Filing an uncontested divorce in Humboldt County

The Eureka courthouse and the I Street Clerk's Office

The court's Contact Us and Locations page names one courthouse, the Humboldt County Courthouse at 825 5th Street, Eureka, CA 95501, telephone (707) 445-7256. The same page sends case inquiries, filing and payment questions to the Clerk's Office at 421 "I" Street, Eureka, CA 95501, and lists Family, Juvenile and Adoptions at that address, reached at (707) 445-7256, Option 3. Because there is one courthouse, there is no choice of building to make and no assignment rule between courthouses to follow.

The Clerk's Office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and the drop box is available from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., according to both the Contact Us and Locations page and the court's home page, which adds that the drop box is located on 421 I Street. The Family, Juvenile and Adoptions listing gives the same 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. office hours. Those are posted as the court's standard hours, not as a temporary notice, and the court's News and Events page carried no notice changing them when it was read. A filer who arrives after 2:00 p.m. still has the drop box until 4:00 p.m.

Faxing papers straight to the clerk is not an option. Local Rule 1.8 says the Humboldt County Superior Court does not accept direct fax filing of documents; a fax filing goes through a fax filing agency. The court's Judicial Assignments and Calendars page lists Courtroom 6 and Courtroom 7 as the Family and Juvenile courtrooms.

The court's website is at humboldt.courts.ca.gov, and its email addresses end in humboldtcourt.ca.gov; both appear on the court's own pages, and the addresses printed further down use the form the court gives.

Humboldt fee items, as the posted schedule lists them

The court's Fee and Bail Schedules page says the Superior Court of Humboldt uses California's standard fee and bail schedules, and it lists the 2026 Statewide Civil Fee Schedule as current. The PDF it links is titled Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, Effective January 1, 2026, and its family law items carry the same numbers and amounts as the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026. Both were read on October 19, 2026, and the numbers used here are the Judicial Council's. The Judicial Council schedule's asterisk footnote limits its local surcharges to Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco, and the court's copy shows no surcharge on the family law items, so the family law amounts in the court's copy are the statewide amounts.

The court's copy carries a footnote of its own about fees set by the Humboldt Superior Court in an exhibit that is not posted on the fee page; the family law items below carry the statewide amounts.

• Item 97, $435: the petition, or another first paper, that opens a Humboldt dissolution, legal separation or nullity case, paid at filing by the spouse bringing an ordinary petition.
• Item 98, $435: any response or another first paper from the spouse answering the petition; it comes due only when that spouse files one or makes a first appearance.
• Item 99, $870: the joint petition for dissolution or legal separation, except a summary dissolution. The schedule notes that this fee covers the appearance of both petitioners.
• Item 100, $435: the joint petition for summary dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, one first-paper fee shared by the couple.
• Item 103, no fee: a settlement agreement or a stipulation for judgment that your spouse signs after being defaulted. Once your spouse's default has been entered, signing your agreement costs your spouse nothing at the court.
• Item 104, no fee: the appearance, stipulation and waiver of rights (form FL-130) of a respondent serving in the armed forces.

How many first-paper fees a Humboldt case pays

Count by path. Under Family Code sections 2400 to 2403, a summary dissolution is charged a single first-paper fee, the $435 printed at item 100. An ordinary petition pays item 97, $435, and stops there when your spouse files nothing, the default is entered, and your spouse signs the agreement, because item 103 charges no fee for an agreement a defaulted respondent signs. When your spouse files a response or an Appearance, Stipulations and Waivers on form FL-130 (other than an FL-130 under item 104 by a spouse in the armed forces), item 98 is added, and the two of you pay $870 in all.

A joint petition under Family Code section 2342.5 is $870, the amount of item 99. Subdivision (h) of the section files the joint petition with both the petition fee and the response fee of Government Code section 70670(b) and (d), unless both spouses have fee waivers. The joint petition does not save a court fee in Humboldt County; it pays both first-paper fees.

