It is important to note that The Court prescribes the list of documents filers see available in the Document Type field in Section 2.
These choices vary based on a variety of things like: the case type, court location, and whether the filing is a case initiation or the user is filing into an existing case (to name a few).
For this reason, no E-Filing Service Providers (EFSPs) may add to, edit, or delete listed document types.
What to Do When the Court Does Not List Specific Document Types
When filers do not see the specific document type they’re looking for, then they will want to select the one that most closely matches, or is somewhat generic in nature trying a variety of methods:
Filter Document Type Choices
Filers may type part of the document title in the document type box to filter their choices. For example, if a user is filing a Declaration, they may type the letters dec in the Document Type field to see all the types that court offers for that filing.
Associated Fees
If a filer knows there’s a fee associated with the document, that too can help narrow down the choices as many of the document types have a fee listed with them in the dropdown.
Courts with (name extension)
Some California Superior courts like Alameda, Los Angeles, Placer, Riverside courts categorize their most generic document types with the Document followed by (name extension); Motion (Name Extension), Brief (Name Extension), Order (name extension), etc.
Filers may type name extension in the Document Type field to see all the name extensions that court offers. Once selected, the filer may enter the true Document Type Title in the Name Extension field to its immediate right for the document.
Document Type of ‘Other’
While it is much more rare, some courts provide an option like Other, Other Document Not Listed, or Document – Other which may work for filers as well.
Document Description Field
Once a filer picks a document type, then they may type the true document title in the document description field if the court allows for document descriptions. If not, filers will want to leave the clerk a note at the bottom if the court offers it.
Note to Clerk
Many courts (but not all) allow filers to leave the clerk a note in the clerk memo box in the Review & Submit section at the bottom of the filing. This allows filers to give the court more information about their document type chosen or any general comments / instructions. Do note, this field has a character limit which varies from court to court.
Reach out to the Court
If the filer is still unable to discern the correct document type needed for their filing, they will want to:
- make sure the document isn’t on the court’s e-filing exclusion list (ie. #6 of the Los Angeles FAQs),
- reach out to the filing clerk directly to see if they will advise on the document type required.