The California Penal Code 977 waiver of presence form lets your attorney appear for you at court dates you’re allowed to skip. To use it, you fill in your name, case number, and department number exactly as they appear on your charging document, sign and date it, have your attorney sign it, and file it with the court clerk before the hearing you plan to miss. There is no single statewide version — each county Superior Court publishes its own template using language the statute requires them to follow substantially.
What Goes on the Form
The form is short, usually a single page. You’ll need to provide:
- Your full legal name, spelled exactly as it appears on the complaint or information
- The case number assigned by the court
- The department or courtroom number where your case is being heard
- Your signature and the date
- Your attorney’s signature, confirming they accept responsibility to appear for you
Check the case number carefully before you file. A transposed digit routes the waiver to the wrong file, and if the judge calls your case with nothing on record, you have no protection against a bench warrant.
What You’re Agreeing To When You Sign
The statute prescribes specific language every county form must substantially follow, so the wording is consistent across templates. When you sign, you’re declaring that you’ve been told about your right to be present at all proceedings, to hear the evidence and arguments, and to confront witnesses, and that you’re voluntarily giving up that right for the hearings the waiver covers.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Presence of Defendant
Two clauses in the form catch people off guard, so read them before you sign:
- Anything your attorney does while you’re absent binds you exactly as if you’d been sitting in the courtroom.
- If the court tells your attorney you need to appear on a future date, that legally counts as telling you. “My lawyer didn’t pass the message along” won’t excuse a missed appearance.
Both clauses are baked into the statutory language, so you can’t strike them and still have a valid waiver.
Where to Get Your County’s Form
Because there is no Judicial Council form for this, you have to pull the version your county Superior Court publishes. Orange County and Stanislaus County, for example, post fillable PDFs on their court websites.2Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Waiver of Defendant’s Physical or Remote Presence Pursuant to Penal Code 977(b) For other counties, go to that Superior Court’s website and search for “977 waiver” or “waiver of presence.” If your attorney is handling filing, they’ll usually have the right local template on hand.
Filing It With the Court
You have two paths for getting the signed waiver on record. The written form can be filed with the court clerk, either by hand-delivering it to the clerk’s office or, in counties that support it, through electronic filing. Or, if you’re already in court with your attorney, the waiver can be entered orally on the record: your lawyer states that you’ve been advised of your rights and agree to waive your presence, and the court notes it.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Presence of Defendant
File it before the court date you plan to miss. Most attorneys file well ahead and call the clerk to confirm it’s in the file. If the clerk hasn’t processed the waiver by the time the judge calls your case, you’re exposed to a bench warrant for failure to appear.
The waiver has no built-in expiration. Once filed, it covers future hearings you’re permitted to miss for the rest of the case. The judge can still order you to appear personally at any particular hearing, and that order overrides the waiver.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Of the Arraignment of the Defendant
Which Hearings the Waiver Actually Covers
This matters before you sign, because a waiver on file doesn’t excuse you from every court date. What it covers depends on whether your case is a misdemeanor or a felony.
Misdemeanors
If you’re charged with a misdemeanor only, your attorney can handle almost every court date on your behalf, from arraignment through motions and status hearings.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Of the Arraignment of the Defendant Jury and court trials are the main exception; you need to be there for those.
Two categories carry stricter attendance rules. If your misdemeanor involves domestic violence (as defined by Family Code 6211) or a violation of a protective order under Penal Code 273.6, you must appear in person for arraignment and sentencing, and the judge can order you in at any point to hear protective order conditions. For misdemeanor DUI charges — Vehicle Code 23152, Vehicle Code 23153, and wet reckless under Vehicle Code 23103.5 — the court can order you to appear for arraignment, plea, or sentencing.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Of the Arraignment of the Defendant
Felonies
Felony cases have five hearings where you must be physically present, no exceptions:
- Arraignment
- Entry of plea
- Preliminary hearing
- Trial testimony (any portion where evidence is presented to the judge or jury)
- Sentencing
Missing any of those without a valid reason can produce a bench warrant regardless of what waiver is on file.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Of the Arraignment of the Defendant For everything else — status conferences, discovery motions, trial-setting hearings, motions in limine — you can waive your presence with the court’s permission and your attorney’s approval. That’s where the PC 977 form does its work.
You Need an Attorney for the Form to Function
The waiver is built around the premise that your lawyer stands in for you. For felonies, the statute expressly requires “approval by defendant’s counsel” before the court will accept the waiver.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Of the Arraignment of the Defendant For misdemeanors, the mechanism is appearing “by counsel only,” so the whole thing depends on having an attorney who can answer the judge, accept new court dates, and respond to whatever comes up.
If you’re representing yourself, the waiver has no practical effect — there’s no one for the court to address in your place. And if your attorney fails to show up on a date the waiver covers, the court can revoke it, at which point you’re expected to appear personally going forward.
Withdrawing the Waiver
You can change your mind. The statute says a defendant “may withdraw the waiver at any time.”1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 – Presence of Defendant There’s no prescribed motion or form; your attorney notifies the court and you show up on the next hearing date. Telling your lawyer you want to be present going forward is the practical first step. The right to withdraw is unconditional, so if a plea offer surfaces or you want the judge to see you in person, use it.