Filing an uncontested divorce in Sutter County

One courthouse, in Yuba City

The Superior Court of California, County of Sutter, lists one courthouse on its Location and Contact Information page: the Sutter County Superior Courthouse, 1175 Civic Center Blvd, Yuba City, CA 95993. A Sutter County dissolution petition is filed there, and the court's clinics, its Self-Help Center and its family law calendar are in the same building, so there is no branch to choose.

The same page gives the court's hours as 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and lists three numbers that matter for a divorce. The main line is (530) 822-3300. The Civil line, which covers family law, is (530) 822-3304. Self Help and Family Court Services share (530) 822-3305.

Family law sits within the Civil division on the court's site: its Family Law page is a subpage of the Civil division, and the Civil division page gives the same office hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Civil line. The Civil division page states that family law matters are set on Mondays at 9:00 a.m.

The fee page the court posts, and the schedule this page cites

The court's Fee Schedule page is headed Effective January 1, 2024, and it follows the statewide numbering of that year. On that page, the court's posted January 1, 2024 schedule lists the dissolution petition at item 96 and the response at item 97, each at $435, and lists a settlement agreement signed by a defaulted respondent at item 100 and the armed forces appearance at item 101, each without a fee. The page also says payments may be made by cash, check, money order, cashier's check or ATM/Debit card.

The statewide schedule now in effect is the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, which renumbered the family law items and added a line for the joint petition that Family Code section 2342.5 created. Every item number and amount below comes from that schedule, read on October 19, 2026. The first-paper amount is the same on both: $435. The 2026 schedule notes that certain counties add a courthouse construction surcharge, shown in its appendix; Sutter County is not among them, and the court's fee page shows no local surcharge.

• Item 97, $435: the first paper in a case for dissolution, legal separation or nullity of a marriage or domestic partnership, whether a petition or another first paper, as Government Code sections 70670(b), 70602.5 and 70602.6 fix it. The spouse who starts an ordinary case pays this one.
• Item 98, $435: the response, or any other first paper filed in answer to a dissolution petition, under Government Code section 70670(d). Nothing under this item is owed unless the other spouse files such a paper.
• Item 99, $870: a joint petition for dissolution or legal separation, other than a summary dissolution, under Family Code section 2342.5(h). In the schedule's words, the fee covers the appearance of both petitioners, and even if a party later revokes the joint petition, no additional first appearance fees are required from petitioner or respondent.
• Item 100, $435: the joint petition the two spouses file together for a summary dissolution, priced under Government Code section 70670(b).
• Item 103, no fee: the settlement agreement or stipulation for judgment of a defaulted respondent, included in a judgment of dissolution, under Government Code section 70677(c).
• Item 104, no fee: a respondent in the armed forces filing the appearance, stipulation and waiver of rights, form FL-130, under Government Code section 70673.

Counting the first-paper fees for each kind of case

Where your spouse signs the agreement, files neither a response nor an FL-130, and has a default entered on the Request to Enter Default (FL-165), the clerk collects item 97 once, $435; item 103 then charges nothing for the agreement your defaulted spouse signed. Where your spouse appears instead, by a response or an FL-130, that first paper falls under item 98 and the two first papers come to $870; the one exception is item 104, which charges nothing for an FL-130 filed by a respondent in the armed forces. A summary dissolution, for the couples who meet Family Code section 2400, pays one first-paper fee, $435, under item 100.

The joint petition does not save a court fee in Sutter County; it pays both first-paper fees. Under Family Code section 2342.5(h), a joint petition is filed with the fee under Government Code section 70670(b) and the fee under 70670(d) unless both spouses have fee waivers, and item 99 of the January 1, 2026 statewide schedule puts the total at $870. Because the court's own fee page predates that line, this page states the joint petition amount only from the 2026 schedule and the statute.

The office's charge is separate from the court's and is paid to the office: a summary dissolution costs $599, an ordinary petition $1,499, and a joint petition $999. Under a limited scope engagement governed by California Rules of Court, rule 5.425, Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene prepares and reviews every document, and the attorney reviews the written filing instructions for Sutter County before you receive them. The engagement covers one revision round of the settlement agreement and the first correction of a judgment packet the Sutter court returns; a further round is quoted before work on it starts. The fee is earned in stages, and the part not yet earned is refunded if the representation ends before the case is done.

You file the documents in Yuba City yourself; the office does not file your papers, does not serve your spouse, does not appear in court, does not provide a notary and does not prepare or record deeds for you. The office represents one spouse only. Your spouse is not its client in the divorce and is not advised by it, and your spouse may consult an attorney of their own choosing.

Fee waiver forms in Sutter County

The Sutter court's pages read for this page include no page devoted to fee waivers, but two of them point to the forms. Local Rule 2.2(f), in the rules amended July 1, 2018, refers to forms FW-001 and FW-002 in connection with waiving e-filing fees, and the Civil division page tells filers to submit moving papers with the appropriate filing fee or an application for waiver of court fees and costs. The statewide authority is Government Code sections 68630 to 68634, which define who qualifies and how the court rules on the request.

A waiver matters beyond the first-paper fee. Local Rule 2.2(f) states that a party who has received a fee waiver is not required to pay any fee for electronic filing and service. For a joint petition, Family Code section 2342.5(h) waives the two first-paper fees only when both spouses have fee waivers.

A fee waiver lowers what you owe the court and leaves the office's flat fee where it is.

E-filing under Local Rule 2.2, and filing on paper

Local Rule 2.2, Electronic Filing and Service, says documents filed in all civil, probate and family law cases must be filed and served electronically, and the court's e-File FAQ dates the family law mandate to July 1, 2017. Rule 2.2(b) carves out an exception: self-represented parties and non-parties are exempt from the mandatory electronic filing and service requirements, though they are encouraged to participate.

If you choose to e-file, the court's e-File page sends you through eFileCA, the Odyssey system run by Tyler, by way of an electronic filing service provider, and says that to start e-filing you must select your service provider; the page links the provider list at odysseyefileca.com. It also links Odyssey Guide and File at california-efm.tylertech.cloud/srl, a tool for preparing forms. The e-File FAQ describes a basic service fee, an eCheck fee and a payment service fee for card processing; under Local Rule 2.2(f), a party with a fee waiver is not required to pay any fee for electronic filing and service.

The FAQ gives two timing rules. The court accepts filings during normal business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and an e-filing that arrives by 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day takes that day's filing date. The second rule is the one that matters if you submit in the evening.

One part of the case never reaches the clerk by either route. Family Code section 2104 requires the preliminary declaration of disclosure to be served on your spouse, not filed, and the court's file receives the proof of service of the disclosure, the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (FL-141), which appears on the court's default packet list.

The local rules the court posts, and its local forms

The only edition of the local rules posted on the court's Local Rules of Court page is the one titled Local Rules Amended 7-1-2018. Its cover gives the history: effective July 1, 2013, and amended January 1, 2017, July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2018. The page also links an older version dated July 1, 2017 and a document titled Electronic Filing Procedures 6 20 17. No later edition appears there, so Local Rule 2.2 and the family law chapter are read in their July 1, 2018 form.

Family law is chapter 4, and it holds six rules: 4.0, Ex Parte Communication in Child Custody Proceedings; 4.1, Court-Ordered Child Custody Evaluations; 4.2, Court-Appointed Counsel for a Child; 4.3, Communication Regarding Criminal Protective Orders and Child Custody/Visitation Orders; 4.4, Mediation of Custody and Visitation; and 4.5, Duties of Family Law Facilitator. Five of the six concern children, and none of the six titles names a default or a judgment, so for the judgment packet the court's own instructions and the statewide rules carry the weight.

The court's Local Forms page lists three family law items, each marked Optional: the Dissolution by Default Instructions, dated July 1, 2026; FL-01, the At-Issue Memorandum, dated July 2016; and CV-04, the Trial Brief. The default instructions are the court's packet for finishing a case in which the other spouse has not responded, and the next sections draw on them.

The status conference set at filing

The court's Self-Help Dissolution page explains that when you file your case you are given a status conference date, found on the Status Conference Minute Order. The page says that date is a check on the progress of your case and tells you to attend court on that date unless you have a judgment in your case; keep the minute order with your file and note the date.

Family law matters in Sutter County are set on Mondays at 9:00 a.m., as the Civil division page says. The Dissolution page puts the end point plainly: you are not divorced until you receive a judgment signed by the judge.

The office does not appear at a status conference or any other hearing; you attend it yourself, in person or by one of the remote methods the court allows.

The judgment packet in Sutter County

Statewide, California Rules of Court, rule 5.405 makes the Judgment Checklist (FL-182) the list of what a judgment needs, rule 5.411 governs a judgment on the spouses' written agreement, and rule 5.415 requires stamped envelopes so the clerk can mail notice of entry. Family Code section 2336 and rule 5.409 let the court enter the judgment on declaration without a hearing. Sutter County adds its own instructions in the Dissolution by Default packet, revised July 1, 2026.

That packet tells the filer to submit the originals, 2 copies, and 3 envelopes with stamps to the court for review and signature. The forms it lists are the Request to Enter Default (FL-165), the Judgment (FL-180) with its attachments stapled to it, the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation (FL-170), the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (FL-141), FL-140, FL-345, and, where there are children, FL-341 and FL-192, and the Notice of Entry of Judgment (FL-190). The packet also says a respondent on active military duty requires additional forms.

The packet's envelope instructions are specific. FL-190 goes with 3 envelopes and 9 stamps in all, made up of the envelopes listed below. Where the case ends by agreement rather than default, the court's Final Dissolution by Agreement clinic lists 8 stamps and 2 half manila envelopes to bring; your filing instructions name the method by which the packet reaches the court.

The envelopes the default packet calls for with FL-190:

• One half-manila envelope addressed to you, the filing spouse, with 4 stamps.
• One standard envelope addressed to the other spouse, with 1 stamp.
• One half-manila envelope addressed to the other spouse, with 4 stamps.

Remote appearances: CourtCall and LifeSize

For civil and family law, the court's Remote Appearances page offers two routes. A telephone appearance on the Monday morning calendar in Courtroom 1 or Courtroom 2 is arranged through CourtCall, at (888) 882-6878, on or before the Thursday before the hearing. The Civil division page words the deadline differently, no later than three days before the hearing; the two pages differ, and this page follows the Remote Appearances page. A video appearance uses LifeSize; the page says the court may permit an appearance by LifeSize, and the connection information comes from remoteapp@suttercourts.com.

A LifeSize appearance needs notice on form RA-010: at least 10 court days before an evidentiary hearing or trial, and at least 3 court days before other hearings. A party who opposes a remote appearance at an evidentiary hearing or trial files form RA-015 at least 3 court days before the hearing. A judgment by declaration needs neither, but a status conference or any other event set in your case can be attended this way if the court allows it.

The Sutter County Family Law Facilitator and Self-Help Center

The court's Family Law Facilitator and Self-Help Center is reached at (530) 822-3305 or through the E-Help form on the court's Self-Help page. The court posts its in-person and telephone hours on that page and notes in its Self-Help FAQ that they are subject to change due to staff availability, so this page does not repeat them; read the Self-Help page before you go. Self-help computers are in the courthouse lobby outside Room 120, and the Dissolution page says packets with instructions are available at the Self-Help Center.

The Self-Help page says assistance is primarily provided through clinics, offered in person and remotely, covering opening a case, completing forms, support calculations, and orders and judgments, without legal advice. It also lists what the center does not assist with: civil harassment, unlawful detainers, contempt, qualified domestic relations orders, adoptions and grandparent visitation. The Facilitators are attorneys, and the Facilitator's page explains that an individual appointment with a Facilitator comes only after you have first met with the Self-Help Center staff.

The Clinic Information page describes three divorce clinics: Beginning Dissolution; Final Dissolution by Default, for finishing a divorce when the other party has not responded, to which you bring your petition, your proof of service, 9 stamps and 3 envelopes; and Final Dissolution by Agreement, which requires pre-registration. The court posts a monthly calendar of clinic dates on that page; read the current month there, since this page does not print dates.

Some cases are outside the flat fee: minor children or a pregnancy, a divorce not yet agreed between the spouses, 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, or 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 Sutter County judgment

Family Code section 2339 sets a six-month period that starts when your spouse is served with the summons and petition, or appears in the case, whichever is first, and form FL-107-INFO places the earliest end of the marriage at six months and one day. Nothing about Sutter County's procedure shortens that. The judgment may be signed before the period runs, and under Family Code section 2340 it then states the later date on which the marital status ends.

After the judge signs, rule 5.415 has the clerk mail the Notice of Entry of Judgment in the stamped envelopes you supplied. For a certified copy, Government Code section 70674 defines the marriage dissolution record as the judgment, and the statewide schedule charges $15 for a certified copy under item 195, or $10 under item 194 when the request comes from a public agency. The court's Records Request page states the same $15 for certified copies of family law judgments and says not to send payment until the court contacts you.

Where the agreement transfers California real property, the office does not prepare or record deeds; a title company or another attorney does that work once the judgment is entered. Every source listed below, whether on www.sutter.courts.ca.gov or among the statewide sources, was read on October 19, 2026.

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