Filing an uncontested divorce in Tehama County

One courthouse in Red Bluff

The court's location page gives a single address for the whole court: Tehama County Superior Court, 1740 Walnut St., Red Bluff, CA 96080, with the main telephone number (530) 527-3484. Under cases served it says All Cases. It gives building hours of Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and places Department 1 on the first floor and Departments 2 through 5 on the second.

Family law papers go to the Civil and Family Law Division, which handles all civil matters, family law among them. Its page gives the same Walnut Street address, the hours Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the division's own telephone number, (530) 527-6441. With a single courthouse, every paper in the case goes to Walnut Street: your petition, the papers that follow it and your judgment, whether at the window, in the drop box or electronically.

The Court Holidays page lists the days the court is closed.

The window and the drop box

Rule 7 of the Local Rules governs the filing of documents. Rule 7.B.2 says documents hand delivered during the clerks' window hours will be filed at the time received. Rule 7.B.3 says a document drop box is available under California Rules of Court, rule 2.210, and that documents will be accepted Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; a document left there is deemed filed the same day, once it has been reviewed for completeness.

The drop box therefore opens half an hour before the window and closes half an hour after it, and the rule ties the filing date to the day the papers go in, subject to that review. Because the rule makes the same-day filing depend on a review for completeness, papers left in the box should follow the Civil and Family Law page's instructions: one original and the appropriate number of copies, stapled and organized, dated and signed.

Rule 11 adds fax filing through a fax filing agency, under California Rules of Court, rule 2.303. The court's Guide and File page also describes printing completed forms and filing them by mail. The Civil and Family Law page's instructions apply to whatever goes to the clerk: provide one original and the appropriate number of copies, stapled and organized, dated and signed, with the fee or a fee waiver application.

What the court charges: two schedules, one in force

The Forms and Filing page links the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2024, and that is the only statewide schedule the court posts; the January 1, 2026 edition, which is in force, is not on the court's site. The editions number family law fees differently. On the court's posted January 1, 2024 schedule, the dissolution petition is item 96, the response is item 97, the agreement of a defaulted respondent is item 100 and the armed forces appearance is item 101. This page uses the 2026 schedule's numbers, read on October 19, 2026, and names that schedule whenever it gives one.

The court also lists a Standing Order 2026-11, titled Statewide Civil Fee Schedule, issued January 1, 2026. Its text concerns fees under Vehicle Code sections 16373, 16379 and 16381, and nothing in it changes a family law fee.

The 2026 schedule marks with an asterisk the fees that vary by county, and its footnote says they vary in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco because of a local surcharge. Tehama is not among them. The items a Tehama divorce can meet, all from the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, read on October 19, 2026:

• Item 97: $435 for the petition or other first paper in a dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, a legal separation or a nullity, under Government Code sections 70670(b), 70602.5 and 70602.6. Whoever opens an ordinary case pays it.
• Item 98: $435 for the response or other first paper filed in answer to that petition, under Government Code section 70670(d). Only a spouse who files one owes it.
• Item 99: $870 for a joint petition for dissolution or legal separation outside the summary dissolution procedure; the schedule's note is that this fee covers the appearance of both petitioners.
• Item 100: $435 when the joint petition is one for summary dissolution.
• Item 103: nothing, for a settlement agreement or stipulation for judgment signed by a defaulted respondent, under Government Code section 70677(c).
• Item 104: nothing, for the appearance, stipulation and waiver of rights (form FL-130) of a respondent who is a member of the armed forces, under Government Code section 70673.
• Items 194 and 195: a certified copy of a marriage dissolution record under Government Code section 70674, $10 at the request of a public agency and $15 at the request of anyone else.

Why a joint petition costs both first-paper fees

The Joint Petition (form FL-700) has been available since Family Code section 2342.5 became operative on January 1, 2026. Subdivision (h) of that section sets its court fee: the joint petition is filed with both first-paper fees under Government Code section 70670(b) and (d), unless both spouses have fee waivers. Item 99 of the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, read on October 19, 2026, prints the result, $870. The joint petition does not save a court fee in Tehama County; it pays both first-paper fees.

The figure on this page comes from section 2342.5(h) and the 2026 schedule only. Item 99 also says that if a party later revokes the joint petition, no additional first appearance fees are required of either spouse.

Counting the first-paper fees in Tehama County

Under the 2026 schedule, the number of first-paper fees depends on the path. A summary dissolution under Family Code sections 2400 to 2403 pays one, $435. An ordinary petition pays one, $435, when your spouse files no response, a default is entered and your spouse signs the settlement agreement, since item 103 charges a defaulted respondent's agreement nothing; it pays two, $870, when your spouse files a response or form FL-130, the first paper item 98 charges, unless that FL-130 is filed by a respondent serving in the armed forces, in which case item 104 charges nothing. A joint petition pays two, $870, under item 99. If you file electronically, the court's $3.50 envelope fee and the provider's own charges come on top, as the e-filing section explains.

Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene charges its own flat fee, paid to the office, apart from anything paid to the court. On an ordinary petition it is $1,499; on a joint petition, $999; on a summary dissolution, $599. The engagement is a limited scope engagement under California Rules of Court, rule 5.425, in which the attorney prepares and reviews every document, and the written filing instructions for Tehama County are reviewed by the attorney before they are released to you. One revision round of the settlement agreement is included, as is the first correction of a judgment packet the court returns; a further revision round is quoted before any work on it is done. Payment is earned in stages; should the representation end early, the unearned part is refunded.

The engagement's limits are part of its terms. It is not the office's role to file, to serve your spouse, to appear in court or to provide a notary, and the office does not prepare or record deeds. You are the one who files, following the attorney's written instructions. The office represents one spouse only; the other spouse is not its client in the divorce, is not advised by it, and may consult an attorney of their own choosing.

Fee waivers under Local Rule 12

The Family Law FAQs on the Civil and Family Law page say fee waivers are available for indigent plaintiffs and defendants, and link the Request to Waive Court Fees (form FW-001) and its information sheet, form FW-001-INFO. The waiver is governed by Government Code sections 68630 to 68634.

Local Rule 12 authorizes the Court Executive Officer or a designated clerk to approve fee waivers that qualify, citing Government Code section 68634, and adds that, should the law allow disapproving them, the Court Executive Officer is authorized to disapprove fee waivers.

The waiver also follows you online. The E-File CA page says the court's fees are waived for any party filing under an approved fee waiver, and that the usage fees an electronic filing service provider charges cannot be waived by the court. On a joint petition, each spouse who needs a waiver asks for one, because section 2342.5(h) keeps both first-paper fees unless both spouses have waivers. The FW-001 is prepared within the flat fee if you ask. A waiver applies to the court's fees and leaves the office's fee unchanged.

E-filing through Odyssey eFileCA

Local Rule 7.A, as revised January 1, 2026, makes e-filing mandatory only in unlimited civil cases other than civil harassment, and permissive in all family law except adoption. It says self-represented parties are exempt from mandatory electronic filing requirements under California Rules of Court, rule 2.253(b)(2), and encourages them to e-file.

The E-File CA page says the court accepts e-filing in every case type except adoptions, initial and later filings alike in civil, family, probate and juvenile matters, through an approved electronic filing service provider on the Odyssey eFileCA list. The court charges a $3.50 e-filing fee for each electronically filed envelope, and the page adds a card processing fee figured as a percentage and a $0.25 charge for each eCheck transaction, along with whatever the provider charges.

Two papers in a divorce stay on paper. Local Rule 7.A.4(g) excludes from e-filing the entry of defaults and notices of entry of judgment in family law cases, other than Department of Child Support Services cases, and the E-File CA page lists the same exclusion. The page also says uncontested orders and judgments are e-filed through the regular process and submitted as a Proposed Order/Judgment.

Guide and File interviews

The court offers Guide and File, an online program that asks questions and fills in forms from the answers. Its page lists a Divorce or Legal Separation interview, titled Help Me Choose the Correct Interview, and a Request to Enter Default and Default Judgment interview, and says the completed forms may be filed electronically, printed and filed by mail, or filed in person at the court.

Guide and File is the court's tool for people who prepare their own forms. When the office prepares your documents, the attorney prepares and reviews them, and your filing instructions say which of the court's methods to use for each paper.

What to have ready at each step

The first papers. An ordinary petition is filed with the Petition (form FL-100) and the Summons (form FL-110), with the item 97 fee or an FW-001. A joint petition starts with form FL-700, and a summary dissolution with the Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution (form FL-800) and the property settlement agreement. Whichever applies, the Civil and Family Law page asks for one original and the appropriate number of copies, stapled and organized, dated and signed.

After service. On an ordinary petition, the Proof of Service of Summons (form FL-115) is filed once your spouse has been served. Family Code section 2104 requires a preliminary declaration of disclosure, made up of 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). Those forms are served on the other spouse and are not filed; the clerk receives the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-141) instead.

The judgment. The packet includes the Judgment Checklist (form FL-182) that California Rules of Court, rule 5.405 prescribes, the judgment and the agreement that rule 5.411 governs, and the envelopes for the Notice of Entry of Judgment that rule 5.415 requires. In Tehama County a Request to Enter Default and the Notice of Entry of Judgment go to the clerk on paper under Local Rule 7.A.4(g), while the judgment itself may be e-filed as a Proposed Order/Judgment.

The Local Rules, standing orders and local form FL005

The court's Local Rules carry an effective date of January 1, 2013 and a revised date of January 1, 2026, and the Local Rules page lists them as effective January 1, 2026. Family law is Section 3 of the rules: Rule 13, Civil Rules/Family Law Apply Unless Contradicted, with part A on general matters and part B on appointing counsel for a child, and Rule 14, Evaluators and Mediation, on child custody recommending counselors. The other rules this page relies on are Rule 7 on the filing of documents, Rule 11 on facsimile filing and Rule 12 on the payment or waiver of fees.

The Local Rules page also posts the court's 2026 standing orders, each issued January 1, 2026. Among them is Standing Order 2026-06, the Family Law Facilitator Complaint Resolution Procedure.

The Forms and Filing page lists one family law local form, #FL005, Family Law Case Management Conference Statement. The page does not mark it mandatory or optional. It belongs to a case management conference, which an uncontested case reaches only if one is set.

Getting the judgment to the clerk in Red Bluff

Family Code section 2336 and California Rules of Court, rule 5.409 allow a judgment on the spouses' written agreement to be entered on declarations without a hearing. In Tehama County the packet can reach the Civil and Family Law Division by any of the routes the court's rules and pages describe: handed in at the window, where Rule 7.B.2 has it filed when received; left in the drop box between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, under Rule 7.B.3; sent through a fax filing agency under Rule 11; mailed, as the Guide and File page describes; or e-filed as a Proposed Order/Judgment. The Request to Enter Default and the Notice of Entry of Judgment are the exceptions that Rule 7.A.4(g) keeps off e-filing.

The court's instructions for the papers themselves are the general ones on the Civil and Family Law page: one original and the appropriate number of copies, stapled, organized, dated and signed. The E-File CA page adds that a document requiring a judge's signature may be picked up at the clerk's office, or requested by mail with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and payment for the copies.

Your filing instructions name the route when the packet is ready. If the clerk returns the packet for a correction, its first correction is part of the flat fee.

WebEx and the family law calendars

Remote appearances in Tehama are by WebEx. The Civil, Family and Probate Remote Appearance Information page lists the Family Law/Harassment Law and Motion calendar on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. in Department 5, with appearance in person or remotely by WebEx, the Family Law Settlement Conference on the first and third Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. in Department 3, where remote appearance is listed as not available, and the Department of Child Support Services calendar on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Department 2, by WebEx. The page gives Department 5's WebEx address and a dial-in number with an access code, and names no remote appearance form.

For case management conferences, the court's Case Management Conference page says telephonic appearance is allowed unless a personal appearance has been ordered, that the court uses WebEx services, and that Court Call is not available for case management conferences.

None of these calendars is part of an agreed divorce unless the court sets a matter on one. If a notice of hearing comes, read it alongside the remote appearance page. Court appearances are not part of the office's engagement.

SHARP and the Family Law Facilitator

The court's self-help program is SHARP, the Self-Help Assistance and Referral Program, at the courthouse, 1740 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080, telephone (530) 527-8649. The Self-Help page gives its hours as Monday, Thursday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and says help is given through workshops and individual appointments.

SHARP assists with dissolution, legal separation and annulment, including help finalizing a divorce by obtaining the final judgment, and with information about summary dissolution. Its staff do not give legal advice. The Self-Help Legal Issues page lists the kinds of judgment SHARP covers, default, uncontested, contested and stipulated, along with summary dissolution and the disclosure documents.

The Family Law Facilitator serves Butte and Tehama counties together, at the telephone number (530) 532-7004, and the Self-Help page says the facilitator provides assistance with child support and spousal support. For the dissolution itself, SHARP is the court's program.

A case with any of these features is outside the flat fee: real property outside California, a business or professional practice, a pension that requires a qualified domestic relations order, minor children or a pregnancy, spouses who have not reached agreement, a restraining order or a concern for safety, a spouse whose whereabouts cannot be found, a legal separation or an annulment, 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.

A summary dissolution in Tehama County

The court's Family Law FAQs describe a summary dissolution as a simplified way to get divorced and link the Judicial Council's self-help pages on it. The conditions are in Family Code sections 2400 to 2403, and a couple must meet each of them. Both spouses sign the Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution (form FL-800) with their property settlement agreement; either may revoke it before the judgment is entered, under section 2402; and once the waiting period has run, the judgment is requested on the Judicial Council's summary dissolution judgment form.

Here the summary dissolution pays one first-paper fee, $435, under item 100 of the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, read on October 19, 2026. SHARP gives information about the procedure. The office's flat fee on this path is $599.

After the judgment in Tehama County

After the judgment is entered, the clerk sends the Notice of Entry of Judgment to each spouse in the envelopes the packet supplied. The judgment names the date the marriage ends, under Family Code section 2340, and section 2339 makes that date no earlier than six months after the other spouse was served with the summons or appeared. Form FL-107-INFO puts the earliest date at six months and one day. No filing in Tehama County moves that date forward.

A certified copy of the judgment costs $15 under item 195 of the Judicial Council's Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, read on October 19, 2026, because Government Code section 70674 treats the judgment as the dissolution record; a public agency pays $10 under item 194.

If the agreement transfers California real property, the deed comes after the judgment and is a separate task. The office does not prepare or record deeds; a title company or another attorney handles it. Family Code section 2320 sets the residence rule for the case: a petition is filed here only after one spouse has lived six months in California and three months in Tehama County.

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