Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Diego Superior Court has been closed for most non-emergency services from March 17 through May 22. On Tuesday, May 26, the Court will resume many services, though most will be provided remotely. With the community spread of COVID-19 still a concern, in-person services at the courthouses will continue to be limited to urgent needs.

“Incredible behind-the-scenes work has been done throughout the Court’s closure with staff and justice partners working tirelessly to enable remote work that has never before been a part of the Court’s processes,” said San Diego Superior Court Presiding Judge Lorna Alksne. “Our teams have navigated uncharted territories and found workable solutions for us to get back to a level of normal operations without having large numbers of people coming into the courthouses.”

Rescheduling notices are in progress to be sent to involved parties for more than 87,000 hearings. Most of those hearings will be handled remotely via video or telephone conference. Additional remote services include the creation and launch of a self-scheduling application on the Court’s website for Civil matters in need of status conferences to reset motions that were taken off calendar due to the COVID-19 closure and a new permanent option for electronic filing (eFile) of Family Law documents, saving time and eliminating the need to come in-person to the courthouse. In-person filings will only be accepted as drop offs and same-day processing of most new case initiations will not be available.

For those who must come into the courthouses for urgent needs, several precautions have been taken to maintain the safety of all court visitors and employees, including temperatures being taken at the door, increased cleaning of high-touch surfaces, and additional hand sanitizer kiosks in public areas. Masks or facial coverings will be required to be worn and social distancing will be enforced throughout the courthouses.

Each Court location will be available for the following in-person services

• Central Courthouse
  • Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Orders
  • Limited Criminal services including payment of fines, proof of program compliance, warrant inquiries
  • Limited Family and Family Support Division services including ex parte requests for all types of family matters and new filing drop offs
  • Limited Probate services including emergency guardianships and conservatorships, emergency orders, payments, new filing drop offs
  • Limited Appeals services including payments, new filing drop offs, pick up of ordered materials
• Hall of Justice
  • Temporary Restraining Orders (all types except domestic violence)
  • Limited Civil services including ex parte requests and new filing drop offs
  • Limited Small Claims services including new filing drop offs and payments
• Traffic (Kearny Mesa)
  • Payment of fines, proof of compliance, warrant and driver’s license hold inquiries
• Juvenile Court
  • Juvenile Temporary Restraining Orders and other juvenile emergency orders
  • Ex parte juvenile justice and dependency requests
  • Emergency requests pursuant to Welfare & Institution Code § 827
• North County
  • Temporary Restraining Orders (all types)
  • Limited Criminal services including payment of fines, proof of program compliance, warrant inquiries
  • Limited Family services including ex parte requests for all types of family matters and new filing drop offs
  • Limited Civil services including ex parte requests and new filing drop offs
  • Limited Traffic services including payment of fines, proof of compliance, warrant and driver’s license hold inquiries
  • Limited Juvenile dependency services including new filing drop offs and adoptions
• East County
  • Temporary Restraining Orders (all types)
  • Limited Criminal services including payment of fines, proof of program compliance, warrant inquiries
  • Limited Family services including ex parte requests for all types of family matters and new filing drop offs
  • Limited Traffic services including payment of fines, proof of compliance, warrant and driver’s license hold inquiries
  • Limited Juvenile dependency services including new filing drop offs
• South County
  • Temporary Restraining Orders (all types)
  • Limited Criminal services including payment of fines, proof of program compliance, warrant inquiries
  • Limited Family services including ex parte requests for all types of family matters and new filing drop offs
  • Limited Traffic services including payment of fines, proof of compliance, warrant and driver’s license hold inquiries

Answers to frequently asked questions about the Court’s operations during the COVID-19 pandemic are also posted online at sdcourt.ca.gov/coronavirus.

Jury trials currently remain on hold and self-help services are available for emergency needs. If you need assistance in an emergency matter, please refer to the following sources:

• Legal Aid Society of San Diego: www.lassd.org; 877-534-2524
• San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program: www.sdvlp.org; 619-235-5656
• Center for Community Solutions: www.ccssd.org; 858-272-5777
• Family Law Facilitator: FLF staff is available in the Central, East, North and South County Division offices for walk-in assistance with ex parte requests for restraining orders

If you have a pending case, please first check the FAQs provided on the Court’s website. If you still have a case-specific question, please send an email to the relevant address below. Non-case-specific questions will not be answered, and unless otherwise specified in the information provided in the FAQs, the Court will not accept documents submitted through these email boxes. Be advised that unless otherwise specified, emails and any attachments will not be included in the court file or be considered a court record, may not be preserved, and will not be forwarded to the judicial officer presiding over your matter as that would constitute an ex parte communication. Your name and case number must be included in all emails.

Please monitor the San Diego Superior Court website (sdcourt.ca.gov) for continued updates.