How do I serve a Plaintiff's Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court?
A Plaintiff's Claim (
SC-100) can be served in 2 ways;
Personal Service or
Substituted Service. The manner of service allowed is
determined by the Hearing Date set by the court, the County that the Court is in and the County in which the defendant lives in. In California, most jurisdictions do not require
Due Diligence prior to service. For
Personal Service the court requires the
SC-100 to be served
15 days prior to the hearing date provided that the defendant resides in the same county as the county the court is located in and
20 days prior to the hearing date if the defendant resides in a different county than the court is located in. The SC-100 can be
Substitute Served 25 days prior to the hearing date if the defendant resides in the same county as the court is located and
30 days prior to the hearing date if the defendant resides in a different county than the court is located in. (
CCP 116.340)