Filing an uncontested divorce in Shasta County

One courthouse: 1515 Court Street, Redding

Shasta County's superior court lists one courthouse on its Locations page, the Redding Main Courthouse at 1515 Court Street, Redding, CA 96001, described there as holding Courtrooms and Departments 21 to 64 and jury assembly. The Family Law Division page places family law at the same address under its heading Location and Hours, and no other filing location for a dissolution appears on any court page read on October 18, 2026. With one place to file, there is no courthouse to choose.

Which room is a different question, and the court's pages do not agree on it. The Family Law Division page gives the clerk's office on the first floor, with office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Further down, the same page says that family law documents and civil restraining orders are filed in Room 319, which it calls the Civil Division of the Superior Court. The court's local family law forms, LF-FAM-105 among them, print the court's mailing address and street address in their caption as 1515 Court Street, Room 110. The court's materials do not reconcile the three, so this page reports all three and chooses none; your filing instructions name the courthouse, and you ask at the building which window takes a family law filing.

The Family Law Division's telephone number is (530) 245-6789 and its fax number is (530) 605-2802; the Civil Division page lists the same two numbers and the same office hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Family Law page also gives an email address, famlaw@shasta.courts.ca.gov, for general information only. Those hours are the regular hours the two division pages publish, and they match; the Locations page itself prints no hours and no telephone number for the building.

The court's judicial assignments sheet, effective April 13, 2026 and linked from its Judicial Assignments page, shows where family law is heard. It assigns Department 52 to a judge for family law including domestic violence and elder abuse, lists Department 53 the same way, and lists Department 51, presided over by a commissioner, with a Monday calendar for defaults and another Monday calendar for self-represented family law motions. No rule or page read for this page describes how a new dissolution case is assigned to one of those departments; Local Rule 14.05 describes how the court reviews a case after filing, not where it is sent, so this page says nothing about which department will receive yours.

The court's fees, item by item

The court publishes no current fee schedule of its own. Its Forms and Filing page, its Form Packets page and its Civil Division page each carry a line sending the reader to Civil Fees for filing fee information, and the link goes to the Judicial Council's Civil Fees page, where the schedule posted on October 18, 2026 is the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026. Every figure below is read from that schedule. Its asterisk footnote says the marked fees vary in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco because of a local surcharge for courthouse construction; Shasta is not among the three, so the printed amount is the amount paid in Redding.

One link on the court's site points somewhere older. The Filing Fees link on the Family Law Division page opens a scanned copy of the Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2020, seventeen image pages with no text layer. That edition printed the same amount for a petition and for a response. This page follows the current schedule that the court's other three pages link, and says so because a reader who follows the Family Law page's link will land on the older document.

• Item 97, $435: a petition or other first paper for dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, legal separation or nullity, under Government Code sections 70670(b), 70602.5 and 70602.6. The clerk collects it when an ordinary petition is filed.
• Item 98, $435: a response or other first paper filed in response to such a petition, under Government Code section 70670(d). It falls due only if your spouse files a response or otherwise appears in the case.
• Item 99, $870: a joint petition for dissolution or legal separation other than a summary dissolution. The schedule's note is that the fee covers the appearance of both petitioners.
• Item 100, $435: a joint petition for summary dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, one first-paper fee.
• Item 103, no fee: a settlement agreement or stipulation for judgment signed by a defaulted respondent and included in a judgment of dissolution. The spouse who signs your agreement and files no response pays the court nothing.
• Item 104, no fee: an appearance, stipulation and waiver on form FL-130 filed by a respondent in the armed forces.

