Fresno Superior Court Filing Rules

A petition for distribution must detail all distributable property, including cash, promissory-note security information, and the legal description and APN of real property, without describing assets solely by reference to the inventory.

An ex parte application, supporting papers, and fees must be submitted by 2:00 p.m. on the preceding day for a morning hearing or by 9:00 a.m. on the hearing date for an afternoon hearing.

Before filing an unlawful detainer action requiring a Notice of Restricted Access, the plaintiff must provide the court with separate stamped, legal-size envelopes addressed to each defendant and to all occupants.

An agreed continuance requires prompt contact with the Department Judicial Assistant, a good-cause showing, departmental approval, submission of a confirming letter or stipulation and the appropriate fee, and is strongly disfavored.

Trust proceedings, including testamentary trusts and trusts funded by court order, require a separate case number and payment of the current filing fee for the separate case.

Forms and templates prefixed with "F" are intended to be printed out.

The clerk’s office will not accept electronic storage media for lodging in unlimited or limited civil actions unless a court order permits it.

A settlement conference must be calendared and held before every contested hearing unless the judicial officer setting that hearing deems it unnecessary.

When the rules require notification by letter to the court or counsel, the notification may be sent by fax.

A sealing order must be sought by noticed motion or, when appropriate, ex parte application, and in civil cases the filing must be calendared with a hearing date, department, and time or it will be rejected.

Opening and opposition memoranda may not exceed 22 pages when formatted with one-and-one-half line spacing.

A Notice of Remote Appearance submitted by mail or at the counter must be filed as a separate document or placed at the top of the forms packet.

A courtesy copy of the Notice of Remote Appearance and the proposed Order Regarding Remote Appearance must be delivered to the clerk of the hearing department.