Filing a civil case in San Bernardino County

Every California civil case is opened with the same statewide papers. What changes county by county is how they are filed and what the local court adds on top. This page covers the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. It describes procedure; it does not tell you what to do, and it is not legal advice.

Electronic filing

E-filing is mandatory for represented parties in San Bernardino County. The court has adopted mandatory electronic filing and service in what its rules call Designated Cases. A party may seek a court-ordered exemption for undue hardship, significant prejudice, or other good cause.

Mandatory from August 15, 2023, as amended July 1, 2024.

If you are not represented: Self-represented parties are exempt from the mandatory requirement but are encouraged to take part.

The court cites the following as the authority for it:

• San Bernardino County Local Rule 1810 (effective August 15, 2023; amended effective July 1, 2024)
• Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6
• California Rules of Court, rules 2.251 and 2.253

This matters to an injured person more than it looks. If you are represented, the requirement falls on your lawyer, not on you. If you are not, it is worth knowing whether the court will accept paper — because turning up with paper at a court that has stopped taking it costs a day.

Other things the court says

• Local Rule 1830 confirms that a document received electronically between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed filed that day if accepted, and one received on a non-court day is deemed filed the next court day.
• That rule concerns the method and effective date of filing only — it does not move any other deadline.

What is the same everywhere in California

Whatever a county adds, these do not change.

• The Civil Case Cover Sheet, CM-010, is mandatory with the first paper. If it is missing or defective the clerk must still file the paper, but the party or the lawyer can be sanctioned.
• The complaint is not complete without at least one cause of action attached.
• In a personal injury or wrongful death case the amount demanded is not stated in the complaint.
• A party under 18 needs a guardian ad litem appointed, and a settlement for them needs the court's approval.
• Which county the case belongs in is set by statute, not by the county's own rules. Venue and the courthouses in San Bernardino County.

If a public entity is the defendant

Nothing on this page changes the six-month clock. A claim against a city, the county, or the state generally has to be presented to that entity within six months of the injury — which happens long before anything is filed in court at all. Claims against a government entity.

Common questions

Which forms does every San Bernardino County case need?

The statewide ones, whatever the county adds. A complaint with at least one cause of action attached, and a Civil Case Cover Sheet, which is mandatory with the first paper in every California county.

Does the county decide where my case is filed?

No, the statute does. The superior court in the county where the injury happened is a proper court, and so is the county where a defendant lived when the action was filed. Local rules then govern how the case is filed and handled once it is in the right county.

How current is this page?

It records what could be retrieved from the court’s own published material on 1 September 2026, and says plainly where nothing could be retrieved. Local rules change on their own schedule, often in January and July, so check the court’s own page before relying on any of it.

Sources: retrieved from the court on 1 September 2026 — San Bernardino County Local Rules of Court, chapter 18, rules 1800–1860 (published PDF, read in full). Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino — local rules. Statewide requirements from the Judicial Council forms and Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.220. Government claim deadline: Gov. Code, § 911.2.