Brentwood counted 64,292 people at the 2020 Census, and the Census Bureau estimated 66,607 by July 2025. It sits at the far eastern edge of Contra Costa County, where the subdivisions give way to open land and the roads out to Byron and the Delta. We serve summonses, complaints, subpoenas, family law papers, restraining orders and eviction notices in town and out in the rural parts of the ZIP Code.
Valpro Attorney Services has no Brentwood location. Requests are handled from our Sacramento office, 48.3 miles away in a straight line, and each update comes to you by email.
One ZIP Code, a lot of ground
Brentwood has a single ZIP Code area, 94513, and it is far bigger than the city. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file gives these land shares:
| Part of 94513 | Share of its land |
|---|---|
| City of Brentwood | about 19% |
| Unincorporated land outside any Census community | about 72% |
| Knightsen (Census-designated place) | about 7% |
| Byron (Census-designated place) | about 1% |
| Antioch and Discovery Bay | under 1% each |
All of Brentwood's own land falls in 94513. The ZIP Code area as a whole covers roughly 79 square miles of land, against about 15 inside the city.
What that means on a Service Request: an address reading "Brentwood, CA 94513" might be a cul-de-sac near downtown, or a farmhouse on a county road with no other house in sight. We serve the address as written on your papers. The more you tell us about the property, the fewer wasted trips.
Rural Brentwood addresses: what helps the server
Henry's turnaround terms say remote areas are subject to different timelines, and the open land around Brentwood is where that line earns its place. A server may need more than one trip to find the right gate, or to catch someone who works the property and isn't at the house.
Useful details for the Letter of Instruction:
- Cross roads or a map pin. County road numbers can be hard to spot from the car.
- The gate. Is it locked, is there a call box, and is there a code you're allowed to share?
- Animals. Dogs or livestock in the yard change how a server approaches.
- Which building. Farm parcels often have a main house, a second residence and outbuildings.
- Work hours. If the person works the land, the best window may be early morning or dusk.
From January 1, 2027, AB 747 makes these notes more valuable. Reasonable diligence before substituted service is shown by attempting personal delivery on at least 3 occasions, on 3 different days at 3 different times (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). The proof of service also has to include a photo of each attempt with an automatic date, time and GPS stamp (CCP § 417.10). On a large parcel, a GPS-stamped photo at the wrong gate is a wasted attempt. Our AB 747 guide has the details.
Brentwood's courts are in Pittsburg and Martinez
Brentwood has no courthouse. The where-to-file page on the county court's site splits Brentwood matters between two cities:
- Pittsburg, at the Richard E. Arnason Justice Center, 1000 Center Drive, about 11 miles from central Brentwood. Small claims and unlawful detainer cases are filed and heard here, because the court routes those by the city where the dispute started.
- Martinez, at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, 725 Court Street, about 23 miles away. All general civil cases, limited and unlimited, and all probate, guardianship and conservatorship matters are filed here.
- Martinez, again, at the Spinetta Family Law Center, 751 Pine Street, for every family law filing.
Source: contracosta.courts.ca.gov, checked October 2026. Distances are straight-line from the Census center point of Brentwood to the map points on the court's pages.
At about 23 miles from the county seat, a same-day civil filing from Brentwood is a drive across the county, so the timing matters. The Pittsburg filing windows run 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In Martinez, the Wakefield Taylor drop box treats anything deposited between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. as filed that day.
Attorneys mostly skip the drive. Under the court's Ninth Amended Standing Order on e-filing, dated February 2, 2026, represented parties must e-file in civil, family law, probate, small claims, unlawful detainer and appeal cases, as they have since July 5, 2022. Some papers are still paper-only under that order, among them petitions for name change and bonds. We take both kinds of filing. See Contra Costa County court filings or the main Court Filings page.
Papers to serve in Brentwood?
Serving papers for a Brentwood rental
The court's landlord-tenant page describes a quick case. Under current state law the tenant has 10 court days to respond after personal service (the court's page still says 5 days). If they file an Answer, the court's page puts trial about 20 days later. Only the Sheriff can remove a tenant, so the landlord may not change locks or cut utilities.
If the rental is a house, tell us every adult occupant named on the notice and whether a side gate or a back unit is involved. If the lease names a second person who has since moved out, tell us that too.
Motion practice has its own timing. On the court's motions page, opposition papers must be served at least 9 court days before the hearing and replies at least 5 court days before. Rush is the right choice when one of those deadlines is close. Our proof of service guide explains what the completed proof should show.
Looking up a Brentwood case
Before a Brentwood case goes out for service, it helps to see what's already in the file. The court's online case information page splits that two ways. Documents and minutes for limited and unlimited civil cases are on the Court Public Portal and download at no fee, and small claims documents and minutes are posted there as well. Limited unlawful detainer cases aren't online at all. For one of those, the court says to call the clerk at 925-608-1000 and to get copies at the assigned filing location, which for a Brentwood eviction is Pittsburg.
Eviction hearings in Pittsburg are held in person. To appear remotely, the landlord-tenant page says you must comply with CCP § 367.75 and file form RA-010, and an opposition to that request uses RA-015. That page posts a Zoom link for Department 54 in Pittsburg.
If you're going to the Arnason Justice Center yourself, it has seven courtrooms and a single entrance where everyone goes through a security check. Its phones are answered from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and voicemail takes calls after that.
Small claims from Brentwood
Small claims hearings are in person. A party who wants to appear remotely must follow CCP § 367.75 and file form RA-010, and the Pittsburg department has its own Zoom link on the court's small claims page. Documents for a remote hearing still have to reach the clerk in person, by drop box or by overnight delivery 3 court days before. The court doesn't accept them by email.
The court's filing fees run $30, $50 or $75 depending on the claim amount. Anyone filing more than 12 cases in any 12-month period pays $100 per case. The defendant still has to be served, and the plaintiff can't serve the papers personally. A process server, or any adult who isn't a party, can do it. Our guide to who can serve papers in California covers the rules.
Businesses and people on the move
For a company with a Brentwood shop or office, the right person to serve is usually the agent for service of process listed with the California Secretary of State, not the manager on duty. Our serving corporations page walks through the options.
When a Brentwood defendant has moved and left no forwarding address, skip tracing can look for a current one before the papers go back out. Send what you have: a last address, a phone number, an employer, a relative. For records from an existing case, use document retrieval. We make no guarantees for service.
Nearby East County communities we serve
- Knightsen, 4.3 miles
- Oakley, 4.4 miles
- Antioch, 5.1 miles
- Pittsburg, 11.2 miles, where Brentwood's small claims and evictions are heard
Every city we cover in the county is listed on Contra Costa County process servers.