To file Form FL-120 in California, complete the response form (plus any required attachments), sign it under penalty of perjury, and take it to the Superior Court clerk’s office in the county where your spouse filed the petition — with the filing fee or a fee waiver request — within 30 days of being served. Then have a third party serve a stamped copy on your spouse and file the proof of service with the court. Miss that 30-day window and your spouse can ask for a default, which lets the judge decide property, support, and custody without your input.
The 30-Day Deadline Drives Everything
California’s Code of Civil Procedure gives you 30 days from the date you’re served with the summons and petition to file a written response.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 412.20 The clock starts the day someone hands you the papers or you formally accept service. Substituted service (papers left with someone at your home or workplace, then mailed) can add time, but don’t assume that without confirming with the court.
If the 30 days pass and your spouse hasn’t yet requested a default, you can still file. The Judicial Branch’s self-help guide confirms that a late response is accepted as long as no default has been entered.2Judicial Branch of California. Learn Your Options Every day past 30 is a day your spouse could cut off that option, so treat the deadline as firm.
One thing to know before you start filling anything out: the moment you were served, a set of automatic temporary restraining orders printed on the back of the summons began binding both you and your spouse. They restrict moving children out of state, transferring or hiding property, and changing insurance policies or beneficiary designations while the case is open. Violations can be punished as contempt or, in the case of removing a child from California, as a form of child abduction.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 233
Filling Out the FL-120
Residency and Case Information
The top of the form asks you to confirm California’s jurisdiction. At least one spouse must have lived in California for the past six months and in the filing county for the past three months.4Judicial Branch of California. Divorce in California Enter the case number exactly as it appears on the petition, both spouses’ names, and check whether the case involves a marriage or a domestic partnership.
You’ll list the date of marriage and the date of separation. If you agree with what your spouse put in the petition, confirm those dates. If you don’t, enter the dates you believe are correct. The date of separation matters because it draws the line between community property, which gets divided, and separate property, which doesn’t.5Judicial Branch of California. Property and Debts in a Divorce
Checking the Right Boxes
The core of the FL-120 is a series of checkboxes where you tell the court what you want. Don’t skip a box because you’re unsure or trying to appear reasonable. Failing to request something now can cost you the chance to raise it later. The main categories:
- Child custody and visitation. Check this if you want any say in custody. If you have minor children, you must also complete and attach Form FL-105, the Declaration Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.6California Courts. FL-105 Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act UCCJEA
- Child support, calculated under California’s guideline formula.
- Spousal support. You can request it, ask the court to reserve the issue, or ask the court to deny support to either party.
- Division of community and quasi-community property and debts.
- Confirmation of separate property that belongs only to you.
Sign the form under penalty of perjury. Everything on the FL-120 is a sworn declaration.
Filing at the Clerk’s Office
Take the signed FL-120 and any attachments to the Superior Court clerk’s office in the county where the petition was filed. Bring the original plus at least two copies. The clerk stamps all of them, keeps the original for the court file, and returns the stamped copies to you. You’ll need one to serve on your spouse and one for your own records.
The filing fee is $435 in most California counties, and $450 in Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco because of local courthouse construction surcharges.7California Courts. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule If you can’t afford it, submit a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) with your response. If the waiver is granted, the response is processed at no cost.8Judicial Branch of California. File Your Response to Divorce Papers
Some counties accept or require electronic filing for family law cases. Check your county’s Superior Court website before heading to the courthouse. E-filing generally means uploading documents through an approved vendor’s portal and paying online.
Why Clerks Reject Filings
A clerk can refuse your paperwork, and a rejection doesn’t pause your 30-day deadline. The usual reasons: an unsigned form, a missing or wrong case number, no FL-105 when children are involved, an outdated version of the form, or no fee and no fee waiver request. Before you leave for the courthouse, verify every signature line is signed, the case number matches the petition, and each form is the current version posted on the California Courts website.
Serving the Response on Your Spouse
Filing handles the court’s copy. You also have to get a stamped copy to your spouse, and you cannot do that yourself. California requires service by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case.9Judicial Branch of California. Serving Court Papers A friend, relative, coworker, or professional process server all qualify.
Unlike the original petition, which typically requires personal hand-delivery, the response can go by regular first-class mail. After the server mails or hands over the papers, they complete a proof of service (Form FL-335 for service by mail) showing who was served, when, and how. File that proof of service with the court. Without it, the court has no record that your spouse was notified.
Financial Disclosures Come Next
Filing the FL-120 starts the clock on a mandatory exchange of financial information. You must serve your Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (Form FL-140) on your spouse either at the same time you serve your response or within 60 days of filing it.10California Courts. FL-140 Declaration of Disclosure The deadline can be extended by written agreement or court order, but don’t assume your spouse will agree.
The preliminary disclosure package includes an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) covering earnings, expenses, and obligations, and a Schedule of Assets and Debts (Form FL-142) listing what you own and owe. You’ll also provide supporting documents such as recent pay stubs and tax returns.11Judicial Branch of California. Share Your Financial Information Serve these on your spouse only; they are not filed with the court.
Skipping disclosure or shading the numbers is one of the worst mistakes you can make. The court can order monetary sanctions, award attorney’s fees to your spouse, and draw adverse inferences about your finances. If a judgment is entered without proper disclosure, the court is required to set it aside; the statute says failure to disclose is not harmless error.12California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 2107 Hiding assets or deliberately misrepresenting them can lead to perjury charges.
One More Timing Note
Even after your response is filed and everything is settled, California will not terminate the marriage until at least six months have passed from the date you were served or the date you first appeared in the case (such as by filing the FL-120), whichever came first.13California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339 Filing on time doesn’t shorten that waiting period, but it does preserve your voice in every decision the court makes before the six months are up.
If You Miss the 30 Days
If you don’t file in time, your spouse can ask the court to enter a default. The judge can then end the marriage, divide property, set custody, and order support based only on what your spouse requested in the petition.2Judicial Branch of California. Learn Your Options You get no say.
A default isn’t necessarily permanent, but reversing one gets harder the longer you wait. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 473, you can move to set aside a default or default judgment caused by your mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The motion must be filed within a reasonable time, and no later than six months after the default or judgment was entered, with a copy of the response you want to file attached.14California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 473 Courts respond better when you move quickly and have a real reason. Not wanting to deal with it doesn’t count.
If a default judgment rests on fraud, perjury in the financial disclosures, or a complete failure to comply with disclosure, the court can set it aside outside the six-month window.12California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 2107 Those are narrow escape hatches. Filing the FL-120 inside the 30 days is the reliable path.