What you pay Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene is a flat fee to the office, never to the court: $1,499 when the case is an ordinary petition, $999 when it is a joint petition, and $599 when it is a summary dissolution. The office prepares every document and the attorney reviews it, in a limited scope engagement under California Rules of Court, rule 5.425, and the written filing instructions for the Humboldt court are reviewed by the attorney before you receive them. The settlement agreement comes with one revision round, and the first correction of a judgment packet returned by the court is included too. Any revision round after that one is priced and quoted before that round starts. The fee is earned in stages, and an early end to the representation means the unearned part comes back to you.

The office's role stops short of the courthouse. It does not file, does not serve your spouse, does not appear in court and does not provide a notary, and it does not prepare or record deeds. It represents only one spouse. The other spouse is not a client of this office in the divorce, receives no advice from it, and is free to consult an attorney of their own choosing.

Asking Humboldt to waive the court fees

The court's Fee and Bail Schedules page gives the fee waiver one line: if you can't afford your court fee, you can apply for a fee waiver. The line links to the Judicial Council's fee waiver guide.

The law behind the line is Government Code sections 68630 to 68634. Section 68632 sets three grounds for the Request to Waive Court Fees (form FW-001): a listed public benefit, a household income inside the limit the Judicial Council publishes, or an inability to pay the fee and still cover basic household needs. Section 68634(c) has the clerk file the petition without payment while the court decides the request.

On a joint petition, section 2342.5(h) leaves both first-paper fees in place unless both spouses hold waivers. When you want a waiver, preparing the request and its order form is part of the office's flat fee. A waiver affects the court's fees only; the office's flat fee is not changed by it.

Filing on paper: the court's copy and printing rules

The court's Online Services page says, in its own words, at this time e-Filing is not available in Humboldt County. Every document in a Humboldt divorce, from the first petition to the judgment, is therefore delivered on paper, at the Clerk's Office counter at 421 I Street during its 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. hours or through the drop box between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The Guided Forms page sets the copy rule. It asks filers to print one sided only and says that for most filings you will need to provide an original and 2 copies of everything you wish to submit. The same page offers LawHelp Interactive guided forms, Divorce and Legal Separation among them, which produce forms that are printed and handed in like any other. Where a filer is unsure how many copies a filing needs, the page says to contact Court Operations or the Self Help Center.

Local Rule 8.3(a) adds a Humboldt requirement for the Judicial Council forms themselves: all blanks on the forms must be answered, using "Unk", "Est", "N/A" or "None" where no other answer fits. The court's Divorce, Nullity and Legal Separation page adds that the forms for divorce, legal separation and nullity are all the same, and that the forms are also available at Court Operations for $5.

What goes in at each stage in Eureka

Opening the case. You bring the original and, as the Guided Forms page asks for most filings, two copies of the signed petition set, printed one sided: the Petition (form FL-100) and the Summons (form FL-110) for an ordinary case, the Joint Petition (form FL-700) for a joint case, or the Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution (form FL-800) and its accompanying papers for a summary dissolution. With them goes the fee, or the fee waiver request and order.

Serving the notice. The court's Guide to Case Management, FL18-0003, explains that the Notice of Family Law Case Management Conferences, the court's Local Form CM-8.2, also numbered FL22-0001, sets two conferences, the first at 180 days and the second at 360 days from the date the petition is filed, and that the notice must be served with the summons and petition. On an ordinary petition the notice therefore travels with the papers your spouse receives.

Exchanging disclosures. Family Code section 2104 requires a preliminary declaration of disclosure from each spouse. The Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-140), the Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150) and the Schedule of Assets and Debts (form FL-142) are served on your spouse, and the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-141) is the page filed with the clerk.

Finishing. The judgment papers are described in their own section below, including the notarized signature that Local Rule 8.13(a) requires on a default with agreement. Statewide, the judgment forms are the ones on the Judgment Checklist (form FL-182) under rule 5.405; a judgment on your signed agreement follows rule 5.411; and Family Code section 2336 and rule 5.409 permit entry on your declaration with no hearing.

