Electronic Filing (e-Filing)

Electronic filing of court documents occurs through an Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP). The filer must create an account, and the e-Filing system manages the documents and fees to and from the court. The filer will submit the documents to the EFSP for them to submit to the court. The court will then review and accept or reject the documents. The documents are then returned to the EFSP and to the filer through the EFSP’s electronic filing portal.

• Adoption
• Civil
• Family Law
• Probate
• Small Claims

The following is a list of documents that are not permitted for e-Filing:

• Family Law Request for Entry of Default
• Family Law Judgment and Notice of Entry of Judgment
• Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution
• Ex Parte Application filed concurrently with new complaint/petition
• Child Support Case Registry Form
• Peremptory Challenge pursuant to CCP §§170.6 or 170.3
• Original Will/Codicil
• Bonds & Undertaking documents
• Civil Harassment proceedings requesting minor’s information be confidential
• Documents submitted conditionally under seal
• Exhibits to be lodged for hearings or trials
• Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value
• Subpoenaed documents
• Notice of Appeal or appeal-related documents
• Administrative Records
• Request for Statement of Decision, Proposed Statement of Decision, or Objection & Opposition to Statement of Decision
• Lodged Documents (Notice of Lodgment may be electronically filed, however documents to be lodged must be lodged and/or served conventionally in paper form.)
• Copy requests
• Any paper document ordered by the court to be filed in the clerk’s office
• Any JCC form that states it should not be filed with the court
• Any documents for Juvenile, Criminal, and Traffic case types

Documents exempt from e-filing must be submitted in person at the Clerk's office, by drop box, or by mail.

Yes, self-represented parties are eligible and encouraged to use e-filing; however, it is not mandatory.

The Judicial Council has mandated that all Courts accepting electronically filed documents use independent, certified EFSPs.

Documents must be submitted to the court in PDF format; therefore, you should save your document in a PDF format. However, some EFSPs will allow the submission of Word documents that will then be reformatted into a PDF document.

Yes. You may choose any EFSP. You may change to a different service provider at any time. Selecting and using an EFSP is similar to using an “attorney service” for filings, except the types of filings processed are electronic.

Please refer to the State Civil Fee Schedule link on the Forms & Filing page of the court’s website.

The court charges a $15.00 fee to serve the Plaintiff’s Claim by mail, in addition to the filing fee. If you are requesting the clerk to serve the Plaintiff’s Claim on the defendant, you must choose document Plaintiff’s Claim with Certified Mail Service when you submit the document for e-Filing. This will ensure the proper fees are assessed and will be construed as a request for the clerk to mail the Plaintiff’s Claim to the defendant.  

If you cannot identify the document you are filing in the list of document names, you must use the name of the document that most closely describes your filing and includes the correct filing fee, if any. Please check that the filing fee(s) are correct before submitting your document(s). If you are unsure about the document name(s), there is a “comments” field to include any additional explanation for the filing staff. Please note: Using an incorrect document name or name extension can result in either a rejected filing or the incorrect routing of your document.

The first point of contact for any question about submitting filings should be the EFSP. If the question cannot be resolved with the EFSP, or you have questions about a document already submitted, you may contact the civil division at info@inyocourt.ca.gov.

Acceptance of a fee waiver application means that the document was filed in the case. You will receive an order from the Court granting or denying your request for a fee waiver.

3-5 business days.

Endorsed or received documents will be electronically transmitted back to the submitting party by the EFSP.

Ex-Parte Hearings will not be automatically set. Please contact the Court at info@inyocourt.ca.gov or call 760-872-4901 to reserve a court date.

All other motions will be set on the Court’s Law and Motion Calendar.

Any rejected document will include the reason for the rejection, and notice will be sent back through the EFSP. Once corrected, the document may be resubmitted as a new transaction with your EFSP.

Typical reasons for rejection include, but are not limited to:

• Documents are incorrectly submitted as a single or separate PDF, e.g., multiple documents are submitted as a single PDF document when they should be separate entries.
• Incorrect filing document name or case number.
• Incorrect payment type is selected, e.g., fee waiver or government exemption.
• Incorrect case type, case category, or jurisdictional amount selected.
• Information in the data fields is incorrect and/or does not match the document image.

Depending on the filing type, you may file an amended pleading or apply to the Court for relief or other corrective order.

Once the transaction is electronically submitted, it cannot be canceled.

Yes. You can request a refund of court filing fees only. Requests must be submitted via email using the Filing Fee Refund Request form. Once you've completed the form, email it to fiscal@inyocourt.ca.gov. The request will be reviewed by the Court.

Approved refund requests for electronically filed documents will be refunded to the EFSP pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 411.20 and Government Code Section 6159.

Refunds will be processed for the following reasons:

• Fees were inappropriately charged by the Court;
• Fees were inappropriately charged due to Court system errors;
• Fees were inappropriately charged to a party after a fee waiver has been granted;
• Fees were inappropriately charged to an agency that is exempt per GC 6103;
• Fees that are ordered refunded by the judicial officer.

NOTE: Requests for refund of the Electronic Filing Service Provider processing fees must be submitted to the EFSP for processing.

If the refund is being requested for an e-Filed transaction, the refund will be issued to the entity that made the payment for the e-Filed document (typically the EFSP) in order to comply with Government Code §6159.

Denied means the request was not deemed to be a valid reason for a refund and will not be processed. Rejected means that the Filing Fee Refund Request form was not thoroughly completed, was missing information, or the information was incorrect and needs to be returned for completeness or correction.