Alameda County Jury Duty: Summons, Excuses, and Pay

If you’ve been summoned for Alameda County jury duty, respond through the court’s JPORTAL website within about a week of receiving the notice, then check for reporting instructions after 5:00 p.m. the Friday before your service week. Alameda County uses a standby system across five courthouses, so a summons doesn’t automatically mean you walk into a courtroom. California law does require you to serve when called, and ignoring a summons can lead to fines of up to $1,500.¹

Who Has to Serve

You qualify for jury service if you are a United States citizen, at least 18 years old, a resident of Alameda County, and able to understand English well enough to follow testimony, deliberate, and complete a verdict form.²

You are disqualified if you have a felony conviction and are currently on parole, postrelease community supervision, felony probation, or mandated supervision, or if a felony conviction requires you to register as a sex offender under Penal Code Section 290.² A completed felony sentence with no active supervision does not disqualify you.

Responding to Your Summons

Your summons arrives by mail with a Badge Number and Group Number. Keep both. They identify you throughout your service period and determine which day your group may need to report. About one week before your service date, register on JPORTAL and complete the online juror questionnaire.³ The same portal lets you sign up for text or email notifications, update your contact information, or request an excuse or deferral.

If you can’t fill out the questionnaire online, mail back the paper version. Answer accurately. The court uses your responses to determine eligibility and readiness for selection.

Postponing or Getting Excused

You can request a one-time postponement through JPORTAL, which reschedules your service to a different week, three to six months out.³ You only get one, so choose a week that will actually work.

Excuses are harder. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1008 allows the court to excuse jurors for “undue hardship,” which generally covers three situations:⁴

A commute to the courthouse that would exceed roughly 90 minutes each way.
Extreme financial burden, weighed against your household income and the expected length of the trial.
Sole caregiving responsibility for a dependent who cannot be left alone, with no reasonable alternative arrangements.

Medical excuses require a signed physician’s statement explaining how your condition prevents you from participating and whether the limitation is temporary or permanent. If you are breastfeeding, you can defer service for up to a year without appearing in court, and you can renew that deferral as long as you continue breastfeeding.⁵ Submit any excuse or deferral request at least a week before your service date.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to participate, contact the court’s ADA coordinator as soon as you receive your summons at ADA_Request@alameda.courts.ca.gov or (510) 891-6211. That’s an accommodation request, not an excuse request.³

How Reporting Works

After 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before your summons week, check for reporting instructions through JPORTAL, through text or email notifications if you signed up for them, or through the Interactive Voice Response line at (510) 879-3079.³ Check again every evening during your summons week. If your group number is not called, you stay home that day.

When you are told to report, plan on being at the courthouse from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Your summons tells you which of the five jury service locations to go to:⁶

René C. Davidson Courthouse (Oakland)
Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse (Oakland)
Hayward Hall of Justice
Fremont Hall of Justice
East County Hall of Justice (Dublin)

Arrive early enough to clear security screening, which includes a metal detector and X-ray of your bags. Bringing any kind of weapon into a courthouse is a felony, and that includes pocket knives and pepper spray.

What to Wear and Bring

Dress as you would for a business meeting. Shorts, tank tops, and bare feet are not allowed in the courtroom.³ Bring something to read or work on. There are long stretches of waiting in the assembly room. A phone charger helps. Leave anything that could be mistaken for a weapon at home.

What Happens If You Skip Jury Duty

Under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 209, consequences escalate. Ignore your first summons and the court can issue a second one at least 90 days later, noting the earlier failure to appear.¹ Ignore that one, and a formal failure-to-appear notice follows. Keep ignoring it and the court issues an order to show cause, which is a mandatory hearing before a judge.

The fines climb with each violation:

First violation: up to $250
Second violation: up to $750
Third or subsequent violation: up to $1,500

The court can also find you in contempt, which carries the possibility of incarceration.¹ Paying a fine does not close out your obligation; you will be summoned again. If you genuinely cannot serve, request a postponement or excuse through JPORTAL rather than letting the deadline pass.

Pay and Job Protections

California pays jurors $15 per day starting on the second day of service, plus $0.34 per one-way mile to the courthouse.⁷ The first day is uncompensated. Some public employers voluntarily pay full salary during service; no California law requires private employers to do so.

Under California Labor Code Section 230, your employer cannot fire you or retaliate against you for taking time off to serve, as long as you give reasonable advance notice.⁸ The court will give you a certificate at the end of service showing the dates you attended. Provide a copy to your employer for their records.

Jury pay is taxable income and gets reported on your federal return. If your employer paid your regular salary and required you to hand over the jury stipend, that repayment is deductible as an adjustment to income.⁹

1
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 209
2
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 203
3
Superior Court of California. Superior Court of California County of Alameda – Jury Service
4
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 2026 – Rule 2.1008 Excuses From Jury Service
5
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 2.1006 Deferral of Jury Service
6
Superior Court of California. Superior Court of California County of Alameda – Jury Duty Reporting
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 215
8
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 230
9
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income