Humboldt local rules, case management and local forms

The Local Rules page lists the edition effective July 1, 2025 as current, and this page cites it. Its Chapter 8, Family Law Rules, runs from 8.0 Purpose, 8.1 Application of Rules and 8.2 Compliance with Rules and Sanctions, through 8.3 Filing and Service, 8.4 Family Law Case Management, 8.5 Meet and Confer Requirement, 8.6 Stipulations in Open Court, 8.7 Preparation of Findings and Order After Hearing, 8.8 Master Family Law Calendar and Pro Per Calendar, 8.9 Mandatory Settlement Conference, 8.10 Child Custody Matters and Recommending Counseling Services, 8.11 Complaints Regarding Family Law Facilitator, 8.12 Supervised Visitation, 8.13 Judgments, 8.14 Ex-Parte Hearings and Orders and 8.15 Spousal or Domestic Partner Support, to 8.16 Children of Divorce Workshop.

The case management notice, FL22-0001, effective April 5, 2023, adds an instruction of its own. It requires a Case Management Conference Statement, local form FL18-0004, at least 15 calendar days before each conference. The Guide to Case Management sets the pace the court expects of a case moving toward judgment: when a default has been entered, a judgment should be submitted within 60 days of the entry of default, and where the spouses are negotiating, an agreed judgment within six months of filing.

The court's Forms and Filings page lists five family law local forms: FL18-0001, Declaration Regarding Notice of Application for Ex Parte Orders; FL18-0002, Family Law At-Issue Memorandum for Trial Settings; FL18-0003, Guide to Case Management; FL18-0004, Case Management Conference Statement; and FL22-0001, Case Management Conference Notice of Hearing. The forms page gives the forms no markings, while the appendix to the local rules marks the ex parte declaration under Rule 8.14 and the at-issue memorandum under Rule 8.8 as mandatory.

The judgment in Humboldt County, and the notarized signature

Local Rule 8.13(a) adds a county requirement to a default with agreement. In the rule's words, if the parties submit a signed default Judgment ("Default with Agreement"), the signature of the defaulting party must be notarized. That signature is notarized before the judgment papers are submitted. You arrange the notary; the office does not provide one.

The same rule adds that default judgments may not exceed the requested relief in the petition.

Submission follows the court's ordinary routes: the Clerk's Office at 421 I Street from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or the drop box from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is no e-filing and no direct fax, and the Guided Forms page's original and two copies is the copy guidance the court gives for most filings. The court pages read for this page do not state an envelope count, a mail-filing instruction or a judgment checklist of the court's own. Statewide, rule 5.415 governs the Notice of Entry of Judgment (form FL-190) and the stamped envelopes the clerk uses to mail it, and rule 5.405 limits the court to the forms listed on the FL-182 checklist.

The Guide to Case Management says a judgment should be submitted within 60 days of the entry of default, and, as the Guide describes the FL22-0001 notice, case management conferences are set at 180 and 360 days after filing. The court's Divorce, Nullity and Legal Separation page puts the end point simply: your divorce is not complete until you receive a judgement signed by a judge. A first correction, when the court sends the judgment packet back, is covered by the flat fee.

Remote appearances at the Humboldt court

Family Code section 2336 and rule 5.409 permit entry of judgment on a declaration with no hearing. The case management conferences are the dates the court's notice puts on a Humboldt case's calendar, and the court's remote appearance pages describe how a hearing can be joined from outside the courthouse.

