San Diego Superior Court Document Format Requirements

45 rules from official source documents

8 of 45 checked against the court's document. Each rule says how far it was checked. A value with a question mark is not in the court's wording on its card.

Font, margin, spacing, and file format requirements for court filings. This page is scoped to San Diego Superior Court; use the court rules overview to switch categories without leaving this court.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

All exhibits must be pre-marked in an up-to-date binder; photographs need individual exhibit numbers and tags.

All exhibits must be pre-marked in an up-to-date exhibit binder(s). If photographs are submitted, each photograph must have an individual exhibit number and tag.

Judge Judy S. Bae

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Exhibits must be pre-marked: Petitioner uses numbers and pink tags; Respondent uses letters and yellow tags.

EXHIBITS must be pre-marked. Petitioner must use numbers and pink tags for their exhibits; Respondent must use letters and yellow tags for their exhibits.

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Motion papers must comply with CRC Rule 3.1110 and Local Rule 2.1.4.1 regarding formatting, bookmarking, and filing requirements.

Parties are to comply with CRC Rule 3.1110, et. seq. and San Diego County Superior Court Local Rule (LR) 2.1.4.1 regarding formatting, bookmarking, and filing requirements for motion papers.

Judge Judy S. Bae

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Multi-page exhibits must be bates stamped; exhibit numbers placed in the lower right-hand corner without covering content, on the back if needed, and on the first page for multi-page exhibits; exhibits individually marked and separated by dividers.

If an exhibit has multiple pages, bates stamp (i.e., number) the individual pages. The exhibit number is to be placed in the lower right-hand corner and should not cover any part of the exhibit, i.e. the writing/numbers and/or photo. If there is not a place to adhere the tag on the front of the exhibit without covering part of the exhibit, place it on the back. If there are multiple pages, place it on the first page of the exhibit. Exhibits should be individually marked and separated by dividers.

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Each photograph must have an individual exhibit number.

If you are submitting photographs, each photograph should have an individual exhibit number.

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Parties must provide their own device to play video evidence and comply with CRC 2.1040(b) for electronic recordings; failure may result in exclusion of the evidence.

The submitting party is responsible for bringing in their own device from/on which to play video evidence. The Court has a screen with cables that can be connected to a laptop, but the cables are not compatible with Apple devices. The Court will not be able to insert flash drives, memory sticks, CDs or other storage devices into court computers or laptops. Therefore, you must provide your own laptop or other equipment to show that evidence during the trial. Parties must comply with CRC rule 2.1040(b) if they plan to offer any electronic sound or sound and video recording as evidence at trial. Failure to do so could result in the exclusion of said evidence.

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Bank records and similar financial documents should be broken down into monthly periods, each labeled as a separate exhibit.

Documents such as bank records should be broken down to monthly periods. For example, bank statements for the period 1/1/22 through 1/31/22 shall be labeled as exhibit 1; bank statements for the period 2/1/22 through 2/28/22 shall be labeled as exhibit 2, and so on and so forth.

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Text messages and social media posts must be identified by date and time on the exhibit.

Any text messages or social media posts must be identified by date and time on the exhibit.

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Whether uploaded via the portal, or provided in hardcopy or on an IPad, all exhibits, should be pre-marked and tabbed as Court's exhibits: Petitioner 1- 300; Respondent 301- 600 (Respondent's first exhibit will be number 301); Third Party or Minor's Counsel 601-900.

Summary: All exhibits must be pre-marked and tabbed with court exhibit numbers (Petitioner 1-300, Respondent 301-600, Third Party/Minor's Counsel 601-900).

Judge Pamela M. Parker

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Each exhibit must be labeled on the first page with the proper exhibit number (e.g., Exhibit 1, Exhibit 305 etc.). If an exhibit contains multiple pages, and they are not already Bates-stamped, give each page an identifying number. For instance, if Exhibit 5 is a four-page document, the pages should be marked "5-1," "5-2," "5-3," and, the last page, "5-4." The exhibit number is to be placed in the lower righthand corner. If uploaded to the portal, each exhibit must appear separately on the portal.

Summary: Each exhibit must be labeled with its exhibit number on the first page, multi-page exhibits page-numbered (e.g., 5-1, 5-2), exhibit number in the lower right corner, and each exhibit uploaded separately to the portal.

Judge Pamela M. Parker

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

If exhibits are provided in hardcopy form, and they consist of more than 50 pages of exhibits, they must be compiled in 3-ring binders, unless IPads are being utilized (see below). If you are submitting more than one binder, identify on the spine and the front of the binder the exhibits contained therein. The exhibits must be separated with tabs labeled with that exhibit's number, for ease of use and reference.

Summary: Hardcopy exhibits over 50 pages must be compiled in 3-ring binders (unless IPads are used), with spine/front identifying contents and exhibits separated by tabs labeled with exhibit numbers.

Judge Pamela M. Parker

The quote is in the court's document. The summary is not checked yet.CRITICAL?

Be advised that the Court does not have the capability of presenting electronically stored evidence using its own equipment. The Court has a screen on which evidence can be shown, and cables that can be connected to a laptop, but will not be able to insert flash drives, memory sticks, CDs or other storage devices into court computers or laptops. Therefore, you must provide your own laptop or other equipment to present that evidence during the trial.

Summary: The Court cannot present electronically stored evidence with its own equipment; parties must provide their own laptop or other equipment to present such evidence.

Judge Pamela M. Parker