How to E-File in Los Angeles Superior Court (Civil Cases)

Los Angeles Superior Court has its own rules for e-filing civil cases, set out in a general order and explained in the court's own FAQ. If you file civil papers in Los Angeles — as an attorney, a paralegal or someone representing yourself — this post walks through what those court documents say: who has to e-file, what cannot be e-filed, how to pick the courthouse, when a filing counts as filed, and what to do when one is rejected.

For the general steps of e-filing in any California court, start with How to E-File Court Documents in California. This post covers what is specific to Los Angeles civil.

Where the court's rules are

The court's e-filing page collects the documents for each area of law. For civil, the main one is the First Amended General Order re Mandatory Electronic Filing for Civil, dated May 3, 2019. The same page links the court's Civil Efiling FAQ (revised May 24, 2024), its Efiling Tips to Avoid Rejections, and the Civil Document Name List. Everything below comes from those documents; read them yourself before relying on any point.

Who has to e-file

According to the general order, the court made e-filing mandatory for litigants represented by attorneys in limited civil cases on December 3, 2018, and in the other non-complex civil cases on January 2, 2019. Represented litigants must e-file through an approved electronic filing service provider (EFSP). The court's e-filing page shows complex civil cases following on September 20, 2021.

Self-represented litigants are exempt from mandatory e-filing, though the court's FAQ says they may choose to e-file.
Hardship exemption. Under the order, any party may apply to be excused from e-filing by showing undue hardship or significant prejudice. The FAQ says an attorney whose case is in the Central district applies to Department 1 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, and in another district to that district's supervising judge, using Judicial Council forms EFS-007 and EFS-008.

What cannot be e-filed

The general order lists documents that must not be filed electronically:

Peremptory challenges or challenges for cause of a judicial officer (Code of Civil Procedure sections 170.6 or 170.3).
Bonds and undertakings.
Trial and evidentiary hearing exhibits.
Any ex parte application filed at the same time as a new complaint, including those handled by a Writs and Receivers department at Stanley Mosk.
Documents submitted conditionally under seal. The motion or application itself is e-filed.

Documents attached to a Notice of Lodgment are lodged in paper; the Notice of Lodgment itself is e-filed. The FAQ says exempt documents (other than lodged documents in support of a motion) can be filed at the Civil Clerk's Office of the courthouse the case is assigned to, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or by mail.

How the documents must be prepared

The order's technical requirements are short but strict:

Text-searchable PDF, when that is technically feasible without hurting the document's image.
Bookmarks for the table of contents and for items inside a document — declarations, proofs of service, exhibits and other attachments — with titles that identify each item.
Each document that goes with a single pleading is filed as its own separate PDF. Several documents in one case can go in one envelope.
Writs and abstracts go in their own separate envelope.
Confidential information is redacted by the filer under California Rules of Court, rule 1.201.

The FAQ adds that password-protected documents will be rejected if the content cannot be viewed.

Choosing the courthouse

Los Angeles has many civil courthouses, and the filing location matters. The court's FAQ is direct about it: if you select the wrong court location, the filing is rejected and returned for correction and resubmission with the proper location.

The court's Filing Court Locator lets you search by city, community or ZIP code for the district and courthouse where a case belongs. The locator itself warns that results can differ for limited civil cases, that a mailing address may not show the true geographic location, and that the criteria for assigning cases are in Chapter 2 of the court's Local Rules. For a case already filed, use the courthouse shown on the papers the court has already filed.

Through Legal Hub Group you can e-file at every Los Angeles civil courthouse, from Bellflower to West Covina, including Stanley Mosk; our Los Angeles Superior Court e-filing page lists all of them.

When a filing counts as filed

The FAQ says you can e-file 24 hours a day. Under the general order, a document the court receives between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed filed that day if it is accepted; one received on a non-court day is deemed filed on the next court day if accepted. A document is not filed until the court accepts it and affixes the "Filed" stamp, and the FAQ says e-filing does not change "last day to file" requirements.

A few civil deadlines in the order are tighter:

Ex parte applications and supporting papers must be e-filed by 10:00 a.m. the court day before the hearing; written oppositions by 8:30 a.m. the day of the hearing.
Printed courtesy copies are required for certain filings no matter when they are e-filed — among them demurrers, motions for summary judgment or adjudication, anti-SLAPP filings, motions to compel further discovery, and pleadings and motions of 26 pages or more. A filing e-filed two or fewer days before the hearing also needs a courtesy copy delivered to the courtroom.

On processing time, the FAQ says the court attempts to confirm filing or receipt within two business days, and that proposed orders, writs, abstracts and other documents needing further court action may take longer.

Why LA civil filings get rejected

The court's FAQ and its rejection tips list the common reasons. Among them:

Several documents combined into one PDF instead of separate text-searchable PDFs.
Information typed into the filing that does not match the document — the wrong document name, a case number or party name that differs from the caption.
The wrong payment choice, such as a fee waiver or Government Code section 6103.
The wrong case type, case category or court location.
A duplicate submission, or a late one.
A document that is not bookmarked or not text searchable.

The tips also warn not to file later documents in a new case until the complaint or petition has been accepted and given a case number, and to choose the document type that most closely matches the title of what you are filing. If a case you are filing into does not come up when you search for it, see Can't Find Your Case When E-Filing in California?

If your filing is rejected

The FAQ says a Notice of Rejection from the court gives the reason. Correct the problem and resubmit electronically. If the document was not timely filed because of the rejection, the FAQ says you need to apply to the court for relief or another corrective order. Once an envelope is submitted, it cannot be cancelled. For a broader look at rejections, see Why Was My E-Filing Rejected?

Say a fictional firm files a demurrer for its client, Marlow Bakery, under the wrong courthouse. The court rejects it with the reason, and the firm resubmits with the right location — still delivering the printed courtesy copy a demurrer needs.

Filing LA civil cases through Legal Hub Group

Legal Hub Group is a certified e-filing service provider for California courts. Through our e-filing service you can file in Los Angeles Superior Court civil cases — new cases and filings into existing cases, including limited civil and small claims, plus filings into existing Appellate Division cases — at every civil courthouse. Our list of California courts by county shows the details. A Los Angeles civil filing is $14.99 per filing plus court fees, with a $3.50 e-filing system fee and a card processing fee; every fee is shown before you pay. What those fees add up to is covered in How Much Does It Cost to E-File Court Documents in California? Before you file, Lexary by Legal Hub Group, free with every filing, reads your papers and flags missing signatures, dates, addresses and case details, and fixes file formats.

This is general information, not legal advice.