San Mateo Local Rules: Filing, Tentative Rulings & Ex Parte

The San Mateo Superior Court local rules supplement the statewide California Rules of Court with procedures that apply only in this county, covering document formatting, filing locations, tentative rulings, ex parte schedules, and remote appearances. The rules are revised every January 1 and July 1, so a procedure you followed six months ago may have changed. The current version took effect January 1, 2026, and you should confirm you are working from it before filing anything or appearing in court.

Where to Read the Current Rules

The court publishes the full local rules as a single downloadable PDF on its website, and that document is the authoritative version.¹ Local forms referenced in the rules sit on a separate page.²

The county law library and the clerk’s office keep printed copies, but the twice-yearly revision cycle means paper can go stale fast. Check the website close to your filing or hearing date.

How the Rules Are Organized

San Mateo’s rules are broken into numbered divisions by subject matter, and the numbering has gaps, so don’t assume the sequence is continuous. Identifying the right division is your first step, because divisions have different filing requirements, hearing schedules, and even different courthouses.³

Division I: appeals to the appellate department.
Division III: civil law and motion practice.
Division IV: probate, including estates, trusts, conservatorships, and guardianships.
Division V: family law and Family Court Services.
Division VI: juvenile court.
Division IX: criminal department procedures.
Division XI: additional civil rules.

A custody dispute belongs under Division V, not Division III. Filing under the wrong division sends your paperwork to the wrong desk.

Formatting That Keeps a Filing From Being Rejected

The statewide California Rules of Court set the baseline that applies in San Mateo. The font must be at least 12 points (10 points for footnotes), in a roman style (serif or sans serif), printed in black or blue ink. Margins are at least one inch on all sides. Line spacing must be at least 1.5 lines or double-spaced, though footnotes, quotations, captions, and signature blocks can be single-spaced.⁴

Every line on every page must be consecutively numbered down the left margin, restarting at 1 on each new page. Pages must be numbered consecutively at the bottom, starting with page 1.⁴ The clerk’s office rejects filings that miss these requirements, and a rejection delays your case.

Many proceedings also require San Mateo-specific local forms alongside the statewide Judicial Council forms. Fill in the attorney or self-represented party contact block completely, since the court uses that information for notices.

Where and How to File

San Mateo County operates four courthouse locations, and where you file depends on your case type:

Central Branch: 800 North Humboldt Street, San Mateo.
Southern Branch (Hall of Justice and Records): 400 County Center, Redwood City.
Northern Branch: 1050 Mission Road, South San Francisco.
Juvenile Branch: 222 Paul Scannell Drive, San Mateo.

⁵

Electronic Filing

Electronic filing is mandatory for represented parties in family law and probate cases.⁶ Self-represented litigants are exempt under California law and may file on paper, though e-filing is available to them.⁷

To e-file, create an account with an approved electronic filing service provider through the Odyssey eFileCA system. The provider is the intermediary between you and the court, and filing fees are paid through the platform.⁸ Accepted submissions come back file-stamped; rejected ones come back with a notice explaining what to fix.

Electronic Service

Filing is separate from serving other parties. A party consents to electronic service by filing a notice with the court that includes an electronic service address, or by agreeing to service provider terms that expressly include consent. Once you use a service provider to file, you are deemed to have consented to that provider acting as your service agent.⁹

Where e-filing is mandatory, electronic service is also mandatory for represented parties. Self-represented parties who have not affirmatively consented to electronic service must be served by mail, personal delivery, or another non-electronic method. Before serving electronically for the first time, confirm the correct electronic service address for the other party’s attorney.⁹

Tentative Rulings and the 4:00 P.M. Deadline

For civil law and motion matters, the court posts tentative rulings on its website by 3:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing. A tentative ruling is the judge’s preliminary decision on the papers, and if nobody objects it becomes the final ruling without oral argument.¹⁰

To contest the tentative, you must notify both the assigned judge’s department and opposing counsel by 4:00 p.m. that same day, by email or phone to the civil department. Miss the deadline and you lose the right to argue. This catches out litigants coming from courts where oral argument is automatic; in San Mateo you must affirmatively claim it.¹⁰

Probate tentative rulings follow a similar schedule: available after 3:00 p.m. one court day before the hearing, by phone at (650) 261-5019 or on the court’s website.³ The statewide rule requires every judge in a court that adopts a tentative ruling procedure to use the same one, so the process is consistent across San Mateo’s civil departments.¹¹

Ex Parte Applications

When a matter needs immediate court intervention, San Mateo hears ex parte applications on schedules that vary by case type.

