The letters in a California court case number usually identify the type of case, and sometimes the courthouse or district that handled the filing. What each specific letter stands for is set locally: California’s 58 counties run their own numbering systems, so the same letters can mean different things depending on where the case was filed.
What the Letters Usually Encode
Two pieces of information tend to sit inside the letter portion of a California case number: the legal category of the matter, and, in many counties, the courthouse or district where it was filed. Court staff and the public use those letters to tell at a glance whether a filing is a small dispute, a criminal charge, a family matter, or something else.
Case Type Categories
Courts commonly use letter codes to flag the following categories:1California Courts. California Courts Self-Help Guide – Section: Which court2Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. San Francisco Superior Court – Section: Small Claims
- Unlimited civil cases, where the amount in dispute is more than $35,000.
- Limited civil cases, where the amount is $35,000 or less.
- Small claims matters, with a limit of $12,500 for an individual and typically $6,250 for a business or other legal entity.
- Criminal cases, from infractions through felonies.
- Family law matters, such as divorce and child custody.
- Probate, covering wills, trusts, and certain conservatorships.
- Traffic infractions, such as speeding tickets.
Many counties use similar-looking abbreviations for these categories, but the codes are not a statewide standard.
Location Letters
A case number often signals which courthouse or district took the filing. Some courts use letters to represent a specific courthouse; others embed numeric codes for the same purpose. Because the practice is not uniform, the letters that mean one courthouse in one county can mean something entirely different in another.
Why There’s No Single Decoder
No statewide rule dictates how California case numbers are formatted. Each county sets its own layout, so some numbers start with a location code, some with the filing year, and some with a sequence number. Formats also shift over time: older cases filed before a court updated its computer systems can look different from current ones.3Los Angeles County Consumer & Business Affairs. Los Angeles County DCBA – Section: Checking Your Case Status To decode the letters on a specific number, check the numbering guide on the website of the superior court where the case was filed.
Appeals Get a Different Number
The letter conventions above apply to trial court filings. When a case is appealed to a higher court, such as the California Courts of Appeal, it is typically assigned a new case number for the appellate process. The trial court’s original number stays with the underlying records, but the appellate number is what tracks the matter on appeal.