Atherton is an incorporated town in southern San Mateo County, with about 5 square miles of land between Redwood City and Menlo Park. The 2020 Census counted 7,188 residents, and the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate is 6,960. Valpro Attorney Services serves summonses, complaints, subpoenas, family law and probate papers, restraining orders and eviction documents at Atherton addresses, and on Atherton residents at their workplaces elsewhere.
Atherton requests are handled from our Sacramento office, about 89 miles to the northeast. The papers come in online, and the server makes each attempt at the Atherton address.
One ZIP Code area, almost all of it Atherton
In Atherton the ZIP Code area and the town line nearly match. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA-to-place file shows:
- All of Atherton's land is inside the 94027 ZIP Code area.
- About 99.8% of the land in 94027 is inside the town.
- Small slivers fall in West Menlo Park, a census-designated place, and in land outside any named place.
So an "Atherton, CA 94027" address is almost always inside the Town of Atherton, in San Mateo County. Addresses on the edges, near Menlo Park, Redwood City or the unincorporated pockets around them, are worth a parcel check when a local ordinance or the Town itself is part of the case.
Serving the Town of Atherton
When the Town is a party, the papers go to its offices at 80 Fair Oaks Lane, Atherton, CA 94027. The Town's City Clerk page describes the clerk as the Custodian of Records and lists three services beyond council work: public records requests, claims services, and committee and commission appointments. The clerk's office keeps morning hours, 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, at 650-752-0529. The Town's main line is 650-752-0500.
For our server, that means a morning visit. Under CCP § 416.50, a summons on a public entity can be delivered to its clerk, secretary, president, presiding officer or other head of its governing body. Name the Town of Atherton as the defendant, even though the office is titled City Clerk.
Two related points:
- Claims come first in most damages cases. A written government claim to the Town, and a decision on it, usually precede a lawsuit for money. That's for your attorney to file, and the clerk's page lists claims as one of its services.
- Police records have their own desk. The Atherton Police Department shares the 80 Fair Oaks Lane address and lists business hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays for police reports and vehicle releases. A subpoena for police records names the department's custodian and is served there.
The Redwood City courthouse for Atherton cases
The San Mateo County Superior Court's judicial district page lists Atherton among the jurisdictions assigned to the Southern Branch, the Hall of Justice and Records at 400 County Center, Redwood City. That building is about 4.8 miles from the Census Bureau's internal point for Atherton.
| Atherton matter | Where it's filed | Where it's heard |
|---|---|---|
| Civil, limited and unlimited | Civil Clerk, Room A, 1st floor, Hall of Justice | Assigned department |
| Unlawful detainer | Civil Clerk, Hall of Justice, or e-file | Central Branch, 800 N. Humboldt St., San Mateo |
| Small claims | Small Claims Clerk, Room A, Hall of Justice | Hall of Justice or Northern Branch, South San Francisco |
| Family law | Hall of Justice | Hall of Justice |
| Probate | Hall of Justice | Hall of Justice |
Source: sanmateo.courts.ca.gov location, division and district pages, checked October 2026.
The practical limits are the clerk's hours. The court lists the civil, family law, probate and small claims clerk at 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on weekdays, by appointment only, with phone hours to match. The Records Management counter keeps the same appointment schedule. The criminal division counter runs 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The after-hours civil drop box sits outside Room A. The civil division page says documents placed there before 4:00 p.m. are deemed filed that court business day, later ones the next court day, and the box is emptied at 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The clerk's office still takes emergency ex partes, domestic violence petitions, temporary restraining order petitions and civil ex partes. Our San Mateo County court filing service can book the appointment, use the drop box or e-file, and then serve what comes back.
Gated estates and long drives
At a gated Atherton address, most of the delay sits between the street and the front door. Tell us what you know:
- The gate. Call box, keypad code, a separate service or delivery gate, or a time when the gate stands open.
- The house on the lot. Main house, guest house, pool house or staff quarters. Say which building the person lives in.
- Who answers. If a house manager, nanny or security company picks up the call box, give us any name you have. Whether leaving papers with a household employee counts as substituted service is a legal question for your attorney; our server reports exactly who was there and what was said.
