the document catalog (held for the table lane, with a review task). Review note: Rule 1.10(n) requires the original instrument filed at the Clerk's office with an application for entry of a judgment; Standing Order 26CSO00003 (carded; effective April 16, 2026) allows a copy filed electronically - the review task is on that card. Standing Order STO-25-0008 (held) ended paper filings by represented parties on October 6, 2025, consistent with this rule.
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.