Camarillo has no courthouse, and its cases split between two buildings, both west of the city. The Hall of Justice in Ventura, about 11 miles west, takes the city's civil suits, evictions, small claims filings and family law. The Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard, about 7 miles away, takes probate and civil harassment orders and hears Camarillo's small claims trials.
We serve summonses, family law petitions, eviction papers, small claims, subpoenas and restraining orders at Camarillo homes, apartments, offices and campuses, and we file with the court too. Send the papers with a Service Request or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Which building takes a Camarillo case
Ventura Superior Court doesn't route cases by city. It routes them by case type, and for Camarillo that works out like this:
| Camarillo case type | Filed at | Heard at |
|---|---|---|
| Limited and unlimited civil | Hall of Justice, Ventura | Hall of Justice |
| Unlawful detainer | Hall of Justice | Hall of Justice |
| Family law, domestic violence and elder abuse orders | Hall of Justice | Hall of Justice |
| Small claims | Hall of Justice | Juvenile Justice Center, Oxnard |
| Civil harassment orders | Juvenile Justice Center, or e-filed | Juvenile Justice Center |
| Probate, guardianship, conservatorship | Juvenile Justice Center | Juvenile Justice Center, Courtroom J6 |
The Hall of Justice is at 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura 93009, 10.8 miles from Camarillo's Census center point in a straight line. The Juvenile Justice Center is at 4353 East Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard 93036, 7.4 miles away. The East County Courthouse in Simi Valley, 18.3 miles away, doesn't figure in Camarillo civil work.
Small claims: filed in Ventura, heard in Oxnard
The court's small claims page says all small claims are filed at the Hall of Justice, whatever the hearing location, and that the East County and Juvenile Justice Center locations don't accept small claims filings. Hearings are set in Simi Valley only when the claim arose in one of the east-county ZIP Codes the page lists. Neither 93010 nor 93012 is on that list, so a Camarillo claim is heard in Oxnard.
The page also sets out service:
- Deadline: the defendant must be served 15 days before the hearing if they live in the county, and 20 days if they live outside it.
- Who serves: anyone 18 or older who isn't a party, the sheriff, or a registered process server. The plaintiff can't.
- Proof: the proof of service has to be filed with the court 5 days before the hearing.
- Certified mail: the clerk's office can mail the claim for $15 per defendant, but the court calls it the least effective method, because the defendant must personally sign the green receipt.
An individual can claim up to $12,500. The page warns that a claim filed in the wrong county will be dismissed, and lists the usual reasons Ventura County is the right one: the defendant lives or does business there, the damage or injury happened there, or a contract was made, signed, performed or broken there. A claim to collect a debt can't be filed without a written calculation of the amount owed, showing the original debt and every payment, fee, charge and credit since. Free mediation is offered at the courthouse on the hearing day through the court's Consumer Mediation Unit.
After judgment, the court won't collect for the winner. The page notes that an order for examination of a judgment debtor costs $60 to file and may be served only by a sheriff or a registered process server.
Evictions and civil suits at the Hall of Justice
Camarillo landlord cases and lawsuits are filed in the Civil Clerk's Office at the Hall of Justice, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Since May 5, 2025, attorneys must e-file in unlimited civil, limited civil and probate cases. A document received electronically between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed filed that day if accepted. Self-represented filers can still use the counter, the drop box or the mail, and the civil page says drop box filings deposited before 4:00 p.m. on a court day are filed that day.
The civil page lists the paperwork that goes out with a complaint. A Civil Case Cover Sheet is required with every new complaint, and in general civil cases the plaintiff serves the court's ADR information package on each defendant along with the complaint, under California Rule of Court 3.221. The same page says the summons and complaint may be served by the sheriff, a marshal, a registered process server or any adult who isn't a party, and the original proof must be filed before judgment.
