Kern County Local Rules of Court: Filing, Fees, and Accommodations

The Kern County Superior Court’s local rules of court sit on top of the statewide California Rules of Court, and anyone filing a case or appearing before a Kern County judge has to follow both. The local rules cover document format, filing procedures, remote appearances, ex parte notice, interpreter requests, and division-specific requirements for civil, criminal, family, probate, and small claims matters. The current edition took effect January 1, 2026, and is available as a free PDF on the court’s website.¹

Where to Read the Rules and Local Forms

The official rulebook is posted as a PDF on the Kern County Superior Court website, and printed copies are available for public inspection at the clerk’s office.¹ A separate page lists locally required forms organized by case type.² Check the effective date on the cover before you rely on any copy. Revisions tend to land on January 1 and July 1, so a rulebook downloaded in the spring may already be stale by midsummer.

Proposed amendments are published for public comment before adoption.³ Checking the court’s site periodically is the only reliable way to catch a change before it takes effect.

How the Rules Are Organized

The rules are grouped into chapters by subject area, and the procedural requirements shift meaningfully from one to the next. Find the chapter that matches your case type before you file anything.

Chapter I covers general rules: authority, sanctions, remote appearances, attorney notification, and other provisions that apply across case types.⁴
Chapter II covers small claims.⁴
Chapter III covers civil rules and case management, including case management conferences and trial readiness.⁴
Chapter V covers criminal procedure, including arraignments and discovery. At misdemeanor arraignments, defendants are told the Public Defender is available for a free immediate consultation before entering a plea.³
Chapter VIII covers probate, including estate administration, guardianship, and conservatorship.³

Family law has its own chapter with dedicated requirements, including local forms that may need to be completed before hearings on child custody. The table of contents in the PDF lists every chapter and its rules.

Document Formatting Requirements

Formatting follows the statewide California Rules of Court. Under Rule 2.104, filed papers must use a font size no smaller than 12 points, and documents not filed electronically must be printed or typewritten to produce clear, permanent copies.⁵ Standard practice is 8.5-by-11-inch white paper with consecutively numbered pages.

The top of the first page carries the identifying information for the whole filing: your name, address, and telephone number, then the parties, the case number, and a clear title for the document. Kern County local forms often ask for the branch name and the department number handling your case, so confirm your courthouse division before completing the caption. Sign in blue or black ink so the clerk can tell originals from copies. Incomplete filings get returned, and a rejected filing can push you past a deadline.

Filing, Locations, and Fees

Attorneys must e-file for civil, family, and probate cases.⁶ Self-represented litigants can e-file through an approved electronic filing service provider or bring papers to the clerk’s window at the appropriate courthouse. Kern County operates courthouses in Bakersfield, Delano, Ridgecrest, Mojave, Shafter, and Lamont.⁷ Filing at the wrong branch creates delays, so confirm which location handles your case type first.

Filing fees are set by state statute, not the local court. Under Government Code Section 70613, the first filing in a limited civil case (amounts up to $12,500) costs $225, while limited civil cases involving $12,500 to $35,000 cost $370. Unlimited civil complaints (amounts over $35,000) carry a higher fee. If a check bounces, the court adds a $50 returned-check fee and gives you 22 days to pay the balance in cash or by cashier’s check.⁸ After filing, the clerk stamps and returns a conformed copy as proof.

Fee Waivers

If you cannot afford the fees, request a waiver using Judicial Council Form FW-001 (Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs), available at the clerk’s office or through the California Courts website.⁹ You qualify automatically if your gross monthly income falls below the threshold for your household size: $2,660 for a single person, $5,500 for a family of four, with $946.67 added for each person beyond six.

Submit the completed form to the clerk. If the judge approves, your court fees are waived entirely. Applicants slightly above the automatic threshold can still be approved based on overall financial circumstances, so it is worth applying if fees would be a real hardship.

