If you’ve been summoned, here’s how jury duty works in California: you respond to the summons by the date printed on it, show up at the assigned courthouse on your reporting day, and under the state’s one-day-or-one-trial rule your obligation ends that same day unless you’re picked for a trial. Jurors earn $15 per day starting on the second day of service plus $0.34 per mile, and your employer cannot punish you for going.
How You Got Picked
California counties build their juror pools by merging Department of Motor Vehicles records, voter registration databases, and state tax filings. If you have a California driver’s license or ID, are registered to vote, or file a state return, your name is in the mix. Selection from that combined list is random.
The summons arrives by mail and gives you a reporting date, a courthouse location, and a juror badge number. Use that badge number to complete the mandatory questionnaire either through your county’s online juror portal or by returning the paper form. The questionnaire confirms your eligibility and gives the court the contact information it needs to reach you about scheduling.
Once you complete a term of service, you can’t be summoned again for at least 12 months. The exception: if you were dismissed before your reporting date and never actually appeared, the court can put your name back in the pool sooner.1Judicial Council – California Courts. One Day or One Trial Jury Service
Who Actually Has to Serve
Code of Civil Procedure Section 203 sets the baseline. You need to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18, a resident of the county that summoned you, and proficient enough in English to follow testimony and deliberate with other jurors.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 203
Even if you meet those requirements, several categories are disqualified:
- People under a conservatorship.
- Anyone currently incarcerated in a jail or prison.
- People currently on parole, felony probation, post-release community supervision, or mandated supervision for a felony conviction.
- Registered sex offenders required to register under Penal Code Section 290 based on a felony conviction.
- Anyone already serving on a grand jury or trial jury in any California court.
A past felony conviction alone does not disqualify you. Since Senate Bill 310, the bar applies only while you’re actively under supervision for that conviction. Once supervision ends, you’re eligible again.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 203
Certain law enforcement officers are also automatically excluded. Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 219, peace officers defined in Penal Code Sections 830.1 and 830.2(a), which covers most municipal police, sheriff’s deputies, and California Highway Patrol officers, cannot be selected for voir dire in either civil or criminal cases. Officers falling under Penal Code Section 830.2(b) and (c) are excluded from criminal cases only.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 219
Postponing or Getting Excused
If your reporting date is genuinely inconvenient, you can postpone once for up to 90 days from the original date using your county’s online juror portal or automated phone system. No explanation is required. This is a deferral, not an excuse, so you’ll still serve on the new date.4Superior Court of California | County of San Bernardino. Deferrals / Excusals
If postponing won’t fix the problem, you can request to be excused for undue hardship under California Rule of Court 2.1008. You’ll need to support the request with documentation, and the recognized grounds include:
Travel distance. If reasonable travel to the courthouse takes more than an hour and a half each way, that alone can be a basis to be excused.5Judicial Branch of California. Rule 2.1008 – Excuses from Jury Service
Financial burden. The court looks at your household income, whether your employer pays you during service, how long the trial is expected to last, and whether serving would genuinely threaten your ability to support yourself or your dependents. There’s no set income cutoff; judges weigh the factors case by case.5Judicial Branch of California. Rule 2.1008 – Excuses from Jury Service
Medical conditions. A signed letter from a healthcare provider explaining the condition and why it prevents a full day of service is generally required.
Caregiving. If you’re the primary caregiver for children, elderly family members, or other dependents and can’t arrange alternative care, the court may excuse you. Federal court guidance in California calls for an explanation of the care arrangement, the type of care provided, and the ages of the people you care for.6Central District of California United States District Court. Requesting an Excuse
What Happens at the Courthouse
On your reporting date, you’ll clear courthouse security and check in at the jury assembly room. Staff usually run a short orientation video on the trial process and courtroom etiquette. Then you wait. Prospective jurors are organized into panels and sent to specific courtrooms as judges call for them.
When your panel is sent up, the selection process called voir dire begins. The judge and the attorneys for both sides ask you questions meant to surface anything that might affect your ability to be fair: past experiences with law enforcement, relationships with anyone involved in the case, or strong views on the legal issues at play. You answer under penalty of perjury, so honesty matters even when the questions feel personal.
