California Exhibit List Template: Format, Numbering, and Deadlines

A California exhibit list template is a court-provided or self-built form that inventories every piece of evidence you intend to offer at trial, identifying each exhibit by number or letter with a short description, the party offering it, and space for the clerk to record what happens during the proceeding. There is no single statewide version. Each Superior Court — and sometimes each department within a courthouse — publishes its own, and California Rule of Court 3.1110 sets the minimum content every version must include.

Where to Get the Right Template

Start on your assigned court’s website. Some courts publish fillable PDFs; others post Word documents you save and hand to the courtroom clerk on a flash drive. If no template is published for your department, call the clerk’s office and ask what format the judge expects before you build one from scratch.

Whichever template you use, Rule of Court 3.1110 requires the exhibit index to show the exhibit number or letter, the starting page number, and a brief description of each item.¹ Most local templates add columns beyond that minimum, and your judge’s trial management order can impose more.

What Goes in Each Column

A typical template splits columns between the filer and the court. You fill in three or four fields per exhibit:

Exhibit number or letter — the unique identifier for that piece of evidence.
Offered by — plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, or respondent.
Description — a short, specific phrase. “Photograph of intersection taken 3/12/2024” works. “Photo” does not. If someone couldn’t pull the right document out of a stack using only your description, rewrite it.
Page count or Bates range — some templates ask for either the total pages or the Bates numbers covered.

Columns usually labeled “Date Identified,” “Date Admitted,” and “Objection” are for the clerk and judge during trial. Leave those blank when you file.

If you have multiple similar documents, make the description do the distinguishing work. Three entries that all read “Contract” help no one. “Lease Agreement between Smith and Jones dated 6/1/2023” stands on its own.

Numbering and Lettering Conventions

California uses a split system so the two sides don’t collide on labels. The plaintiff or petitioner numbers exhibits sequentially: Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, Exhibit 3. The defendant or respondent uses letters: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.² When a witness refers to Exhibit 7, everyone in the room knows which side put it in.

Joint exhibits — ones both sides agree to admit — follow whatever the judge’s standing order says. Some departments use a “J” prefix (J-1, J-2); others fold joint exhibits into the plaintiff’s numerical sequence. Confirm with the courtroom clerk before you finalize labels. If a defendant runs past 26 exhibits, courts typically shift to double letters (AA, BB) or a prefixed numbering scheme, again at the judge’s direction.

Pre-Marking Versus Marking at Trial

This step trips up filers. In cases governed by a trial management order, which covers most complex civil matters, you pre-mark your exhibits before trial and exchange them by the court’s deadline. The labels on your documents must match your exhibit list exactly.

In simpler cases without a trial management order, the self-help guide from the California courts tells self-represented parties not to mark exhibits before trial, because you don’t yet know which ones the judge will admit. In those cases, exhibits get marked in real time, either by you when the court allows the exhibit in or by the clerk.² Confirm which approach your department follows before trial day.

Formatting Paper Exhibits

Paper exhibits must be separated by hard 8½-by-11-inch divider sheets with plastic or paper tabs that extend below the page, each labeled with the exhibit number or letter.¹ Place labels so they don’t cover any text on the underlying document.

Pages within the exhibit binder must be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals starting at page 1.¹ A long deposition stays one exhibit; don’t split it across numbers. Don’t three-hole punch the exhibits either. Some courts prohibit it because the holes can destroy information near the margin.³

Formatting Electronic Exhibits

For electronic submission, each exhibit must have a bookmark linking to its first page. The bookmark title has to show the exhibit number or letter and a short description — for example, “Exhibit 5 — Email from contractor dated 4/15/2024.”¹ Self-represented parties are exempt from the bookmarking requirement, though adding bookmarks anyway makes the file usable.

Electronic exhibits also have to meet the technical standards in Rule of Court 2.256(b), covering file format, searchability, and size. Your court’s e-filing portal may add its own PDF format or file-size requirements.

Translations and Redactions

Any exhibit written in a language other than English requires a certified English translation prepared by a qualified interpreter under oath.¹ List both the original-language document and the translation on your exhibit list, and build translation time into your schedule.

Before filing anything, redact personal identifiers. Rule of Court 1.201 requires that Social Security numbers and financial account numbers appear only as the last four digits. The clerk will not check your documents for compliance. If the court needs the full numbers, you can request permission to file a confidential reference list on Judicial Council Form MC-120 alongside the redacted version.⁴ An unredacted bank statement in the public file is the kind of mistake that gets expensive fast.

Deadlines and Exchanging Exhibits

Your filing deadline comes from one of two places: the judge’s trial management order or local rules. As a statutory backdrop, California law requires discovery to be completed at least 30 days before the initial trial date.⁵ For the exhibit exchange itself, Rule of Court 3.1551 requires items to be presented in the case in chief to be exchanged at least 20 days before trial, unless the parties agree to a different schedule.⁶ Your judge’s order may set a tighter deadline, so read it carefully.

Exchange means every other party gets a complete copy of your exhibit list with copies of the actual exhibits. Prepare an original for the court, a copy for opposing counsel, and a copy for yourself to use during trial.³ In multiparty cases, each side gets a set. The court’s copy goes in by e-filing through the portal or by physically lodging it with the courtroom clerk, depending on department procedure.

Proof of Service

After delivering the list and exhibits to opposing counsel, file a Proof of Service documenting the delivery. The standard form is Judicial Council POS-040 (Proof of Service — Civil), which covers personal delivery, mail, overnight delivery, messenger service, and fax.⁷

One detail catches self-represented litigants: you cannot serve the documents yourself. A party is not allowed to perform service. Someone else — a friend, a process server, or a legal assistant who is not a party — delivers the documents and fills out the POS-040 attesting to the delivery.⁷ Without a completed proof of service on file, the court can treat the exhibits as if they were never exchanged.

Missing the Deadline or Adding an Exhibit Later

Failing to file a timely, complete exhibit list has real consequences. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 575.2, courts can strike pleadings, enter default judgment, or order the responsible party or attorney to pay the other side’s reasonable expenses and fees, after notice and an opportunity to be heard. The most common sanction in practice is the simplest one: the judge refuses to let you use any exhibit that wasn’t on the list.

Finding new evidence after the deadline isn’t rare, but fixing it requires the court’s permission. File a motion explaining why the exhibit wasn’t included originally, why it matters, and how the other side will have adequate time to review it. Judges weigh these requests on whether admitting the late exhibit would unfairly surprise or prejudice the opposing party. An exhibit that didn’t exist at the deadline, like a medical record from a recent appointment, has a far better chance than one you had all along and forgot to list. The closer trial gets, the harder that argument becomes.

1
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 3.1110 – General Format
2
California Courts. How to Introduce Exhibits at a Trial
3
California Courts. Organize Evidence and Other Materials in a Trial Notebook
4
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 1.201 – Protection of Privacy
5
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2024.020
6
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 3.1551 – Case Presentation
7
Judicial Council of California. Proof of Service – Civil