How many first-paper fees each path pays here

Under Family Code sections 2400 to 2403 a summary dissolution pays one first-paper fee, $435, the figure printed at item 100. An ordinary petition where your spouse signs the settlement agreement and never files a response pays item 97 once, $435, and item 103 adds nothing for the signed agreement. An ordinary petition where your spouse files a response or an Appearance, Stipulations and Waivers (form FL-130) pays items 97 and 98, $870 paid between you. A joint petition under Family Code section 2342.5 pays $870: subdivision (h) provides that the joint petition is filed with the fees under Government Code section 70670(b) and (d) unless both spouses have fee waivers, and item 99 prints those two fees as one figure. The joint petition does not save a court fee in Shasta County; it pays both first-paper fees.

The fee you pay Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene is a different thing, a flat fee paid to the office and never to the court: $1,499 for an ordinary petition, $999 for a joint petition and $599 for a summary dissolution. It covers the preparation and attorney review of every document in a limited scope engagement under California Rules of Court, rule 5.425, written filing instructions for Shasta County that the attorney reviews before they are released to you, one revision round of the settlement agreement, and the first correction of a judgment packet the court returns. A further revision round, if one is needed, is quoted before any work on it starts. The fee is earned in stages; if the representation ends early, whatever has not yet been earned is refunded.

The office does not file documents, serve your spouse, appear in court or provide a notary, and it does not prepare or record deeds. You file at the Redding courthouse as a self-represented litigant with the attorney's written instructions. The office represents one spouse only. The other spouse is not this office's client in the divorce, receives no advice from it, and may consult an attorney of their own choosing.

If you cannot afford the fee

The Family Law Division page tells a filer who feels eligible for a fee waiver that an application may be picked up in the Civil Division, adding that the Judicial Council is the other source, and the Civil Division page says fee waivers are available for indigent plaintiffs and defendants. The court's Form Packets page carries a Fee Waiver packet listing three forms under the labels FW-001-INFO, Information Sheet on Waiver of Court Fees and Costs; FW-001-GC, Request to Waive Court Fees; and FW-003-GC, Order on Court Fee Waiver. The court's filing rules sheet, IS-004, puts the choice at the window in one line: pay the filing fees, or present a Request to Waive Court Fees and an Order on Request.

Government Code sections 68630 to 68634 are the law behind the forms. The court waives its fees for a person who receives a listed public benefit, whose household income is at or below the amount the Judicial Council publishes, or who cannot pay the fee and also meet the household's basic needs, and the clerk files the petition without payment while the request is decided. Shasta's Local Rule 5.16 cites section 68634(d) and delegates to the clerk the authority to grant applications that meet those standards of eligibility, which means a qualifying request can be granted at the clerk's office. The Judicial Council's information sheet FW-001-INFO explains the three categories, and its fee waiver guide puts the whole idea in one sentence: if you cannot afford court fees, you can ask the court for a fee waiver.

On a joint petition, section 2342.5(h) requires both first-paper fees unless both spouses hold waivers, so each spouse who needs one files a Request to Waive Court Fees of their own. When you ask for one, the request and the order form are prepared by the office within the flat fee. A waiver covers court fees only; the office's flat fee is unchanged by it. The Self-Help Center's schedule flyer adds a practical point for anyone asking the center for help with a fee request: bring a copy of the last two months of paystubs, proof of income or a Schedule C.

The filing routes the court describes

The court's website, read page by page on October 18, 2026, describes no e-filing route for a family law case. Its home page, Forms and Filing page, Local Forms page, Form Packets page, Online Services page, Court Case Records page, Civil Division page, Family Law Division page, Frequently Asked Questions page and the July 1, 2026 Local Rules were each read, and none of them mentions electronic filing or an electronic filing service provider. The Online Services page lists an outside site called Online Filing Turbo Court, which it describes as an interactive program to assist you in completing court forms. This page does not say that e-filing is unavailable in Shasta County; it says the court's pages do not describe it, and the filing instructions the office writes for a Shasta County case use the routes the court does describe.

The first route is the clerk's window. The court's IS-004, Rules for Filing Papers, revised August 26, 2024, is written for a person standing at it: make copies of each original, two at a minimum; two-hole punch the original at the top center; pay the filing fees or present the Request to Waive Court Fees and the Order on Request; and expect to step away from the window to correct a document the clerk cannot take as it is. The petition sheet IS-008 asks for the original and two copies and says that where the clerk cannot return your copies right away you may return later to pick them up or leave a self-addressed stamped envelope with the clerk.

The second route is a fax filing agency. Local Rule 14.11, Facsimile Filing, says the court does not accept direct fax filings as provided by California Rules of Court, rule 2.304, and that it will accept filings through a fax filing agency. The court's one rule on electronic signatures is Local Rule 2.19, adopted effective July 1, 2018: it accepts a digital signature that complies with Government Code section 16.5(a)(1) to (5) and says no other form of electronic signature will be accepted.

Getting your copies back is covered by IS-004 as well. Picking up documents requires photo identification; a person collecting them on your behalf needs a letter you have signed, and if the case is confidential, the letter must be notarized. The office does not provide a notary, so a notarized letter is one you arrange yourself.

What you bring at each step

At the petition. The court's IS-008 lists the standard forms that are required: the Summons (form FL-110), the Petition (form FL-100), a blank Response (form FL-120) to be served with the petition, form FL-117, the Proof of Service of Summons (form FL-115), the Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-140), the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-141) and, only where there are minor children, form FL-105. The office prepares the ones your case needs, completed for your signature, and you bring them with the fee or the fee waiver request and order. For a joint petition the first paper is the Joint Petition (form FL-700). For a summary dissolution the court's Dissolution Summary packet lists FL-810, IS-004, FL-800, FL-150, FL-825 and FL-830, and the Family Law Division page's Summary Dissolution section states the eligibility limits in its own words, among them a marriage of under five years, no children, no real estate and no spousal support.

At the disclosure. Local Rule 14.05 expects the preliminary declaration of disclosure to be served within 60 days of filing, and the court's IS-003, Information re Declaration of Disclosure, says you cannot get a Judgment of Dissolution until the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure is filed. Family Code section 2104 is the statute that requires the preliminary disclosure. The disclosure documents themselves, the FL-140 with the Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150) and the Schedule of Assets and Debts (form FL-142), go to your spouse; only the FL-141 goes to the clerk. The same local rule expects proof of service of the summons within 60 days of filing, so on an ordinary petition the FL-115 is filed inside that window.

At the judgment. You bring the forms from the court's Part II packet, described in the section on the judgment below, with the copies IS-004 requires. California Rules of Court, rule 5.405 fixes what the court may ask for through the Judgment Checklist (form FL-182), rule 5.411 governs a judgment entered on your written agreement, and Family Code section 2336 with rule 5.409 lets the court enter the judgment on your declaration without a hearing. Shasta's Local Rule 5.12 says much the same for a default in the court's own voice: it is the general policy of the court that prove-up applications and the evidence in support of them be presented in written form.

Local rules and local forms

The court's Local Rules page links one rules document. Its filename reads roc_jan26, but the edition inside was adopted May 18, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026, replacing the January 1, 2026 set, and this page cites that July 1, 2026 edition. Section 14 holds the Family Law Rules: 14.01 Family Court Services Counseling, 14.02 Child Custody Evaluations, 14.03 Family Law Facilitator, 14.05 Family-Centered Case Resolution Process, 14.06 At-Issue Memorandum and Request for Trial, 14.07 Child Support and Temporary Spousal or Partner Support, 14.09 Service by Delivery to Clerk of the Court, 14.10 Mandatory Disclosure of Information in Custody and Visitation Matters, 14.11 Facsimile Filing and 14.12 Standards of Practice for Providers of Supervised Visitation, with 14.04 and 14.08 reserved.

Rule 14.05 is the rule an uncontested dissolution lives under. It applies to every dissolution, legal separation, nullity, parentage and grandparent case filed after January 1, 2012, and it sets four milestones, each measured in 60 days: proof of service of the summons within 60 days of filing; the preliminary declaration of disclosure served within 60 days of filing; a request to enter default within 60 days after the response was due; and, in the words of subdivision (D)(4), when a default has been entered, a judgment should be submitted within 60 days of the entry of default.

Three further rules reach an uncontested case. Rule 5.06 says that where a stipulation is submitted, the proposed order or judgment to be signed and filed shall be lodged as a separate document. Rule 5.12, Default Prove-Ups, states the court's general policy that prove-up applications and their evidence be presented in written form. Rule 14.06 says a trial date will not be set at a party's request until the At-Issue Memorandum, Local Form LF-FAM-100, is filed, which happens after the petition, the response and the preliminary disclosures; an uncontested case asks for no trial, and the memorandum is named here so that the form is not a mystery if you meet it in the court's packet list.

The local forms appendix to the rules lists three family law forms. LF-FAM-100, Family Law At-Issue Memorandum, is marked optional and dated March 14, 2012 in the appendix, while the posted form reads revised February 1, 2024 and is approved for optional use. LF-FAM-105, Mandatory Disclosure of Information (Child Custody and Visitation), is marked mandatory and dated July 1, 2019 in the appendix, while the posted form reads amended September 5, 2024. LF-FAM-106, Certificate of No Record, is marked optional and dated July 1, 2025. Rule 14.10 ties LF-FAM-105 to a Request for Order (form FL-300), a Responsive Declaration (form FL-320), a DV-140, a DV-120 or an FL-305 that seeks custody or visitation orders, and says nothing about the petition, the default or the judgment. The court's dissolution packets, Part I and Part II, list Judicial Council forms together with the court's own IS information sheets: IS-004, Rules for Filing Papers, revised August 26, 2024; IS-008, revised June 12, 2012; and IS-003, revised May 28, 2010. The Part II list for a case with minor children, IS-010b, names LF-FAM-100 under other forms you may need, beside FL-130, FL-144 and FL-397.

The judgment packet in Shasta County

The court's Form Packets page splits each dissolution packet into Part I and Part II. The Part I list for a case with minor children, IS-010a, says that this part will not conclude your case and that you should seek legal advice; IS-005a is the Part I list for a case without. The Part II list IS-010b, revised July 1, 2012 like IS-005b, says that some or all of the forms in the packet may be used to obtain judgment and conclude the case. The Part II forms the page names include the Request to Enter Default (form FL-165), the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation (form FL-170), the Judgment (form FL-180), the Judgment Checklist (form FL-182) and the Notice of Entry of Judgment (form FL-190).

Three local rules shape the packet. Rule 14.05(D)(4) expects the judgment within 60 days of the entry of default. Rule 5.12 has the default prove-up in writing, which is what the FL-170 declaration is. Rule 5.06 has the proposed judgment lodged as a separate document from any stipulation. California Rules of Court, rule 5.405 limits what the court may demand to the items on form FL-182, rule 5.411 governs the stipulated judgment, and rule 5.415 governs the notice of entry of judgment and the envelopes the clerk uses to mail it. IS-003 adds the one precondition the court states outright: the FL-141 must be on file before a judgment can issue.

What the court's pages do not say. No page, rule or information sheet read on October 18, 2026 describes how a self-represented person in Shasta County delivers the judgment packet, how many envelopes it carries, whether any signature in it must be notarized, or whether the court uses a checklist of its own beyond form FL-182. The court's general filing rules in IS-004 apply to the packet as to every filing: the original and at least two copies, two-hole punched; IS-008 adds, for the petition, a self-addressed stamped envelope if the copies cannot be returned at once. The Judicial Council's statewide guide to finalizing a divorce, which is written for no one county, says to make copies of the forms, prepare return envelopes, and mail or bring the forms and envelopes to the court clerk. Your filing instructions name the delivery route the court's pages support, and the first correction of a packet the court returns is included in the flat fee.