- Cameras and intercom habits. If the person is known to watch the gate camera and not respond, say so. It changes how the server plans the next attempt.
- A second location. An office, a club, a school pickup time or a regular appointment gives the server somewhere other than the gate.
- Photos. A recent photo of the person, and one of the gate if you have it.
Our server doesn't climb a fence, follow a car through a closed gate or ignore a request to leave. If the property can't be reached, the attempt is recorded and the next one is planned.
Papers to serve in Atherton?
When the gate stays closed: the 2027 rules
From January 1, 2027, AB 747 spells out what reasonable diligence means before substituted service. A party shows it by attempting personal delivery in good faith on at least three occasions, on three different days, at three different times (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Mixing a weekday morning, a weekday evening and a weekend visit fits that pattern.
The bill also adds detail to proofs of service. In an eviction case, the proof is to include at least one photo of the site with a readable date, time and GPS stamp, if the server can take it safely. At an estate, that photo may be the gate itself. In a consumer debt case, at least one attempt is to be made at the person's home, if known. Our AB 747 guide explains the rest, and our proof of service guide shows how the attempts are reported. We make no guarantees for service.
Atherton evictions at the Central Branch
An eviction for an Atherton rental, whether a whole house or a guest unit, is filed with the civil clerk in Redwood City or by e-filing, but the hearings move north. The court's eviction calendar page sets the week:
- Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.: pretrials at the Central Branch, in person or by Zoom.
- Tuesday and Friday, 1:30 p.m.: eviction ex partes in Courtroom H, in person except as California Rules of Court, rule 3.1207 allows.
- Friday, 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.: court trials at the Central Branch, in person.
Uncontested eviction ex partes that need no notice or hearing, such as fee waivers and applications to serve by posting, can still be e-filed. A tenant granted a stay must post the rent due with the civil clerk in Redwood City the same day. The Central Branch, 11.1 miles from Atherton in a straight line, has no clerk's office or drop box.
For service, send the summons, the complaint, the notice and the name of every adult occupant, including anyone living in a second unit. A tenant served personally has 10 court days to respond.
Small claims and family matters
Small claims hearings for San Mateo County are held in person at the Hall of Justice or at the Northern Branch in South San Francisco, about 19 miles from Atherton. Remote Zoom appearances are allowed for hardship. The court's small claims advisor releases appointments each Tuesday morning. To appeal a small claims judgment by e-filing, the court asks for a new case filing with the old case number written on form SC-140.
Family Court Services takes calls at (650) 261-5080, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays. The Family Law Facilitator at the Hall of Justice offers in-person help on Monday and Tuesday mornings and a weekday live chat. Once a petition is filed, the respondent is served wherever they're living, in Atherton or anywhere else.
Probate and trust papers
Estate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship petitions for Atherton families are filed at the Hall of Justice, through the same by-appointment clerk window as civil cases. The civil division page notes that the Probate Judge keeps separate ex parte days and hours from the civil departments, so check that department's schedule before planning an emergency filing.
When a petition or citation has to be handed to a beneficiary, a trustee or a proposed conservatee, send the filed papers, the hearing date and the person's current living situation. For someone in a care facility, include the facility name and room. For a trustee who runs a family office, include that office's address and the name of whoever usually receives visitors.
When the person is rarely at the Atherton house
Some parties split time between homes or travel for long stretches. If that's the situation, give us every address you know, in the order you think is most likely, and mark which ones are in California. We can attempt the Atherton address and a second California address on the same request. If the only other address is outside California, say so at the start, because it changes both the plan and the timing. A calendar detail, such as a board meeting, a court date in another case or a standing appointment, can give the server a known place and time.
Sending Atherton papers
Open a Service Request, attach up to 5 PDFs, name each party as the papers do, add the gate and building notes above, and pick Rush or Standard. For a business party, start with our serving corporations page; if the person has moved, skip tracing can look for a new address. Get each update by email, call 855-582-5776, or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Places near Atherton
Menlo Park is 3.3 miles away and East Palo Alto 3.8. Woodside is 4 miles, Redwood City 4.1 and San Carlos 4.7. Every place we serve in the county is on our San Mateo County page.