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Chapter II, Rules 2.1 to 2.8: small claims complaints filed at the Civil Counter, filings accepted Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Clerk providing the "Information for Plaintiff" form (2.1); service by certified mail performed by the Clerk of the Court, or personal service (2.2); a case with no proof of service filed at least three (3) calendar days before the scheduled court date removed from the calendar and dismissed (2.3); a single postponement of no longer than fifteen (15) days on a written request and payment of the fee at least five (5) court days before the scheduled trial (2.4); one extension of not greater than thirty (30) days for in-county claims and sixty (60) days for out-of-county claims for an unserved claim (2.5); documentary evidence with a copy for the judge and a copy for each party (2.6.1); dismissal on the plaintiff's failure to appear (2.6.2); the Notice of Entry of Judgment mailed to all parties by the Clerk (2.7.1); a motion to set aside a default judgment (2.7.2); the methods of enforcement (2.7.3); and the Small Claims Legal Advisor, (661) 610-6000 (2.8).
California > Fifth Appellate District > Kern County > Superior Court of California, County of Kern
Chapter II. Small Claims Rules Rule 2.1 Small Claims Filings (Effective 1/1/08) Small claims complaints are filed at the Civil Counter. Filings are accepted Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Clerk of the Court will provide the “Information for Plaintiff” form with instructions for completion. The Clerk of the Court will file stamp the claim, ascertain the venue and jurisdiction and determine that the plaintiff is not an assignee of the claim. Small Claims cases will be set for trial pursuant to existing statutes. Rule 2.2 Service of Process (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/13) The plaintiff may exercise the option of service which includes service by certified mail or personal service. Service by certified mail is performed by the Clerk of the Court. Service of process may also be provided by registered process servers, the sheriff, or any person over the age of 18 who is not a party to the action (Code of Civil Procedure Part II, Title V, Jurisdiction and Service of Process). For personal service, it is the responsibility of the plaintiff to provide proof of service. The plaintiff shall not personally serve the Claim and Order. Rule 2.3 Failure to Serve Process (Effective 7/1/03) Cases in which there is no proof of service filed with the Clerk of the Court at least three (3) calendar days prior to the scheduled court date shall be removed from the court calendar by the Clerk of the Court and dismissed without prejudice. Rule 2.4 Postponements (Effective 7/1/03) After service, parties may request a single postponement of no longer than fifteen (15) days through a written request and payment of the fee to the Clerk of the Court at least five (5) court days prior to the scheduled trial. The Clerk of the Court will reset the matter and notice the parties. Rule 2.5 Extensions (Effective 7/1/03) If a plaintiff’s claim has not been served, one extension of not greater than thirty (30) days for in-county claims and sixty (60) days for out-of-county claims may be granted by the Clerk of the Court upon the filing of a declaration to show cause. A declaration to show cause shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court three (3) court days prior to the scheduled court date. Additional extensions shall only be granted by the Court in exceptional circumstances. Rule 2.6 Trial Proceedings (Effective 7/1/03) Rule 2.6.1 Exhibits (Effective 7/1/03; renum. 1/1/13) Documentary evidence to be presented in Court should include a copy for the judge and a copy for each party. Rule 2.6.2 Plaintiff Failure to Appear (Effective 7/1/03; renum. 1/1/13) Plaintiff’s failure to appear will result in dismissal of the action. Subsequent failure to appear may result in a dismissal with prejudice. Rule 2.7 Post Trial Proceedings (Effective 7/1/03) Rule 2.7.1 Judgments (Effective 7/1/03) Notice of Entry of Judgment and Information after Judgment forms shall be mailed to all parties by the Clerk of the Court. Rule 2.7.2 Setting Aside Default Judgments (Effective 7/1/03) If a defendant fails to appear for trial and a default judgment is entered, a motion may be made to set aside the judgment. Appropriate legal forms for such motion must be prepared and presented to the court, with fees paid, within thirty (30) days from the date the default judgment is entered. Rule 2.7.3 Enforcement of Judgments (Effective 7/1/03) The methods available for the enforcement of judgment may include: (a) Order for Examination of Judgment Debtor. (b) Writ of Execution. (c) Abstract of Judgment. (d) Reporting unsatisfied judgment pursuant to California Vehicle Code Division 7, Chapter 2. Rule 2.8 Small Claims Legal Advisor (Effective 1/1/08) The services of a Small Claims Legal Advisor is available for persons seeking legal advice. Please call (661) 610-6000 for the hours the Advisor is available.
Chapter II. Small Claims Rules Rule 2.1 Small Claims Filings (Effective 1/1/08) Small claims complaints are filed at the Civil Counter. Filings are accepted Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Clerk of the Court will provide the “Information for Plaintiff” form with instructions for completion. The Clerk of the Court will file stamp the claim, ascertain the venue and jurisdictio
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 41 to 42, printed pages 40 to 41) 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).
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.