The forms a California injury case starts with
These pages explain what the documents ask for. They do not tell you what to write in them, and nothing here is legal advice. The point is narrower and more useful than that: when a stack of paper arrives, or when someone asks you to sign something, you should be able to tell what it is.
Every form below is published free by the Judicial Council of California. The links go to the official copies. If anyone is charging you for a blank Judicial Council form, they are charging you for something the state gives away.
The three documents a case usually opens with
| Form | What it does | Use | Revised |
|---|---|---|---|
| CM-010 | tells the court what kind of case it is being asked to open | Mandatory | July 1, 2026 |
| PLD-PI-001 | opens the case and states who is suing whom, in general terms | Optional | January 1, 2024 |
| CIV-010/FL-935 | asks the court to appoint an adult to act for a party who cannot act alone | Mandatory | January 1, 2024 |
"Mandatory" and "Optional" are the forms' own words, printed at the bottom of each one. Optional does not mean unimportant — it means the Judicial Council form is one way to plead something rather than the only way. A complaint drafted from scratch is still a complaint. The Civil Case Cover Sheet is genuinely mandatory, and so is the guardian ad litem application.
Every page in this silo
- PLD-PI-001, the personal injury complaint — the document that opens the case, and why it is not a complete complaint on its own.
- The cause of action attachments — the six forms that carry the actual allegation, one per theory.
- CM-010, the Civil Case Cover Sheet — mandatory with the first paper, and the thing that classifies the case.
- CIV-010, guardian ad litem — required where a party is under 18 or cannot act for themselves.
- Limited and unlimited civil cases — the two tracks, and what actually differs between them.
- Doe defendants — suing someone whose name you do not have yet.
Los Angeles is its own thing
Los Angeles County adds requirements no other county has, and gets them wrong at your peril — the addendum that accompanies the cover sheet is what routes a personal injury case to the courts that hear them.
- Filing a civil case in Los Angeles County
- The Los Angeles Personal Injury Hub
- The expedited personal injury trial request
County filing procedure
Each county court adds its own requirements on top of the statewide papers — most obviously whether electronic filing is compulsory. These pages record what that court itself publishes, and say so plainly where the court's own material could not be retrieved.
- Alameda County
- Santa Clara County
- San Diego County
- Orange County
- San Bernardino County
- Contra Costa County
- Fresno County
- San Francisco County
- Sacramento County
- Riverside County — the court refused every request; the page says what is missing
Where a case is filed
Which county a case belongs in is a separate question from which forms it needs, and it is answered by statute rather than by preference. Each county page covers the filing requirements that court adds on top of the statewide ones.
Every California county page · how a claim runs from start to finish · why cases sit for years.
Common questions
- Do I have to pay for these forms?
- No. Every Judicial Council form is published free by the courts, and the links on these pages go to the official copies. Anyone charging for a blank Judicial Council form is charging you for something the state gives away.
- Are these pages instructions for filing my own case?
- No. They explain what each part of each document asks for, so that paperwork you are handed or asked to sign is not a mystery. They do not tell you what to write, and they are not legal advice.
- Which forms does a personal injury case actually need?
- At minimum a complaint with at least one cause of action attached, and a Civil Case Cover Sheet, which is mandatory. A party under 18 also needs a guardian ad litem appointed. Individual counties then add their own requirements on top.
- Why does the complaint form not ask how much money I want?
- Because in a personal injury or wrongful death case the law says the amount demanded must not be stated in the complaint. The defendant can request a separate statement of damages, and one has to be served before a default can be taken.
Start a case review call
On a case review call, I go through the facts with you: what happened, when, whether you were hurt, whether anyone represents you, and how to reach you. It is not legal advice, and I will not put a value on your claim.
Sources: form numbers, titles, adoption status and revision dates read from the forms themselves as published by the Judicial Council of California, retrieved 1 September 2026. Code Civ. Proc., § 425.12 (authority for the pleading forms); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.220 (cover sheet required with the first paper); Code Civ. Proc., § 425.10 (subd. (b) — the amount demanded is not stated in a personal injury complaint).