Remote Appearances

Kern County Local Rule 1.1.1 governs remote appearances. Audio and video appearances are allowed through CourtCall, and video appearances are allowed through Zoom. CourtCall arrangements must be confirmed no later than 3:00 p.m. the day before the hearing, regardless of any other time provision in the California Rules of Court.¹⁰

Any local rule that authorizes a telephonic appearance also permits a video appearance under California Rules of Court Rule 3.672.¹⁰ Remote appearances work for status conferences and routine motions; evidentiary hearings and trials generally require in-person attendance. Check with the assigned department if you are unsure.

Ex Parte Applications and Notice

An ex parte application still requires notice to the other side. Under California Rules of Court Rule 3.1204, your application must include a declaration stating the date, time, method, and name of the person contacted, the relief sought, and whether the other side plans to oppose.¹¹

If you could not reach the opposing party, the declaration must spell out exactly what you tried. If you believe notice should not be required at all, explain why. If you gave notice later than 10:00 a.m. on the court day before the hearing, you need a separate explanation of the exceptional circumstances.¹¹ A vague statement that you “tried to call” will not satisfy the rule.

Interpreters

Kern County provides free court interpreters in criminal, traffic, juvenile, child support, mental health, and domestic violence cases, and in all family law, elder abuse, civil harassment, unlawful detainer, termination of parental rights, conservatorship, guardianship, and small claims cases.¹²

File the Interpreter Request Form at the clerk’s office. Requests for a Spanish-language interpreter require at least two business days’ notice; all other languages require at least five business days’ notice before the hearing.¹² Miss the window and your hearing may be continued. File as early as possible.

Disability Accommodations

The court provides reasonable accommodations under Title II of the ADA. Use Judicial Council Form MC-410 (Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities and Order), available at the clerk’s office, the ADA Coordinator’s office at each courthouse, or by mail. Submit the completed form to the clerk or the ADA Coordinator at the courthouse hearing your case. For questions, contact Human Resources at (661) 610-6000.¹³ Jurors seeking accommodations submit the form to the Jury Services Department instead.

Self-Help Center

The Self-Help Center at 1215 Truxtun Avenue in Bakersfield is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon.¹⁴ Staff can help with petitions for guardianship, dissolution, parentage, custody and visitation, child support requests, default dissolutions, and small claims filings.

The center does not give legal advice and cannot act as your attorney. Staff may also help the opposing party in your case, and communications with center personnel are not confidential or privileged. For procedural questions about civil harassment, traffic motions, expungements, or how to start or answer a civil case, the Kern County Law Library provides additional help and free limited-term access to legal research tools like Westlaw.¹⁴ A separate Landlord/Tenant Assistance Center handles unlawful detainer and eviction questions.

What Happens If You Ignore a Local Rule

The local rules are adopted under Government Code Section 68070,¹⁵ Code of Civil Procedure Section 575.1, and California Rules of Court Rule 10.613. Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 575.2, failure to comply with a local rule can bring sanctions, which include fines, stricken filings, or other penalties in the judge’s discretion.⁴ Judges in Kern County run busy calendars, and the fastest way to lose ground in a case is to file something that gets rejected or to show up unprepared.

When the Local Rules No Longer Apply

One boundary worth knowing. A case filed in Kern County Superior Court can sometimes be removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, typically when the case involves a federal question or when the parties are citizens of different states and more than $75,000 is in dispute.¹⁶ Once a case is removed, the Kern County local rules no longer apply and federal procedural rules take over.

1
Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Local Rules of Court
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Superior Court of California. County of Kern Local Court Forms
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Proposed Adoption and/or Amendments to Local Rules of Court
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Local Rules of Court – Effective January 1, 2026
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Judicial Branch of California. Rule 2.104 – Font Size; Printing
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Forms and Filing
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Locations and Contact Info
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Court Filing Fee and Fee Schedules
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Fee Waivers
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Superior Court of California, County of Kern Local Rules of Court
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Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1204 – Contents of Notice and Declaration Regarding Notice
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Interpreter Services
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. ADA Information
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Superior Court of California, County of Kern. Self-Help Center
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California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68070 – General Provisions
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs