Valpro Attorney Services serves summonses, complaints, subpoenas, small claims, family law and eviction papers in Brisbane, a small city on San Mateo County's northern edge. Brisbane has fewer than 5,000 residents, but two large business districts sit inside its limits, so many Brisbane attempts are planned around a workplace as well as a home.
Brisbane is about 81 miles from our Sacramento office. You send the papers online, we plan the attempts around homes and workplaces, and you can get status updates by email.
Three courthouses, three jobs
The Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, splits work across its buildings, and the one closest to Brisbane isn't where civil cases are filed.
| Brisbane matter | Filed at | Heard at |
|---|---|---|
| Civil, limited or unlimited | Hall of Justice, 400 County Center, Redwood City, or e-filed | Assigned civil department |
| Unlawful detainer | Civil Division, Redwood City, or e-filed | Central Branch, 800 N Humboldt St, San Mateo |
| Small claims | Small Claims Clerk, Hall of Justice, Room A | Hall of Justice or Northern Branch |
| Family law and probate | Hall of Justice | Hall of Justice |
| Criminal and traffic | Northern Branch, 1050 Mission Rd, South San Francisco (Brisbane is in its district group) | Northern Branch |
From the court's location, office hours, small claims, unlawful detainer and judicial district pages, read October 2026.
In straight-line terms, central Brisbane is about 3.1 miles from the Northern Branch, 7.2 miles from the Central Branch and 15.5 miles from the Hall of Justice. The court's judicial district page lists Brisbane in the Northern Branch group, with Colma, Daly City, Millbrae, Pacifica, San Bruno and South San Francisco. That grouping mostly decides where criminal and traffic matters land. For civil filing, the Northern Branch offers criminal and traffic clerk services only.
Filing a Brisbane case
The Hall of Justice civil, family law, probate and small claims clerk works by appointment only, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Attorneys rarely need the counter. Local Rule 2.1.7 requires every party except self-represented litigants to e-file in civil, small claims and unlawful detainer cases, and attorneys must e-file family law and probate papers too.
Two things on the Civil Division page come up in Brisbane collection and contract cases. Paper judgment packets haven't been accepted from attorneys since August 11, 2025; civil judgments must be e-filed under Local Rule 2.1.8. And ex parte applications in regular civil cases go to the assigned judge's department, on that judge's ex parte days.
Older files can be searched on the court's online Records Index. In-person access to records is at the Records Management counter in Redwood City, by appointment, during the same 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. window. For a counter filing or a records pull, see our San Mateo County court filings and document retrieval pages.
Crocker Park, Sierra Point and other work addresses
Brisbane's General Plan describes the city's two large business districts, and both affect how papers get served.
Crocker Park is a business park of about 264 acres northwest of Central Brisbane. The plan says it was developed beginning in the 1960s, was annexed to the city in 1983, and holds warehousing, research and development, distribution, service, manufacturing and office uses. Almost no vacant land is left.
Sierra Point is a peninsula of about 104 acres across Highway 101 at the city's southern end, developed with offices, research and development space and hotels, plus a 30-acre municipal marina. The plan notes that about 24 more acres of the same peninsula lie in South San Francisco and share its freeway access.
That last point is easy to miss. Two buildings on the same peninsula, a short walk apart, can be in different cities. The county is the same, so the court doesn't change. But a pleading, a proof of service or a business license record may list the city, and it should match.
For a workplace attempt in either district, give us:
- The company name, and whether the person is an employee or an officer.
- The building address and suite, not just "Crocker Park" or "Sierra Point."
- Shift or office hours. Warehouse and lab schedules don't always follow a 9-to-5 day.
- How visitors get in, if you know. Some buildings route visitors through a reception desk.
When the defendant is the company itself, see the section on serving a business below.
Hillside streets in Central Brisbane
Most Brisbane residents live in Central Brisbane, which the General Plan describes as rising from the old bay shoreline more than halfway up the northeast slope of San Bruno Mountain, to roughly 350 to 400 feet. The plan says several streets are dead-ended, narrow streets and on-street parking create bottlenecks, and the upper hillsides have steep, narrow streets with sharp curves.
For a server, that means a house number isn't always enough. If the home sits above or below the street, has a separate unit, or is reached by stairs or a shared drive, put it in the Letter of Instruction. A photo of the entrance helps.
Above Central Brisbane, the Brisbane Acres sit on the steep upper slopes of the mountain. The plan said in 2019 that most of that area remained undeveloped and inaccessible, so addresses there are few.
The 94005 ZIP Code and the county line
The Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP Code to place file puts about 65% of the 94005 ZIP Code's land inside the City of Brisbane. The other 35% lies outside any city or Census-designated place. All of 94005 is in San Mateo County.
The General Plan says Brisbane borders the City and County of San Francisco to the north, Daly City to the northwest, South San Francisco to the southeast, and unincorporated county land to the south and west, with San Bruno Mountain's ridgeline as its southern and western edge. San Francisco has its own Superior Court. If an address is near the north edge of the city, confirm the county before filing, because the county decides which court the case belongs in.
Papers to serve in Brisbane?
Brisbane evictions
A Brisbane landlord files through the Civil Division, usually by e-filing, and the case is heard at the Central Branch in San Mateo. The court's unlawful detainer page lists:
- Pretrial conferences at 8:30 a.m., in person at the Central Branch or by Zoom.
- Court trials at 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., in person.
- Ex parte applications Tuesdays and Fridays at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom H, with a proposed order and the papers required by rule 3.1201.
If the case settles, the rule that trips people is the CM-200. The page cites California Rules of Court, rule 3.1385, and says the court won't sign a stipulation for entry of judgment on an entire-case settlement until the plaintiff files a Notice of Settlement of Entire Case. If a hearing is within 10 days, the parties must also give oral notice.
After judgment, a writ of possession is carried out only by the Sheriff. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Civil Enforcement Bureau lists evictions and writs of possession among the items it alone must handle.
The tenant has 10 court days to answer after personal service, not counting weekends or court holidays, or 10 calendar days plus 10 court days after substituted service and mailing. Posting an eviction summons requires a court order under Code of Civil Procedure § 415.45.
Collecting a judgment from a Brisbane business
Winning against a Crocker Park or Sierra Point company is one step. Collecting is another, and San Mateo County's Sheriff controls part of it. The Civil Enforcement Bureau's page marks certain enforcement steps as Sheriff-only:
- A business levy, also called a keeper levy, and a till tap
- Claim and delivery, and seizures of personal property
- Vehicle, boat and equipment seizure and sale
- Writs of possession and writs of sale of real property
Other steps sit outside the bureau. Its page says it requires real property levies, bank and other third-party levies, wage garnishments and attachments to be served by a registered process server under the Code of Civil Procedure. Every request to the bureau needs a signed letter of instruction naming the process, the debtor and the address.
A debtor examination has its own wrinkle. The bureau's page lists the order of appearance or examination among the Sheriff-only items when the goal is an arrest warrant if the debtor fails to appear. Decide that before you choose who serves the order.
Family and juvenile matters for Brisbane families
Family law cases are filed and heard at the Hall of Justice in Redwood City, even though the Northern Branch is much closer. The court's office hours page says the Family Law Facilitator at the Northern Branch is closed until further notice, so self-represented Brisbane parents should look to the Redwood City office or the facilitator's LiveChat. Juvenile delinquency, dependency and adoption cases go to the Juvenile Branch, 222 Paul Scannell Drive, San Mateo, where the court allows no cell phones, cameras or recording devices.
Small claims for a Brisbane dispute
A Brisbane small claims case is filed with the Small Claims Clerk in Room A at the Hall of Justice, by appointment, or e-filed. The hearing will be at the Hall of Justice or at the Northern Branch, and the notice says which. Appearances are in person, with Zoom available for hardship. An individual can claim up to $12,500.
The small claims page has one e-filing instruction worth saving. To appeal, file the SC-140 Notice of Appeal under "New Case Filings," not under the existing case number, and write the existing number on the form. The appeal gets a new case number.
The plaintiff can't serve the claim personally, and San Mateo County's Sheriff doesn't serve small claims plaintiff's claims. A process server or another adult who isn't a party can. Our guide to who can serve papers in California covers the rules, and our proof of service guide covers the form that follows.
From January 1, 2027, AB 747 changes how reasonable diligence before substituted service is shown: personal delivery attempted on at least three occasions, on three different days, at three different times. Our AB 747 guide explains it.
Serving a Brisbane business
Many companies in Crocker Park and on Sierra Point are corporations or LLCs with an agent for service of process somewhere else. A receptionist or warehouse supervisor usually can't accept papers for the company. Look the entity up on the California Secretary of State's bizfile Online and send us the agent as listed. If it's a commercial agent, our pages on CSC and CT Corporation explain how those work, and serving corporations covers the other routes.
Sending Brisbane papers
- Start a Service Request and attach up to 5 PDFs.
- Name each person or company to be served.
- Give every address: home, building and suite, with the city as the records show it.
- Choose Rush or Standard, and add a Redwood City filing if you need one.
Call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com with questions. We make no guarantees for service. If the person has moved, our skip tracing service can look for a current address.
Near Brisbane
Straight-line distances from central Brisbane:
- South San Francisco, 1.5 miles, home of the Northern Branch
- Colma, 3.8 miles
- San Bruno, 4.4 miles
- Daly City, 4.7 miles
- Millbrae, 5.4 miles
Every place we serve in the county is on the San Mateo County page.