If a user has a Sealed Unlawful Detainer Case in the San Diego Civil Court they need to e-file into, the user needs to know the exact party names and address as entered on the court record to look the case up in the e-filing system. A user may add the case from the e-Filing Dashboard, or in a filing itself using an Advanced Case Search.

Users Must Perform an Advanced Case Search

To add a San Diego Civil Unlawful Detainer case, users MUST perform an Advanced Case Search. Even if a filer knows the exact Court and Case Number, ONLY an advanced search will allow a filer to add the case. To begin, either click the Add a Case button from the left menu on the Dashboard or click the Add a Case link in Section 1 while Filing on an Existing Case.

The Add a Case Button on the Dashboard

The Add A Case Link When Filing on an Existing Case

Clicking the button or link brings up the Add a Case popup. To add a San Diego Civil Unlawful Detainer case, users MUST perform an Advanced Case Search.

1. Click the Advanced Case Search link.

2. Select the San Diego Civil Court in the drop down and check the box Is Restricted Unlawful Detainer Case.

3. Enter the exact Plaintiff, Defendant, and Residence information as recorded at the court (see below). If the information does not EXACTLY match what is the the court’s case management system, the court will not allow the case be added to the account.

1. Enter a Case Number For Restricted Unlawful Detainer Cases – When 2 or more case numbers exist with the same Plaintiff, Defendant, and Residence information, click this link to add a case year and case number to the search. This will prevent the system from returning a search result with an out-of-date case.
    
   
   • Case Year – Enter the year of the case listed in the case number.
   • Case Number – Enter the 8 digits after the year listed in the case number (i.e. 00012345 from the case number 37-2021-00012345-CL-UD-CTL).
2. Plaintiff – Enter the plaintiff’s First, Middle, and Last Name or switch to a business name. If you are having trouble adding the case because of a name, try switching the information a bit like removing unnecessary commas (i.e change Acme Business, LLC to Acme Business LLC).
3. Defendant – Enter the defendant’s First, Middle, and Last Name or switch to a business name. If you are having trouble adding the case and there is more than one defendant, try using the other name.
4. Residence – Enter the Street Number, Directional, Street Name, Street Type, Unit Number, City, State, and Postal Code. If you are having trouble adding the case, this might be due to the court changing the address slightly. Try combining the Street Type with the Street Name, or remove the # sign from a Unit Number.



Once the E-Filing System Finds the Case

Once the e-filing system finds the case, if the user originally clicked the Add a Case button from the Dashboard, the Case Summary will display. You may then click the File on Case link on the upper right of the filing.

If the user originally clicked the Add a Case link in a filing, then the case number will display in Section 1 and the user may proceed to Section 2 and select their document types.