Service of Process · Updated October 2026

What Changes for Service of Process in California on January 1, 2027

AB 747 and AB 2042 rewrite how a summons is served and how service is proved. Here is what changes, and what your firm should adjust before the first January assignments go out.

Direct Legal Blog

Service of Process

First published 2026 · Updated October 2026

On January 1, 2027, one of the most significant changes to California service of process in years takes effect. Assembly Bill 747, the SPARE Act (Stats. 2025, ch. 563), sets a firm diligence standard for substituted service, makes photographs part of the proof of service, and makes defaults easier to challenge. Assembly Bill 2042 (Stats. 2026, ch. 379), signed September 20, 2026, adjusts parts of it. Most of the new work falls on process servers, but attorneys will feel it in their calendars and in default practice.

Scope

Which Papers the New Rules Cover

The changes live in the summons statutes: CCP §§ 415.10 through 415.45 for the methods of service and § 417.10 for the proof. The test is which statute authorizes the service, not what kind of case it is.

Covered. A civil summons and complaint, including collection cases; an unlawful detainer summons and complaint; a family law summons (the Judicial Council revised FL-115 and approved a new FL-116 declaration of diligence for exactly this); a probate citation or summons served under those sections; and any other paper that has to be served in the same manner as a summons.
Not covered. Subpoenas (CCP § 1985 and the sections that follow weren’t amended); writs, levies, earnings withholding orders and other judgment enforcement; post-judgment papers such as notices of levy and orders for examination; service of restraining orders (the proofs of service under rule 3.1160 don’t need the photos); criminal service; and the notice to quit that starts an eviction, since CCP § 1162 wasn’t amended.
Papers that carried their own proof. The Statement of Damages (CIV-050) and the notices of entry of a sister-state or tribal court judgment (EJ-110 and EJ-115) lose their built-in proof of service pages for 2027. Service of those papers is proved on POS-010 or another proof of service.

A photo isn’t required when the notice to quit is served, but it’s a good idea: starting in 2027 the unlawful detainer complaint has to state the date, time and location of that service (CCP § 1166).

Substituted service

Three Attempts Before Substituted Service on an Individual

Today, CCP § 415.20(b) lets a server leave the papers with a competent adult at a home or business once personal delivery can’t be made with reasonable diligence. The statute never said how many tries that takes, and courts have generally accepted two or three good attempts at a proper address.

Starting in 2027, the statute answers the question. A party shows reasonable diligence by attempting personal delivery in good faith on at least three occasions, on three different days, at three different times (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). A few details matter:

It applies to individuals. Subdivision (b) covers people served under CCP §§ 416.60 through 416.90. Substituted service on a corporation or other entity under § 415.20(a) doesn’t get a new diligence requirement.
Consumer debt cases need a home attempt. In an action to collect a consumer debt, at least one attempt has to be made at the defendant’s home if that address is known or could be found with reasonable effort (§ 415.20(b)(3)).
Private mailboxes are still an exception. When the only address reasonably known is a box at a commercial mail receiving agency, such as a UPS Store, the papers can still be left there on the first attempt (§ 415.20(c)).
More ways to mail. The follow-up copy can go by first-class mail, Priority Mail with tracking, or Certified Mail with a return receipt. Service is still complete on the 10th day after mailing.
Evictions too. The same three-attempt standard applies before a court will allow service by posting in an unlawful detainer under CCP § 415.45, including a home attempt, except for commercial property and participants in the Safe at Home address confidentiality program.

For a law firm, this is mostly a calendar problem. Because the attempts have to fall on three different days, substituted service can’t happen before the third day of attempts. Add 10 days after the mailing, then the defendant’s time to respond. If a deadline is close, say so when you place the order so the attempts can start right away.

Proof of service

Photos Become Part of the Proof of Service

The second big change is in CCP § 417.10. For personal delivery (§ 415.10), substituted service (§ 415.20), and posting (§ 415.45), the proof of service must include one or more photographs of the site of each completed or attempted service. The rules for those photos are specific:

Each photo needs a readable stamp that automatically records the date, the time, and GPS or equivalent coordinates, and it has to be taken as close as practicable to the moment of service or the attempt.
At a home or business, the photo shows the door of the residence or the specific office. If the door isn’t reasonably accessible, the server photographs the entrance and explains, with specifics, why the door couldn’t be reached.
If there’s no signal to record coordinates, the server gives a detailed statement explaining the missing stamp.
If taking a photo would compromise the server’s safety, in the server’s reasonable judgment, no photo is required, but the server documents the service and the reason.
AB 2042 lets each of these explanations, for an entrance photo, a missing stamp, or a safety exception, go on the proof of service or with it.

Two things the law doesn’t require: a picture of the person served, and any particular retention period for the photos. Neither bill says who keeps the images or for how long, so it’s worth deciding with your process server how photos will come back to you, how they’ll be attached to the proof, and how long your office will keep them.