Attorneys remove prospective jurors in two ways. A challenge for cause means the attorney argues there’s a specific legal reason you can’t be impartial and the judge agrees. A peremptory challenge lets an attorney remove you without giving a reason, though state law caps how many each side gets. In civil cases, each side typically receives six.
If you’re not picked for that trial, you’ll likely go back to the assembly room. You might be sent to another courtroom for a different case, or you might be released for the day.
If you are selected, the judge will give you specific instructions: don’t discuss the case with anyone, don’t research the facts online, and don’t visit any locations tied to the case. California uses 12-person juries for felony criminal trials. Civil cases and misdemeanor trials also default to 12 jurors, though parties can agree to fewer. Criminal verdicts must be unanimous. Once the trial ends, the court provides a certificate of attendance you can give your employer as proof.
The One Day or One Trial Rule
California uses a “one day or one trial” system, which keeps most people’s obligation short. If you show up on your reporting day and aren’t assigned to a courtroom for jury selection by the end of that day, you’re finished. Your service is complete.1Judicial Council – California Courts. One Day or One Trial Jury Service
If you are assigned to a trial, your service continues for the length of that trial, which could be a few days for a routine case or several weeks for a complex one. Either way, once the trial ends or you’re released from the panel, you’re done for the next 12 months.
Pay, Mileage, and Taxes
California juror pay hasn’t changed since July 2000. The state pays $15 per day starting on the second day of service. Your first day is uncompensated. Mileage is $0.34 per mile for the round trip between home and courthouse, and like the daily fee, mileage reimbursement kicks in only after the first day.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 215
Government employees who keep receiving their regular salary during service typically don’t collect the $15 daily fee on top of it. Some courts also let you waive your juror pay or donate it to local victim services programs.
Jury pay is taxable income. Report it on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8h. If your employer pays your full salary during service but requires you to turn over the jury fee, you can deduct the amount you handed over on Schedule 1, line 24a, so you’re not taxed on money you didn’t keep.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025) – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
What Your Employer Can and Can’t Do
Labor Code Section 230 makes it illegal for your employer to fire, demote, threaten, or otherwise punish you for taking time off to serve, as long as you give reasonable notice after receiving the summons. The statute doesn’t define “reasonable notice” with a specific number of days, so the safest move is to tell your employer as soon as the summons arrives.9California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230
California does not require private employers to pay your salary while you serve. Your employer also cannot force you to use vacation, PTO, or sick time to cover the absence. You can choose to use accrued paid time off if you want to maintain your income, but the choice has to be yours.
If your employer retaliates against you for serving, Section 230 entitles you to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost wages, and recovery of work benefits lost because of the retaliation.9California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 230 You can file a retaliation complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which is the Labor Commissioner’s office within the Department of Industrial Relations.10California Department of Industrial Relations. Retaliation/Discrimination
If You Ignore the Summons
Throwing the summons out is a bad idea. Code of Civil Procedure Section 209 sets a graduated fine schedule for people who don’t respond or don’t appear:
- First violation: up to $250
- Second violation: up to $750
- Third and subsequent violations: up to $1,500
Before imposing a fine, the court has to give you notice and a chance to explain. If you still don’t appear for that hearing, the judge can issue a warrant of attachment, a court order compelling you to show up, and set bail.11California Courts. Failure to Appear Toolkit – Increasing Jury Service Participation
In extreme cases, the court can hold you in contempt under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1218, which carries up to five days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000. Courts rarely go this route, and official judicial guidance discourages incarceration as a response to missed jury duty, but it’s legally on the table.11California Courts. Failure to Appear Toolkit – Increasing Jury Service Participation
If you have a conflict, contact the jury commissioner’s office as soon as you know about it. Courts handle scheduling issues constantly and are far more accommodating when you reach out early.
Grand Jury Service Is Different
Everything above covers trial juries, the panels that decide individual civil and criminal cases. California also uses grand juries, and they work differently.
A criminal grand jury reviews evidence presented by a prosecutor and decides whether to issue an indictment in a felony case. Proceedings are closed, and the grand jury doesn’t decide guilt, only whether there’s enough evidence to bring charges.
A civil grand jury investigates the operations of county and city government agencies, inspects local jails, and reviews the conduct of public officials. Civil grand jurors typically serve a one-year term from July 1 through June 30. The commitment often resembles a part-time job, which is why members are usually volunteers who apply through their county’s superior court rather than people summoned at random.