A notice of motion in California must be in writing, must state when and where the motion will be heard, the grounds for it, and the papers it relies on, and it must be filed and served on every other party at least 16 court days before the hearing under Code of Civil Procedure section 1005(b). Some motions carry longer notice periods, and the 16-day floor stretches further when you serve by mail, overnight delivery, fax, or electronic means. Miss the deadline by a day and the court can drop the motion from calendar.
What the Notice Has To Say
Code of Civil Procedure section 1010 sets the content requirements. The notice must be written, and it must identify the hearing date, time, and department, the specific relief you want, the grounds for the request, and the papers on which the motion is based.1Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 1010-1020 The grounds are your legal authority. A motion for summary judgment cites Code of Civil Procedure section 437c. A motion to compel further responses to a request for production cites section 2031.310. Without the correct statute, a court may disregard the motion.
California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1112 lists the minimum papers a motion needs:2Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1112 – Motions and Other Pleadings
- The notice of hearing.
- The motion itself, identifying the moving party, the party it is directed to, the basis for the request, and the relief sought.
- A memorandum of points and authorities with the legal argument, statutes, and case law.
Declarations and exhibits go alongside these when the motion depends on evidence. Certain motion types require additional filings, noted below.
The 16-Court-Day Rule
Section 1005(b) is the master clock for most motions. Moving papers must be filed and served at least 16 court days before the hearing. Opposition is due at least nine court days before, and any reply at least five court days before.3Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 1003-1008 Court days are business days when the court is open, so weekends and judicial holidays drop out. Count backward from the hearing date, and do not count the hearing day itself.
A court can shorten these periods by order for good cause, but that takes a specific request. Absent a shortening order, filing one day late gives the opposing party a clean basis to have the hearing taken off calendar.
How Service Method Changes the Deadline
Every other party has to get a copy. How you deliver those papers determines how much cushion has to be added on top of the 16 court days.
Personal Service
Hand delivery to the party or their attorney adds no extra time. It is the cleanest method because delivery is immediate and verifiable, and the person serving signs a proof of service describing what was delivered, to whom, and when.
Under section 1005(b), serving by mail extends the notice period by five calendar days when the mailing address and the recipient are both in California, ten calendar days when either is elsewhere in the United States, and twenty calendar days when either is outside the country.3Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 1003-1008 A trap worth knowing: section 1005(b) expressly says the general mail extension in section 1013 does not apply to motion papers. The extensions built into 1005(b) are the ones that govern, so calculating from 1013 leads to the wrong date.
Electronic Service
Electronic service works when the receiving party has consented or when local rules require it.4California Legislative Information. California Code CCP Section 1010.6 Electronic service adds two court days to the notice period.
Overnight Delivery and Fax
Express mail, overnight delivery, and fax add two calendar days under section 1005(b).3Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 1003-1008 Watch the difference: overnight is two calendar days, electronic is two court days. They are not interchangeable.
Whatever the method, a proof of service has to be filed with the court. Without it the court has no way to confirm the other side got notice, and the motion can be continued or dropped.
Motions With Their Own Longer Clocks
Some motions have statutory notice periods that override the 16-day baseline. A motion for summary judgment requires at least 81 days’ notice before the hearing, with additional time added for service by mail, overnight, or electronic means.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP Section 437c Once service extensions are added, the practical clock can run past 100 days. Reserve the hearing date accordingly.
Supporting Papers That Travel With the Notice
The memorandum of points and authorities is where the argument lives. Rule 3.1113 caps most opening and opposing memoranda at 15 pages, summary judgment memoranda at 20 pages, and reply memoranda at 10 pages, excluding the caption, exhibits, declarations, proof of service, and tables of contents and authorities.6Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1113 – Memorandum Any memorandum over 10 pages needs both a table of contents and a table of authorities.
Separate Statements
Summary judgment motions require a separate statement of undisputed material facts under Rule 3.1350, in a two-column format with each fact numbered and tied to supporting evidence by exhibit, page, and line.7Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1350 – Motion for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication The opposition responds in the same format, marking each fact disputed or undisputed with citations to contrary evidence. Discovery motions such as motions to compel further responses need their own separate statement under Rule 3.1345, identifying each disputed request and the reasons the response was inadequate.8Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1345 – Format of Separate Statement
Declarations and Exhibits
Declarations are the sworn factual foundation for the motion, signed under penalty of perjury. Exhibits referenced in a declaration or the memorandum should be tabbed and labeled. Evidence that is not properly authenticated through a declaration is often disregarded.
Filing Fees and Whether You Can File on Paper
The standard motion filing fee in California superior court is $60 under Government Code section 70617(a).9Judicial Branch of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 If the motion is your first paper in the case, the first-appearance fee applies instead. Fee waivers are available for qualifying litigants.
California does not require e-filing statewide. Individual courts can mandate it under California Rules of Court, Rule 2.253, and many large counties, including Los Angeles, have done so for unlimited civil cases.10Judicial Branch of California. Rule 2.253 – Permissive Electronic Filing, Mandatory Electronic Filing, and Electronic Filing by Court Order Where e-filing is required, an approved electronic filing service provider handles the submission and typically charges a per-transaction fee on top of the court fee. Check the local rules for your specific court before assuming you can walk in with paper.
What Goes Wrong When Notice Is Defective
The routine consequence of bad notice is losing the hearing date. Short notice, incomplete papers, or missing proof of service leads the court to take the motion off calendar, forcing you to refile and re-serve. In time-sensitive disputes, that delay alone can be the whole ballgame.
Repeated failures can trigger sanctions. Code of Civil Procedure section 128.7 authorizes monetary penalties for papers filed without legal or factual basis, subject to a 21-day safe harbor: the moving party must serve the sanctions motion and wait 21 days before filing, giving the other side a chance to withdraw the offending paper.11California Legislative Information. California Code CCP Section 128.7 Sanctions can include attorney’s fees, penalties paid to the court, or nonmonetary directives.
Discovery motions carry their own fee-shifting risk. An improperly noticed motion to compel further responses to a request for production can be denied outright with attorney’s fees awarded to the opposing party under section 2031.310.12California Legislative Information. California Code CCP Section 2031.310 A sustained pattern of procedural noncompliance can, in rare cases, lead to terminating sanctions.
When 16 Days Is Too Long
When waiting the full notice period would cause serious, unrecoverable damage, an ex parte application is the emergency track. It is not a shortcut around the regular rules. Rule 3.1203 requires you to notify all other parties of the ex parte no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before you appear, with shorter notice permitted only for exceptional circumstances.13Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1203 – Time of Notice to Other Parties The papers must include declarations showing the factual basis for the emergency and explaining why regular notice will not do.
A temporary restraining order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527 can be issued without notice only when affidavits show great or irreparable injury will occur before a hearing can be held on regular notice, and the applicant certifies under oath that reasonable efforts were made to inform the other side.14Justia Law. California Code of Civil Procedure 525-534 After a TRO issues, the court must set a preliminary injunction hearing within 15 days, or 22 days for good cause.