The rule may reach service in other states too. When a defendant outside California is served by a California method, such as personal delivery, CCP § 417.20(a) says the proof is made as prescribed in § 417.10, which will include the photos. Section 417.20(c) also allows proof in the manner the law of the place of service prescribes for its own courts, subject to anything more the California court requires, so photos aren’t clearly required for every out-of-state service. To be safe, plan on them there as well.

The Judicial Council approved matching forms at its October 16, 2026 meeting, effective January 1, 2027: a revised Proof of Service of Summons (POS-010) with an item for the photo of the location of service, a new optional Declaration of Diligence (POS-012) with a separate item for each attempt, and a revised Request for Entry of Default (CIV-100) with a line stating that the proof of service of the summons has been filed. Our article on California proofs of service walks through the new forms, along with the new and revised proofs for family law, probate and restraining order cases; download them from courts.ca.gov once they’re posted.

Which attempts need photos? In its report to the council, the advisory committee read the attempt photos as required when the proof shows that a method was unsuccessful, such as the attempts behind substituted service. That’s the committee’s reading, not a court decision, so ask for a photo of every attempt.

Defaults

Defaults Get Easier to Challenge

Today, a registered process server’s return creates a presumption that the facts in it are true, one that shifts the burden of producing evidence to the other side (Evidence Code § 647). New CCP § 473.2 changes that balance for service attempted or completed on or after January 1, 2027:

A party who says it wasn’t lawfully served can move to set aside a default or default judgment, for leave to defend, or for dismissal as permitted by law.
If that party offers evidence, by sworn declaration or otherwise, that service wasn’t lawful, the presumption from the server’s return is rebutted.
The party that took the default then has to prove lawful service by a preponderance of the evidence.
The court has to take evidence and can’t deny a reasonable request for a hearing with live testimony.

AB 2042 adds two clarifications: § 473.2 applies to service attempted or completed on or after January 1, 2027, and it doesn’t change the court’s existing authority over proofs of service filed before that date. Under § 473.2(b)(2), a return filed before January 1, 2027 isn’t unlawful or insufficient just because it has no photograph. AB 747 also lets a party move at any time to vacate a default judgment that is void for lack of proper service (CCP § 473(e)), and it narrows CCP § 473.5, the motion for relief when service didn’t give actual notice, to cases where service was lawfully made. A claim that service itself was improper now goes under § 473.2.

For consumer debt cases brought by debt buyers, AB 2042 amends Civil Code § 1788.61 so a defendant can seek relief when service was lawful but didn’t give actual notice, and the court may consider evidence about the process server named on the proof.

CALSPro, the California Association of Legal Support Professionals, reads AB 2042 as treating a photograph as evidence of service rather than a condition of it: a missing or disputed photo doesn’t by itself make service invalid, and the court weighs all the evidence.

The practical point: a proof of service and the photos behind it need to hold up on their own, because the server may be asked to explain them in court.

Entry of default

Proof of Service and the Request for Default

AB 747 also amends CCP § 585(b), so the clerk enters a default on the plaintiff’s written application and proof of service of the summons. Many firms already have the proof on file by then. In 2027 it becomes part of the default step itself. We walk through what to look at before filing in Before You Request Default, Check the Proof of Service.

Also worth knowing

Other Changes Worth Knowing

Public process server registers. Each county’s register of process servers becomes available to the public (Bus. & Prof. Code § 22355), which makes it easier to confirm that the server named on a proof is registered.
Registration number on the proof. A registered process server’s proof of service will show the registration number assigned by the county clerk; it no longer has to list the county of registration (CCP § 417.40).
Unlawful detainer complaints. The complaint has to state the date, time, and location of service of the notice to quit or other termination notice (CCP § 1166).
Alternative service, under a separate law. AB 747 doesn’t change service by publication or court-ordered alternative service, but SB 85 has allowed courts to order service by email or other electronic means since January 1, 2026 (CCP § 413.30). Our article on defendants avoiding service covers when that applies.

Before January

What to Update Before January

Tell your server whether each defendant is an individual or an entity, and whether the case is a consumer debt collection, so the right diligence rules apply from the first attempt.
Send the best home and work addresses you have, with unit numbers, plus anything that helps time the attempts.
For individuals who may need substituted service, build at least three attempt days and the 10-day mailing period into the service calendar.
Ask how photos and any exception statements will come back to you, and make sure they’re attached before the proof is filed.
Review the proof, the photos, and the attempt history before every default request.
Use the Judicial Council’s final forms for service in 2027.

Every Direct Legal process serving order in California includes up to 4 to 6 attempts at a single address, made at different times of day, and a signed proof of service when service is complete. If you have service planned around the new year, tell us your deadline when you order and we’ll schedule the attempts around it.

Please note

About This Article

This article is general information about California law and court procedure as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Direct Legal Support is a registered process serving and litigation support company, not a law firm. Statutes, court rules, and forms change, so check the current versions and your court’s local rules, and talk with an attorney about your specific matter.