Appearing remotely, if a hearing is ever set

An uncontested divorce on a written agreement asks for no hearing: Family Code section 2336 and rule 5.409 allow the judgment to be entered on your declaration without a hearing, and Local Rule 5.12 keeps a default prove-up in writing. If the court sets one anyway, its Remote Appearance Information page says the court no longer uses CourtCall and that remote appearances are now through WebEx. Audio access is by telephone at (844) 517-1271 with an access code for each department, which the page reveals when the pointer hovers over the words Access Code after the number.

The page lists upcoming remote appearance dates for Departments 42, 43, 44, 51, 52, 53, 63 and 64. It does not say which case types those departments hear. It is the court's judicial assignments sheet, not the remote appearance page, that places family law in Departments 51, 52 and 53, so a reader joins the two documents to find the family law calendars. The page posts three forms: RA-010, Notice of Remote Appearance; RA-015, Opposition to Remote Proceeding at Evidentiary Hearing or Trial; and RA-020, Order Regarding Remote Appearance. It does not say whether a self-represented party in a family law case must file the RA-010 before appearing, and this page does not say so either. The office does not appear in court; should a hearing be set, the court's Remote Appearance Information page is where the arrangements live.

The Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator

The court's page for its self-help office uses two names for it, the Family Law Facilitator's Office / Self Help Center and the Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator, and Local Rule 14.03 establishes the Family Law Facilitator under Division 14 of the Family Code. It is at 1515 Court Street, Room 320, Redding, CA 96001, and IS-004 places the facilitator on the third floor of the courthouse. Its telephone number, (530) 245-6900, is a message phone only, and its email address is selfhelp@shasta.courts.ca.gov. Its page says service is offered on a first-come, first-served basis during office hours, through a telephone hotline, and through email.

Hours are the one thing this page does not print for the center, because the court's materials differ. The center's schedule flyer, a PDF linked from its page, sets out walk-in, telephone and email periods for each weekday; the court's Self-Help index page carries an undated announcement about how the center is giving assistance that does not match the flyer. The flyer prints no revision date and neither document refers to the other. Read the announcement and the flyer on the court's site before going to Room 320; the flyer also says the center can assist by telephone, email or Zoom.

For a dissolution, legal separation or nullity the center's page lists the help it gives: forms and assistance in initiating the proceeding, preparation of disclosure documents, and finalization of the proceeding. The page says the center cannot represent you, that the information you discuss is not confidential, and that no attorney-client relationship is created. Its list of what it does not assist with includes a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, discovery, subpoenas, contempt and appeals.

Outside the flat fee in Shasta County, as in every county: minor children, a contested case, a business, a pension that needs its own order, real property outside California, a legal separation, an annulment, or a spouse who cannot be found. 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 this county

Under Family Code section 2340 the judgment states the date your marriage ends, and under section 2339 that date is no earlier than six months after your spouse was served or appeared; form FL-107-INFO counts the earliest date as six months and one day. The court's Family Law Division page states the summary dissolution version of the same rule: a six month waiting period from the filing date of the summary dissolution until the dissolution of marriage is final, which is what Family Code section 2403 provides. Nothing filed in Redding shortens the period. Where your spouse never responds, the Family Law page says that once the default is entered the petitioner can complete the divorce proceeding without the participation of the respondent; the six months still run from the day of service.

A certified copy of the judgment, for an agency that asks for one, costs what the court's FAQ page states, $15.00 for certification of a family law judgment plus $0.50 per page. Because the office does not prepare or record deeds, a transfer of California real property that your agreement calls for is handled after judgment by a title company or another attorney. The residence rule is Family Code section 2320, and the court's IS-008 restates it: one spouse must have lived in California for at least six months and in the county for at least three months before the case is filed.

Every address, room number, hour, fee item, rule and form on this page was read from the court's own pages and PDFs or from the Judicial Council on October 18, 2026, and each source is listed below. Where the court's materials disagree, on the filing room, the fee schedule link and the self-help hours, this page says so rather than deciding for the court.

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