Local Rule 1.13, set out on the court's Telephonic Appearances page, allows remote appearance by telephone or video under California Rules of Court, rule 3.670. It says remote appearances at non-evidentiary hearings are pre-approved and do not require court approval or notice, and that an evidentiary hearing needs notice on Judicial Council form RA-010, with RA-015 for an opposition and RA-020 for the order. The Judicial Assignments and Calendars page says the court uses ZoomGov, lists the meeting numbers for Courtroom 6 and Courtroom 7, the Family and Juvenile courtrooms, and gives voice-only access at (833) 568-8864. It also warns that not all cases may be attended remotely and that it is your responsibility to determine ahead of time if your hearing can be attended remotely. Questions go to phonerequests@humboldtcourt.ca.gov.

The court's own papers differ on whether a case management conference may be attended remotely: Local Rule 1.13 and the FL22-0001 notice served in each case do not say the same thing about it. This page therefore states neither as the rule; before a conference, read both the notice in your case and the rule on the Telephonic Appearances page. Item 205 of the court's posted schedule, appearance by videoconferencing under Government Code section 70630, reads "No Fee". The office does not appear in court, so any appearance is yours to make.

The Humboldt Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator

The Contact Us and Locations page places the Self-Help Center at 825 5th St., Room 305, on the third floor of the courthouse in Eureka, at (707) 445-7256 extension 1750 and Court.selfhelp@humboldtcourt.ca.gov. It lists walk-in help on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., appointments arranged in advance Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Thursday divorce workshops. Two other court documents give different details: the FL22-0001 notice lists walk-in help from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Room 310, and the Court Divisions and Self-Help page gives extension 1321 for appointments. This page follows the Contact Us and Locations page, whose Room 305 is also the room the Guide to Case Management gives for the facilitator, and the differences are noted so that a visit is checked against the court's current page.

The Guide to Case Management describes the Family Law Facilitator's Office in Room 305 as offering both one-on-one services and group workshops, free of charge, with procedural help on forms, filing and service. The Court Divisions and Self-Help page sets two limits in plain terms: the Self-Help Center cannot assist you if you have an attorney, and it cannot give you legal advice. Local Rule 8.11 is titled Complaints Regarding Family Law Facilitator.

A Humboldt case falls outside the flat fee when it involves a pregnancy or minor children, a business or professional practice, a divorce on which the spouses have not yet agreed, real property outside California, a restraining order or a safety concern, a pension that needs a qualified domestic relations order, a legal separation or an annulment, spouses who are not both proficient in English, or a spouse who cannot be located. The State Bar of California's Lawyer Referral Service directory, at calbar.ca.gov/Public/Need-Legal-Help/Lawyer-Referral-Service, lists the certified lawyer referral services for every county.

After the judgment, in Humboldt County

Family Code section 2340 has the judgment state the date the marriage ends. Section 2339 keeps that date at least six months after the other spouse was served or appeared, and form FL-107-INFO names six months and one day as the earliest it can be. A summary dissolution waits the same six months under section 2403. The case management conferences at 180 and 360 days are court events, and neither moves the date the marriage ends.

Certified copies of a Humboldt judgment are certified copies of the marriage dissolution record, which Government Code section 70674(b) defines as the judgment, and they cost $15 under item 195 of the Judicial Council's statewide schedule; when a public agency is the one requesting, item 194 sets the fee at $10. The court's posted copy of the January 1, 2026 schedule uses the same two item numbers. The court's online Case Record Request Form has a Certified Document box to check, and the form says a clerk will contact you with the total amount due and documents will be provided upon receipt of payment.

Where the agreement transfers California real property between you, a title company or another attorney prepares and records the deed after the judgment; the office does not prepare or record deeds. On residence, Family Code section 2320 asks for six months in California and three months in Humboldt County by you or your spouse before the petition is filed.

Each Humboldt address, telephone number, hour, fee item, rule and form on this page was read on October 19, 2026, from the court's own pages and PDFs or from the Judicial Council, and every source is listed below. The court's documents differ on the self-help room, hours and extension and on remote case management conferences; the page notes each difference and says which it follows or that it follows neither.

Rozsa Gyene, State Bar of California No. 208356, 3500 W. Olive Ave., Suite 300, Burbank, CA 91505.