Filing an uncontested divorce in Napa County

The family law counter at 825 Brown Street

The court's Family Law Filing page gives one address for dissolution papers: the Historic Courthouse, 825 Brown Street, First Floor, Napa, CA 94559, with a family law telephone number of (707) 299-1130. The same page explains that dissolution, nullity and legal separation documents are filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court, and that the Family Law Division is contained within the Civil Division. The Locations and Contact Information page lists three buildings in all, the Criminal Courthouse at 1111 Third Street, the Historic Courthouse at 825 Brown Street and the Juvenile Hall Courthouse at 2350 Old Sonoma Road, which does not accept mail; for a divorce filing, the Brown Street building is the one the family law page names.

Filings are accepted Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., according to the Family Law Filing page, and a drop box for same day filings is available at court facilities every day until 5:00 p.m. The Locations page adds that all court divisions are open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday including the noon hour, so the counter does not close for lunch. These are the regular hours the court publishes; its Holidays and Hours of Operation page repeats them, lists the court holidays, and carried no temporary-hours or closure notice when it was read.

The Locations page lists the Family Law Clerk's Office at (707) 299-1130 and the court's general information line at (707) 299-1100. It also states that the court currently does not accept documents for filing by direct fax; papers sent by fax go through a fax filing agency instead.

Inside the court, where a case is heard turns on representation. Local Rule 7.2, Calendar Assignments, places dissolution and custody matters in which at least one party is represented by counsel on the master family law department's calendar, and keeps those matters apart from the cases in which both parties represent themselves.

Reading the fee schedule Napa posts

The court's Fines and Fees page links a document it calls the Napa County Civil Fee Schedule. The document itself is headed Superior Court of California, County of Napa, Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, January 1, 2026, and its family law items carry the same numbers as the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026. Both were read on October 19, 2026, and the item numbers below are the Judicial Council's. The statewide schedule's footnote says that fees marked with an asterisk will vary in the counties of Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco because of a local surcharge, and the court's copy adds no surcharge of its own to the family law items, so the family law amounts in the court's copy are the statewide amounts.

The court's copy differs from the Judicial Council's in its records section, where its numbering runs four lower. That matters only for the certified copy of the judgment, discussed near the end of this page, and the amounts of the records items the page uses, items 190 and 191 of the court's copy, match items 194 and 195 of the Judicial Council's.

• Item 97, $435: the first filing in a Napa case for dissolution, legal separation or nullity, whether of a marriage or a domestic partnership. The person who opens an ordinary case pays it at filing.
• Item 98, $435: your spouse's response or other first paper in answer. It is owed only by a spouse who answers the petition in writing or otherwise makes a first appearance.
• Item 99, $870: the joint petition for a dissolution or a legal separation, when the case is not a summary dissolution. In the schedule's words, this fee covers the appearance of both petitioners, and no additional first appearance fees are required even if a party later revokes the joint petition.
• Item 100, $435: a joint petition for summary dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, a single first-paper fee for the two of you.
• Item 103, no fee: an agreement or stipulation for judgment that a spouse already in default signs. Once the other spouse's default has been entered, that spouse can sign the agreement without paying the court anything.
• Item 104, no fee: form FL-130, the appearance, stipulation and waiver of rights, when the respondent filing it serves in the armed forces.

First-paper fees, path by path

A summary dissolution under Family Code sections 2400 to 2403 pays one first-paper fee, $435, the item 100 figure. An ordinary petition in which your spouse files no response, the default is entered, and your spouse afterwards signs the written agreement also pays once, the $435 of item 97, because item 103 charges nothing for an agreement signed by a defaulted respondent. An ordinary petition in which your spouse files a response, or the Appearance, Stipulations and Waivers on form FL-130, pays items 97 and 98 (unless item 104 applies to a respondent in the armed forces), $870 in total between the two of you.

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

The flat fee you pay Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene is a separate payment that never goes to the court: $1,499 where you file an ordinary petition, $999 where both of you sign one joint petition, and $599 where the case is a summary dissolution. For it, the office prepares and the attorney reviews every document in a limited scope engagement under California Rules of Court, rule 5.425, and you receive written filing instructions for the Napa court, reviewed by the attorney before they are released. One revision round of the settlement agreement is included, and so is the first correction of a judgment packet that the court sends back; a revision round beyond that one is quoted to you before any of that work starts. The office earns its fee in stages, and any part not yet earned is refunded if the representation ends early.

What the office does not do is just as definite. It does not file your papers, serve your spouse, appear in court or provide a notary, and it does not prepare or record deeds. It represents one spouse only: your spouse is not a client of this office in the divorce, is given no advice by it, and may consult an attorney of their own choosing.

When the fee is more than you can pay

None of the court pages read for this page, its fee pages, its Forms and Filing page and its Self-Help page, sets out a fee waiver procedure of the court's own, so the statewide rules are the ones to read. The Judicial Council's fee waiver guide says to ask for a fee waiver if you can't afford court fees.

The request is made on the Request to Waive Court Fees (form FW-001). Under Government Code section 68632 a waiver is granted to someone on a listed public benefit, to a household whose income is within the limit the Judicial Council publishes, and to someone who cannot pay the fee and still meet basic living needs; under section 68634(c) the clerk files your petition without payment while the court decides the request. Sections 68630 to 68634 together make up the statute.

A joint petition needs a waiver for each spouse before the court fees go away, because section 2342.5(h) requires both first-paper fees unless both spouses hold waivers. If you ask for a waiver, the office prepares the request and the court's order form within the flat fee. The waiver reaches the court's fees only, and the office's flat fee stays as it is.

E-filing and Guide and File in Napa

The court's eFile page states that the court accepts electronic filings in Civil, Family, Probate, Criminal, Traffic, Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Dependency cases, and its Family Division page says that filings may be electronically filed. The words the court uses are "accepts" and "may". Its Holidays and Hours of Operation page adds that e-filing is available 24/7, which means a filing can be sent outside the counter's 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. hours.

Local Rule 2.10, Electronic Filing, in the edition effective January 1, 2026, says that parties wishing to e-file are required to visit the court's website to select an electronic filing service provider. The eFile page's Start eFile Now button leads to the provider list on an outside site, which was not read for this page, so no provider and no provider fee are named here; no court page read states an e-filing fee. The eFile page also warns that the court cannot redact documents that are filed electronically, so anything that should not appear in a public file has to be removed by the filer before the document is sent.

Separately, the court's Guide and File page offers step-by-step interviews that complete selected legal forms, and lists among them one called Divorce and one called Request to Enter and Default Judgement. The page says the finished forms can be filed electronically, printed and filed by mail, or filed in person at the court. Your filing instructions from the office name the method for each set of papers in your case.

Papers to have ready at each stage

At the petition. The signed petition set: for an ordinary case, the Summons (form FL-110) and Petition (form FL-100); for spouses filing together, the Joint Petition (form FL-700); on the summary track, the summary dissolution joint petition, form FL-800, and its companion papers. Bring the court fee or your fee waiver request and order with the set, and copies. Local Rule 3.4 says the Court Executive Officer will endorse a maximum of two copies of any filed document at the time of filing.

What you leave with. Under Local Rule 7.4(B), when a case subject to family law case management is filed, the petitioner receives two copies of the Notice of Family Law Case Management, and Rule 7.4(C) requires that notice to be served with the summons and petition. On an ordinary petition, then, the papers delivered to your spouse include the notice the clerk gave you.

At the disclosure. Each spouse owes the other a preliminary declaration of disclosure under Family Code section 2104. Your spouse receives the disclosure set, forms FL-140 (Declaration of Disclosure), FL-150 (Income and Expense Declaration) and FL-142 (Schedule of Assets and Debts), and only the proof of that service, form FL-141, the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure, goes to the court.

At the judgment. The judgment papers are described in the section on the judgment below. Under California Rules of Court, rule 5.405, the court may ask for no more than the forms the Judgment Checklist (form FL-182) lists; rule 5.411 applies when the judgment rests on your written agreement; and Family Code section 2336, read with rule 5.409, permits the court to enter that judgment on your declaration without a hearing.

Napa local rules and local forms

The Local Rules page posts the court's rules under the title Local Rules, effective January 1, 2026, and this page cites that edition. Rule 7 holds the Family Law Proceedings: 7.1 Scope, 7.2 Calendar Assignments, 7.3 Proof of Service, 7.4 Family Law Case Management, 7.5 Ex Parte Matters, 7.6 Master Family Law Calendar, 7.7 Hearings in general, 7.8 Settlement Conferences, 7.9 Trial Exhibits, 7.10 Child Custody and Visitation, 7.11 Requirements in Financial Matters, 7.12 Family Law Facilitator and 7.13 Appointment of Elisor, with two further rules, 7.14 and 7.15, on child support defaults by the local child support agency and Title IV-D enrollment.

Rule 7.4 is the one every Napa divorce meets. Beyond the notice served with the petition, Rule 7.4(D) sets the first family law case management conference at least one year after filing, unless a judgment resolving all issues has been entered before the conference. Appearance at the conference is mandatory under the rule, and the case may be dismissed if both parties fail to appear. Rule 7.4(D)(3) adds that the court's Case Management Conference Report, local form FL-2, is mandatory for represented parties and that use of the local form is optional for unrepresented parties.

Two rules from Rule 3 govern the copies you get back. Rule 3.4 is the two-copy endorsement limit already mentioned. Rule 3.5 says that copies submitted for endorsement without an envelope will be placed in the will-call box in the clerk's office, and that endorsed items left there and never collected may be destroyed. The will-call box is the rule's destination for copies handed in without an envelope, so an envelope goes in with the copies you want returned.

The Local Forms page lists six family law forms with the court's own markings: FL-1, At Issue Memorandum and Certificate of Readiness, mandatory, dated April 17, 2017; FL-2, Case Management Conference Report, marked mandatory and optional, dated January 1, 2021; FL-3, Declaration Re: Notice for Ex Parte Hearing, optional, April 17, 2017; FL-4, Ex Parte Application and Order to Be Relieved As Attorney of Record for Minor, optional, April 17, 2017; FL-5, Stipulation for Subsequent Mediation, mandatory, July 1, 2017; and FL-6, Family Law Stipulation and Order, optional, January 1, 2020. Their titles concern trial readiness, case management, ex parte hearings, mediation and stipulations.

Delivering the judgment papers in Napa

The court pages read for this page do not set out a judgment packet procedure of their own: no Napa page read gives a copy count, an envelope count, a checklist, a notarization requirement or a local attachment for the judgment. What the court does describe are its general filing routes, and they apply to the judgment papers as to anything else. You can hand them in at the Brown Street counter between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., leave them in the same day drop box until 5:00 p.m., or e-file them through a provider under Local Rule 2.10. The Guide and File page also mentions printing and filing by mail for the forms its interviews complete. Direct fax is not accepted.

The statewide rules fill in the rest. Rule 5.405 fixes the Judgment Checklist (form FL-182) as the limit of what the court may require. Rule 5.411 governs a judgment based on your signed agreement, and under rule 5.415 the Notice of Entry of Judgment (form FL-190) reaches each of you by mail from the clerk, in stamped envelopes you supply.

Local Rule 7.4(D) ties the judgment to the calendar in one way: the first case management conference, set at least a year after filing, is excused where a judgment resolving all issues has been entered before it. If the court sends the judgment packet back, the flat fee covers the first correction.

Remote appearances in the Napa court

An uncontested case on a signed agreement or a default can be decided without a hearing, because Family Code section 2336 and rule 5.409 let the court enter the judgment on your declaration. The case management conference under Local Rule 7.4 is the event that can put a Napa case on a calendar, and the court's remote appearance pages are where the arrangements for joining it from elsewhere are described.

Local Rule 2.8 permits remote appearances and states that all remote appearances are made via the Zoom web-based application. Under the rule, a party joins about five minutes before the hearing and waits in a virtual waiting room until the case is called. The Courtroom Remote Appearances page lists a zoomgov.com link for each department and says remote appearances are at the discretion of the judicial officer; it also notes that Departments 6, A and B no longer allow telephone appearances by Zoom. The Remote Appearance page says you do not need a Zoom account to participate in a meeting and that you may appear by phone if you do not have access to video, so a party appearing in one of the three departments named reads the courtroom page before relying on the telephone.

Item 201 of the court's posted schedule copy, appearance by videoconferencing under Government Code section 70630, reads "Set by court". The office does not appear in court, so if a conference or hearing goes forward, you appear for yourself, in person or remotely as the court allows.

The Napa Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator

Napa combines its Self-Help Center with the Family Law Facilitator's Office, and the court's Self-Help page says the combined office provides assistance completing forms related to dissolutions. It is on the lower level of the Historic Courthouse, 825 Brown Street, Napa, CA 94559, at (707) 299-1137 and selfhelp@napa.courts.ca.gov, and its published office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Local Rule 7.12 is the rule that established the office of family law facilitator for self-represented parties.

The page says the center is available to assist from start to finish with a divorce, legal separation or nullity case, and lists the ways to reach it: email, telephone, video appointments, and in person after completing its Customer Intake Form. The Self-Help page and the Remote Appearance page each link a video meeting address for self-help drop-in appointments, and the two addresses are not the same, so this page prints neither; read the Self-Help page itself for the current link. The center is clear about its limits. It does not give legal advice, what you tell it is not confidential, and it will provide assistance to the other side of the case as well.

Outside the flat fee in Napa County, as everywhere the office works: minor children or a pregnancy, a divorce not yet agreed, a restraining order or a safety concern, a business or professional practice, a pension that needs a qualified domestic relations order, real property outside California, a legal separation or an annulment, a spouse who cannot be located, and spouses who are not both proficient in English. 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 Napa County

The judgment states the date your marriage ends, under Family Code section 2340, and section 2339 puts that date no earlier than six months after your spouse was served or appeared, and form FL-107-INFO puts the first possible date at six months and one day. A summary dissolution follows Family Code section 2403, which also allows the judgment only after six months. No local rule or filing in Napa shortens the period; the judgment can be entered before the six months have run, and it then states the later date on which the marriage ends.

A certified copy of the judgment, if a bank, a retirement plan or an agency asks for one, falls under Government Code section 70674(b), which treats the judgment as the marriage dissolution record. Its price is $15 under item 195 of the Judicial Council's statewide schedule, with a public agency paying $10 under item 194; the court's posted copy of the January 1, 2026 schedule lists the same two fees at its items 191 and 190. The court's Research and Records page says civil, family and probate records are requested by mail or in person on the Civil, Family, and Probate Records Request Form, that a Visa or Mastercard and expiration date is required on each form, and that the records office is at 825 Brown Street, 1st Floor, (707) 299-1140.

If your agreement moves California real property from one spouse to the other, the deed is prepared and recorded after the judgment by a title company or another attorney, because the office does not prepare or record deeds. Family Code section 2320 sets the residence requirement, and in a Napa case it means one of you lived in California for six months and in Napa County for three months before the petition was filed.

Every Napa address, telephone number, hour, fee item, rule and form named on this page was read from the court's own pages and PDFs, or from the Judicial Council, on October 19, 2026, and each source appears in the list below. The two self-help video links on the court's pages differ, and this page prints neither.

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