San Diego Court​

Today we’re announcing that beginning October 1, 2020, Direct Legal Support will be a certified eFiling Service Provider with San Diego Superior Court for Civil eFiling. That means our customers can eFile legal documents with San Diego Superior Court using Direct Legal for Civil Limited, Civil Unlimited, Family, Probate and Provisionally Complex cases. 

Follow this link to eFile your court documents in San Diego Courts: https://directlegal.com/e-filing/

Even better, with Direct Legal, you have access to 21 eFiling courts and counting, including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, and more. The court’s eFiling deadline will be 11:59 p.m.

General San Diego Court eFiling Information

Mandatory eFiling Case Types: Provisionally Complex Case Types

Permissive eFiling Case Types: Civil Limited, Civil Unlimited, Family, Probate

eFiling Deadline: 11:59 p.m. (submitting eFiling orders 30 minutes prior to deadline is encouraged)

Formatting Requirements: Bookmark documents with exhibits. All documents electronically filed must be in a text searchable format, i.e., OCR. The court is unable to accept documents that do not comply with these requirements, or documents that include but are not limited to digitized signatures, fillable forms, or a negative image. eFilers are required to enter all parties listed on the document being filed, if the party is not already a part of the case. (If the filer is submitting a new complaint, ALL parties must be entered.) If all parties are not entered, the transaction will be rejected.

Courtesy Copies: 

  • If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents filed, litigant to provide hard copies of documents in court with the eFiling Transaction ID noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the
  • Exhibits to be considered via a Notice of Lodgment shall not be attached to the electronically filed Notice of Lodgment; instead, the submitting party must provide the assigned department with hard copies of the exhibits with a copy of the Notice of Lodgment that includes the eFiling Transaction ID# noted in the upper right-hand
  • For Construction Defect cases assigned to D62, refer to the department’s Policies & Procedures on the court’s website for further details regarding courtesy

Limitations on Filings: Notwithstanding any other provision of law or this rule, the following items may not be eFiled:

  • Safe at Home Name Change Petitions
  • Civil Harassment TRO/RO
  • Workplace Violence TRO/RO
  • Elder Abuse TRO/RO
  • Stand-alone exhibits
  • Transitional Housing Program Misconduct TRO/RO
  • School Violence Prevention TRO/RO
  • Out-of-State Commission Subpoenas
  • Undertaking/Surety Bonds
  • Request for Payment of Trust Funds
  • Notice of Appeal of Labor Commissioner
  • Abstracts and Warrants
  • Settlement Conference Briefs (to be lodged)
  • Confidential documents lodged conditionally under seal
  • Interpleader actions pursuant to CC2924j

Note: Notices generated by the Court’s case management system are mailed via US Mail rather than electronically served to all parties.

FAQs: San Diego Court eFiling and eService

 Q: When can I eFile and eServe into San Diego Superior Court through Direct Legal?

A: eFiling is available for the following case types as of October 1, 2020: Civil Limited, Civil Unlimited, Family, Probate and Provisionally Complex Case Types. (Small Claims is not included.)

Q: When will Civil eFiling be required for San Diego Superior Court?

A: No timeline has been set by the court for mandatory eFiling.

Q: Can we still file in person at the courthouse?

A: Yes. Electronic filing is currently permissive/voluntary in San Diego, except for Complex cases which are mandated to be eFiled. Additionally, Small Claims cases must be filed in person at this time.

Q: How much does it cost to electronically file with San Diego Superior Court?

A: The cost to electronically file with San Diego Superior Court includes the Court’s Filing Fees, the Court’s Electronic Filing Manager (EFM) fee, Direct Legal’s fee, and payment processing fees, as applicable.

Please note that the Direct Legal portal provides Court Filing Fee estimates when you place an order, which the Court may adjust at its discretion.

Q: What information do I need to electronically file a case?

A: Direct Legal’s portal will guide you through the submission process, ensuring your filing is complete and meets the court’s requirements. Information you may need to provide:

  • Case Information
    • Case Title, Category, Jurisdictional Amount, Incident Zip
    • Additional Info depending on your case: Demand Amount, Premise Address,
  • Case Participant Info
  • Names & Contact Information
  • Alternate Names, Aliases, DBAs
  • Roles
  • Attorney Information
  • Documents
    • Document types to be submitted
    • Scanned PDF versions of documents
    • Supporting information, depending on the

Q: How do I associate a case with my subsequent filing?

A: You may search for a case using an existing San Diego Superior Court Case Number. Direct Legal will then import the court’s case information and include it with your subsequent filing.

Q: What information do I need to provide if I’m representing myself in a case?

A: When adding yourself as a case participant, select the “Is Self-Represented” option. You will be required to provide your full contact information (address, phone, email) to the court.

Q: How do I include documents with my electronic filing?

A: In the “Documents” section of the Direct Legal order workflow, you will need to select the Document Types to include with your filing. Documents must be submitted individually in PDF format.

The Court may request additional information to support your filing, depending on the documents you selected. Some examples are: Filed On Behalf Of, Refers To, Representation.

Direct Legal’s portal will guide you through the process of providing supporting information to minimize data entry and ensure your filing is complete.

Q: Are there any document file size restrictions?

A: Documents must be in PDF format and under 35MB each. Additionally, each filing has a 60MB total size limit.

Q: Can I submit a fee waiver request for my filing?

A: The court allows case participants to request fee waivers. Please include a ‘Request for Fee Waiver’ document for each case participant requesting a fee waiver.

Q: How do we ensure that our filing is accepted by the court?

A: Direct Legal verifies all filings prior to submission. While the court has final approval, our system will check your filing for common errors and omissions to reduce the chance of your filing being rejected by the court. A message will be displayed if any errors are detected so you can address them before filing.

Q: How does eFiling work between San Diego Superior Court and Direct Legal?

As a certified Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) with the Court, Direct Legal’s technology is integrated with San Diego Superior Court’s Electronic Filing Manager (EFM). This integration enables filers to electronically file documents directly with the court through Direct Legal. Filers simply submit their documents through Direct Legal for submission to the Court. The Court then accepts or rejects the documents, and the documents are returned electronically by Direct Legal to the Filer.

Direct Legal manages the flow of documents and fees to and from the Court.

Q: How do I get more information regarding San Diego eFiling?

A: You may also view the court’s Frequently Asked Questions:

http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1844828&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL