How to Fill Out Form POS-050: California Proof of Electronic Service

To fill out Form POS-050, California’s Proof of Electronic Service, complete the case caption at the top, check the box confirming you are at least 18, list the exact title of every document you transmitted, record each recipient’s name, the party they represent, their electronic service address, and the date you sent the documents, then add your own address, sign under penalty of perjury, and file the form with the court where the case is pending.¹ The form is available as a free download from the California Courts website and is sometimes labeled EFS-050.

POS-050 is only for documents delivered electronically. If you served papers by first-class mail, use POS-030 instead; if you handed them to someone in person, use POS-010.² Filing the wrong proof of service form can lead the court to treat service as defective.

Confirm Electronic Service Was Allowed Before You Complete the Form

POS-050 documents service that has already happened, so it will not fix a service that was improper to begin with. Two checks matter before you fill anything in.

First, the recipient must be someone you can serve electronically. A party who has an attorney of record and has appeared in the case must accept electronic service of any document that could be served by mail, express mail, overnight delivery, or fax.³ A self-represented party is not required to accept electronic service unless they have affirmatively consented, and a non-party cannot be served electronically unless they consent or a court order or statute allows it.⁴ Before serving a represented party electronically for the first time, confirm the correct electronic service address for the attorney.

Second, the document itself must be one that can be served electronically. Electronic service is available for anything that could otherwise go by mail, express mail, overnight delivery, or fax, but not for documents that must go by certified or registered mail.³ POS-050 is also not the form for initial service of a summons and complaint, which typically requires personal delivery or substituted service and is documented on POS-010.

One point about who can do the serving: unlike service by mail, electronic service can be performed by a party directly, by the party’s attorney, or through an electronic filing service provider.³ If you are a plaintiff or defendant, you can serve electronically yourself and sign the POS-050. The form requires the server to be at least 18.¹

Completing Each Section of POS-050

Header (Caption)

The top of POS-050 mirrors the caption on every other filing in the case. Enter the attorney or party’s name, firm name if applicable, street address, city, state, zip code, phone number, fax number, and email address. Below that, fill in the superior court name, the county, the court’s street and mailing addresses, and the branch name. Then enter the plaintiff or petitioner name, the defendant or respondent name, the case number, department, and judicial officer. Every entry should match the existing case file exactly.

Item 1: Age Declaration

Check the box stating that you are at least 18 years old. If the server is under 18, the proof of service is invalid.

Item 2: Documents Served

List the exact title of every document you served electronically, written as it appears on the document itself. Examples: “Motion for Summary Judgment,” “Declaration of Jane Doe in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment.” Vague entries like “motion papers” are a common source of trouble because the court needs to know precisely which documents the other side received. If you served a large number of documents, check the attachment box and use Form POS-050(D)/EFS-050(D) to list them on a separate page.

Item 3: Service Details for Each Recipient

This section records who received the documents and where. For each recipient, enter:

Name of the person served. When the opposing party has an attorney, this is the attorney’s name; California Rules of Court require that service go to the attorney rather than the represented party.⁵
On behalf of. If you served an attorney, write the name of the party or parties that attorney represents.
Electronic service address. The email or other electronic address where you sent the documents.
Date. The date you actually transmitted the documents.

If you served more than one person, check the attachment box and use Form POS-050(P)/EFS-050(P) to list each recipient’s information on a separate page.

Server’s Address and Signature

Near the bottom of the form, provide your residence or business address and your own electronic service address. Sign and date the form, then type or print your name beneath the signature line. The signature is made under penalty of perjury under California law, so everything on the form must be true and correct when you sign.

The Date You Enter and the Deadlines It Triggers

Enter the actual date of transmission on POS-050. Electronic service is considered complete at the moment you transmit the document or send the notification, without waiting for the recipient to open or download it.³ The court then applies “deemed served” rules from that date:

Transmitted on a court day (any time from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59:59 p.m.): service is deemed complete that court day.³
Transmitted on a noncourt day (weekend, judicial holiday, or court closure): service is deemed complete on the next court day.³

Electronic service adds two court days to whatever response deadline applies, in place of the five calendar days added for mail service within California.³ Court days exclude weekends and judicial holidays, so the actual calendar effect depends on when those two days fall.

Three deadlines do not receive the two-day extension, even when the triggering document was served electronically: a notice of intention to move for a new trial, a notice of intention to vacate a judgment, and a notice of appeal.³ Those run the same way regardless of how service was made.

Filing the Completed Form

After completing and signing POS-050, file it with the clerk of the court where the case is pending. In most California counties you can e-file the proof of service through the same electronic filing service provider you used to serve the documents, and many providers generate the proof of service as part of the electronic service transaction. If you served documents directly rather than through a provider, you can still e-file POS-050 separately or bring the original to the courthouse and file it at the clerk’s window. The court does not charge a separate filing fee for a proof of service filed in an existing case.

Keep a copy of the filed form along with the court’s filing confirmation or conformed stamp. If the opposing party later claims they never received a document, that stamped proof of service is your evidence that you met the notification requirement.

Mistakes That Invalidate the Proof

A few errors show up often enough to plan around:

Using POS-050 for service that was not actually electronic. If you mailed the documents, POS-030 is the correct form; for personal delivery, POS-010.²
Vague document titles in Item 2. Write each title exactly as it appears on the document.
Wrong electronic service address for a represented party. Confirm the attorney’s correct address before the first electronic service; sending to an outdated address can invalidate service.³
Electronically serving a self-represented party who has not consented. Without a filed consent, the court will treat the service as ineffective.⁴
Serving a document that must go by certified or registered mail. Those cannot be served electronically at all.³
Date on the form that does not match the transmission record. If your electronic filing service provider’s records show a different date, expect the court to question the service.

1
Judicial Council of California. Proof of Electronic Service POS-050
2
Judicial Council of California. Proof of Service by First-Class Mail – Civil
3
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1010.6
4
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 2.251 – Electronic Service
5
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 1.21 – Service