Civil

Each civil judge’s department hears ex parte applications two days per week at 1:30 p.m. The specific days vary by judge; check the court’s website under Civil Departments. Your application and proof of fee payment must reach the courtroom clerk at least 15 minutes before the hearing. Ex parte applications must be e-filed, though self-represented parties may submit on paper.³

To appear remotely, moving papers (including a proposed order) must be served on all parties, submitted in paper to the assigned judge, and the fee paid to the clerk’s office by 10:00 a.m. at least two court days before the hearing.³

Probate and Family Law

Probate ex parte hearings are heard every day between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., with the application filed by 10:30 a.m. No prior appointment is needed. Family law ex parte applications in pending cases go to the assigned judge through the family law clerk’s office at the Hall of Justice and Records in Redwood City. If no case is pending, the application goes to the family law clerk’s office and is assigned a department by the supervising judge.³

Notice

Every ex parte application requires a declaration describing the notice given. You must state the nature of the relief, the date, time, and place of the hearing, and whether the opposing party intends to oppose. Notice given after 10:00 a.m. the court day before the appearance requires an explanation of the exceptional circumstances. No notice at all requires either an explanation of why notice should be waived (usually immediate danger or irreparable harm) or a description of the efforts made to provide it.¹²

Case Management and ADR

In civil cases, the clerk sets an initial case management conference when the complaint is filed, scheduled roughly 120 days out. At least 15 calendar days before the conference, every party must file a case management statement using Judicial Council form CM-110 and serve it on all parties. Two or more parties can file a joint statement.³

Beyond the standard form, San Mateo requires the statement to include a description of the case, the status of discovery, any outstanding motions, any completed or scheduled ADR, and any other matters affecting case management. The court encourages ADR, but participation is voluntary; parties who agree file a stipulation and order and pay for ADR through a separate fee agreement.¹³

Family Law

Family law matters fall under Division V. When filing a Request for Order involving custody or visitation, whether disputed or not, the moving party must complete a Family Court Services Information Sheet (local form FCS-04). That form is not filed with the court; you bring it to your Family Court Services appointment.³

If a temporary restraining order under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act has been granted, the hearing must be set within 25 days of the filing date. When Family Court Services mediation is required, the hearing on custody and visitation may be continued unless an appointment is available at least five court days before the hearing.³ Self-represented parties should meet with the Family Law Facilitator before filing.

Probate

Division IV covers estates, trusts, conservatorships, guardianships, and elder protection proceedings. The probate department has its own hearing schedule, tentative ruling phone line, and ex parte calendar, all separate from the civil departments.³

Conservatorship and guardianship cases carry a $500 investigation fee for every investigation performed by Aging and Adult Services, unless the court waives or defers it. A temporary conservatorship petition will not be considered unless a petition for a permanent conservator is already on file with a hearing date assigned. Unless the court waives the requirement, a non-corporate temporary conservator of the estate must post a full bond.³

Continuance rules depend on the matter. In conservatorship and guardianship hearings, an appearance by the attorney or self-represented conservator or guardian is required before the court will grant a continuance more than once for a General Plan or Inventory and Appraisement hearing, or more than twice for any other matter. For other probate matters, continuance requests go by email to probate@sanmateocourt.org no later than five court days before the hearing and must include the case number, hearing date, agreement from all parties, and preferred alternative dates.³

Remote Appearances

San Mateo uses Zoom for remote appearances, but not universally. Criminal matters require in-person attendance for all calendars, with narrow exceptions for Veterans Treatment Court and Military Diversion Court.¹⁴ The Presiding Judge’s ex parte calendar also does not allow Zoom unless the Presiding Judge gives prior approval.¹⁵

Before any hearing, check the court’s Calendar Appearance Requirement Matrix to confirm your specific hearing allows remote attendance. Showing up on Zoom for a hearing that requires physical presence does not count as appearing, and you can face a default or sanctions.

In the courtroom, whether in person or on video, professional attire and formal address to the bench are expected, and electronic devices should be silenced. Confirm the department and time on the daily calendar before you appear, since the multiple courthouses and rotating department assignments make assumptions risky.

1
San Mateo Superior Court. Local Rules
2
Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Local Forms
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Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo Local Court Rules
4
Judicial Branch of California. Title Two – Trial Court Rules
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Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Locations
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Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. San Mateo Court Implements Mandatory E-Filing
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California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1010.6
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San Mateo Superior Court. E-Filing
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Judicial Branch of California. Rule 2.251 – Electronic Service
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Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Civil Law and Motion Tentative Rulings
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Judicial Branch of California. Rule 3.1308 – Tentative Rulings
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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 San Mateo. Court ADR Information Sheet (ADR-CV-8)
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Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Protocols for Remote Appearances
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Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Zoom Credentials To Appear Remotely For Court Hearings