Butte County runs from the Sacramento River across the valley floor and up into the Sierra and Cascade foothills. The 2020 Census counted 211,632 residents, close to half of them in Chico, at 101,475. Oroville, the county seat, has 20,042. Gridley has 7,421, Paradise 4,764 and Biggs 1,964.
Valpro Attorney Services takes Butte County process serving, court filings and document retrieval from our Sacramento office. Use a Service Request to upload the papers, or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Civil cases go to Chico, not the county seat
Butte is a county where the seat and the civil courthouse are in different cities. The court has two buildings, and it splits them by case type, not by where the parties live.
North Butte County Courthouse, Chico. At 1775 Concord Avenue. Local Rule 1.3 says all civil matters, including small claims, are filed here. The Civil Division page adds that this covers unlawful detainer and limited and unlimited civil cases for the entire county. Family law, probate and adult traffic are here as well. The civil line is (530) 532-7009.
Butte County Courthouse, Oroville. At One Court Street. This building handles criminal cases and juvenile matters.
Both list hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. A landlord in Gridley or Biggs still files the eviction in Chico.
Mandatory e-filing since 2017
Butte adopted Local Rule 21.1 effective July 1, 2017. Under subsection (A), represented parties must e-file in:
- all civil matters
- all probate matters
- all family law matters, including Department of Child Support Services cases
- juvenile dependency
Self-represented parties are exempt but encouraged to e-file. Criminal, traffic and juvenile delinquency filings may be e-filed but don't have to be. E-filings go through an approved provider listed on the court's site.
Rule 21.4 keeps some papers off the e-filing system, among them wills and codicils, bonds, subpoenaed documents, lodged documents, sealed case documents and trial exhibits. Fax is narrow, too: Local Rule 13.1 sends civil and family law faxes through a fax filing agency, and the court takes direct faxes only for one-page informational letters.
Our Court Filings service e-files through a provider and handles the paper-only items at the Chico counter. Court Filings lists what to include. General information, not legal advice.
Service by the Sheriff or a private server
The court's Civil Division FAQ places the Butte County Sheriff's Civil Division at 402 Otterson Drive, Suite 120, in Chico, and points to the Sheriff's website for hours and service details. The same FAQ lists a relative, the county sheriff and a professional process server among the ways papers get served.
Whoever serves must be at least 18 and not a party to the case. Our guide on who can serve papers in California has the rules, including registration for paid servers, and the proof of service guide explains the form filed afterward.
Valley, ridge and canyon
The valley floor. Chico, Durham, Biggs, Gridley and Palermo are on flat farmland along Highways 99 and 70. Gridley is about 53 miles straight-line from our office, the closest Butte city to Sacramento.
The Ridge. Paradise and Magalia sit on the ridge east of Chico. After the 2018 Camp Fire, an older Paradise or Magalia address on file may no longer match where someone lives.
Lake Oroville and the canyons. Oroville sits at the base of the foothills. Above it, Berry Creek, Feather Falls, Forbestown and Concow are reached on narrow mountain roads.
North and east of Chico. Forest Ranch and Cohasset are up in the hills along their own long roads.
Remote areas are subject to different timelines. For foothill and canyon addresses, we confirm timing with you before you choose Rush.
Help the server find the right person
An apartment in town and a parcel in the hills call for different details. Add what applies:
- the unit, building and gate code for an apartment or a gated complex
- a cross street or landmark for a ridge or canyon property
- whether the address is a rebuilt home or a temporary residence
- the person's employer and hours
- any other address in Glenn, Tehama or Yuba County
When an address is out of date, skip tracing can find a newer one. Read skip tracing for legal cases for how it works.
Evictions, businesses and AB 747
Every Butte County eviction is filed in Chico. After personal service, the tenant has 10 court days to answer. For a business defendant, service generally goes to its agent for service of process; see serving corporations.
Starting January 1, 2027, under AB 747, three good-faith attempts on 3 different days at 3 different times show reasonable diligence for substituted service (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). The county clerk's register of process servers becomes public under Bus. & Prof. Code § 22355. See the AB 747 guide. General information, not legal advice.
Send a Butte County Service Request
Start a Service Request, upload up to 5 PDFs, and pick Rush or Standard. Get status updates by email. Call 855-582-5776 on weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Neighboring county hubs: Glenn County, Yuba County, Sutter County and Plumas County.