California Civil Rights Department Complaint: Filing and Investigation

To file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, start an intake form through the Cal Civil Rights System (CCRS) online portal, complete an intake interview with a CRD representative, and then decide whether to let the department investigate or request an immediate right-to-sue notice so you can take the case to court yourself. Filing is free. For employment discrimination, you have three years from the last harmful act to get your intake form submitted.¹

Know Your Deadline Before Anything Else

Miss the filing deadline and the strength of your evidence stops mattering. The clock runs from the date of the last discriminatory act, not the first.

Employment discrimination and harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): three years from the date you were last harmed.²
Unruh Civil Rights Act and Ralph Civil Rights Act violations (public accommodations and bias-motivated violence): one year from the incident.²
State-funded program discrimination: three years from the incident.²

Two narrow extensions exist. If you only discovered the discriminatory conduct within 90 days after the deadline expired, the deadline stretches by up to 90 days. A minor who was the victim of discrimination gets up to one year after turning 18.² Don’t plan around either one.

If your claim also violates federal employment law, the EEOC deadline is 300 calendar days from the discriminatory act in states like California where a parallel agency has jurisdiction.³ The federal deadline is shorter than the state one, so track both.

One jurisdictional point worth flagging up front. FEHA’s discrimination protections apply to employers with five or more workers, but harassment protections apply to any employer with even one employee. A three-person workplace is still covered for a sexual harassment claim.⁴

Gather This Before You Open the Portal

The stronger your preparation, the smoother intake goes. You can begin the form in CCRS and add material over the following 30 days, but having the basics in front of you saves rework.¹

The respondent’s full legal name and address. For an employer, that’s the company name on your pay stubs or offer letter. For a landlord, check the lease or property management records. Naming the wrong respondent is the most common early mistake. If a supervisor harassed you, the respondent is almost always the employer, not the individual. If a management company runs your building, name the company, not the owner. The California Secretary of State’s business search can confirm legal names.
Your relationship to the respondent at the time: job title, housing status, or the nature of the business interaction.
The protected characteristic involved under FEHA or the other civil rights statutes, such as disability, age, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.⁵
Dates and a factual narrative. When did each incident happen, what was said, what action was taken, who was present. “I was treated unfairly” gives the investigator nothing. “On March 12, my manager moved me to a different shift after I disclosed my pregnancy” gives them something to evaluate. Keep emotional framing out of the intake document; specificity moves cases forward.
Supporting evidence: emails, text messages, performance reviews, lease agreements, witness names, and anything else that corroborates your account.

Submitting the Complaint

Online Through CCRS

The Cal Civil Rights System is a free online portal. You create an account, fill out the intake form, and upload supporting documents.⁶ Submission generates a confirmation number. Save it. CRD then schedules an intake interview to review the facts and decide whether the agency has jurisdiction.

By Mail or Phone

You can print the intake form from the CRD website and mail it to the department’s Sacramento headquarters. Send it certified so you have proof of delivery. Phone filing is available if you need help with the paperwork or have accessibility needs; phone filers get verbal confirmation followed by written correspondence.

The Intake Interview

The interview isn’t a formality. The CRD representative evaluates whether your allegations fall within the agency’s authority. If accepted, CRD drafts a formal complaint for your signature. Once you return it signed, the department serves the complaint on the respondent, which puts them on official notice.¹

Investigation or Immediate Right to Sue

After filing, you have a choice. You can let CRD investigate, or you can request a right-to-sue notice and go straight to court.

To skip the investigation, select the “Right to Sue” option in CCRS or mail a printed right-to-sue form to the Sacramento office.⁷ Once the notice issues, you have one year to file your lawsuit in Superior Court.⁸ This path tends to make sense when you already have an attorney and strong evidence. You give up a free government investigation in exchange for speed and control.

Either way, filing with CRD is a prerequisite. You cannot sue under FEHA without first going through CRD to get the right-to-sue notice. This exhaustion requirement applies even if you intend to litigate from day one.

What Happens If You Let CRD Investigate

Voluntary Mediation

CRD’s Dispute Resolution Division can accept the case for mediation at any point after the complaint is filed and served.⁹ Both sides have to agree to it. Many cases settle here. If mediation fails, the case returns to the investigation track with no penalty for having tried.

Formal Investigation

During a formal investigation, CRD can issue subpoenas under Government Code section 12963.1 that compel witnesses to testify and organizations to turn over records, emails, and personnel files.¹⁰ If a respondent ignores a subpoena, CRD can petition Superior Court to compel compliance.

Resolution

CRD issues findings after investigation. If it concludes discrimination occurred, it may negotiate a resolution. If negotiation fails, the department itself can file a civil action on your behalf in state or federal court. If CRD does not file a civil action within 150 days of the complaint, it notifies you that you can request a right-to-sue notice and pursue the case yourself.⁸ The one-year clock to file your own lawsuit starts from the date on that notice.

You Are Protected From Retaliation

Government Code section 12940(h) makes it unlawful for an employer to fire, demote, or otherwise penalize someone for filing a discrimination complaint, testifying in a proceeding, or assisting an investigation.⁴

Retaliation is a separate violation. If you file a race discrimination complaint and your employer cuts your hours in response, you have two claims. The protection applies even if CRD ultimately finds the underlying discrimination did not occur, as long as you had a good-faith belief when you reported it. Document every change to your schedule, duties, pay, or treatment after you file. Retaliation cases often turn on timing.

Do You Also Need to File With the EEOC?

Not separately. CRD and the EEOC have a worksharing agreement where each agency acts as the other’s agent for receiving charges. Filing with CRD automatically initiates proceedings with the EEOC on the same claim. The agency that first receives the charge usually keeps it for processing. If you are unhappy with CRD’s determination, you can request an EEOC review in writing within 15 days of receiving the decision.¹¹

Mistakes That Stall or Sink Complaints

Waiting until the deadline is close. Gathering records, locating witnesses, and writing a clean narrative all take time. Starting months ahead gives you room to fix problems in the intake form.

Vague allegations. Investigators work from specifics. Dates, direct quotes, names, and documented actions are what move a complaint through intake into investigation.

Naming the wrong respondent. Confirm the legal entity before you file, not after.

Assuming the deadline resets with each new slight. It runs from the last discriminatory act. If that act is already two years and ten months behind you on an employment claim, file now.

1
California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12960 – Filing Complaints
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge
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California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12940 – Unlawful Employment Practices
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California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12926 – Definitions
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California Civil Rights Department. California Civil Rights Department
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California Civil Rights Department. Obtain a Right to Sue
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California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 12965 – Civil Actions
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California Civil Rights Department. Mediation Services
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California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12963.1 – Subpoenas
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U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) and Dual Filing