Later papers are simpler. The civil page says notices may be served by personal delivery or first-class mail, with a proof of service or declaration of mailing attached when the notice is filed. Motions follow their own schedule: served and filed at least 16 court days before the hearing. Civil courtrooms cap the number of ex parte and law and motion matters each day and require a reservation through the Civil Unit at (805) 289-8525.
For a Camarillo eviction, the tenant's response period starts at service. The California Courts self-help page gives 10 court days after personal service, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or court holidays. After substituted service, or posting and mailing under a court order, it's 10 calendar days plus 10 court days, counted from the mailing.
Papers to serve in Camarillo?
Family law in Room 210
Camarillo divorces, custody cases and domestic violence orders are filed at the Hall of Justice, Room 210. The family law page has several rules that shape a filing trip:
- No e-filing yet. The e-filing page says electronic filing isn't available for family law cases. Most filings can go through eDelivery, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Three filings per counter visit. Anything more means getting back in line.
- Some papers must go in the drop box, including most case-initiating papers and judgment packets. The box is outside Room 210, and deposits before 4:00 p.m. are filed that day.
- Copies: an original and two copies of each form, two-hole punched and stapled in the left-hand corner.
For help preparing domestic violence or elder abuse papers, the page points to the District Attorney's Victim Services Unit in Room 311 of the Hall of Justice and to the Ventura County Family Justice Center at 3170 Loma Vista Road, Ventura.
Hearings run on a weekly pattern. Requests for Order are heard Mondays through Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. in Courtrooms 31, 32, 33 and 35, with self-represented parties set on Mondays and cases with an attorney on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Domestic violence, workplace violence, gun violence and postsecondary school violence hearings are Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Courtroom 34. Elder abuse hearings are Mondays at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 32.
The page says the summons and petition may be served by the sheriff, a marshal, a registered process server or any adult who isn't a party, and the original proof must be filed to get a judgment. Our proof of service guide covers the family law proof forms.
Probate and civil harassment in Oxnard
All Ventura County probate matters, including estates, trusts, conservatorships and guardianships, are filed and heard at the Juvenile Justice Center in Oxnard, usually in Courtroom J6. The probate page sets the calendar:
- New probate estate petitions: Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.
- Probate motions and miscellaneous petitions: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 a.m.
- Conservatorship and guardianship estate motions: Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m., with care plans, inventories and status reports at 10:30 a.m.
- Petitions to appoint a conservator or guardian with an estate: Fridays at 9:00 a.m. only
Civil harassment restraining orders are filed at the same Oxnard building, or electronically, the family law page says. The restrained person still has to be served before the hearing.
The court offers remote appearances in civil, probate, family and non-criminal juvenile cases, under California Rules of Court, rule 3.672, and Code of Civil Procedure section 367.75.
Naval Base Ventura County
The Department of Defense's installation directory lists Naval Base Ventura County, with sites at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme. The City of Port Hueneme is about 11 miles from Camarillo's center point. Serving someone on a Navy installation follows federal rules, not just state ones. Under 32 CFR § 720.20, service of process isn't made within a Navy command without the commanding officer's consent. For process from a court in the same state, the regulation says the command ordinarily shouldn't prevent service if it follows reasonable command rules, and it often designates a place such as the legal office for it. For process from another state, the person isn't required to accept.
Base access is controlled, so give us an off-base address: a home in Camarillo, Oxnard or Port Hueneme, a second job, or a relative's place. If the only known address is on base, tell us that up front.
Camarillo ZIP Codes and the city line
The Census Bureau's 2020 relationship file shows how much of each Camarillo ZIP Code is actually in the city:
- 93010: about 47% in Camarillo, the rest in no city or Census place
- 93012: about 19% in Camarillo, 14% in Santa Rosa Valley, under 2% in Thousand Oaks, and about 65% in no city or Census place
Santa Rosa Valley is a Census-designated place, unincorporated county land with its own Census name. Because Ventura routes by case type, not city, none of this changes the courthouse. It changes the city or community we write on the proof, and which public entity to name if a local government is the defendant.
Campuses and workplaces
California State University Channel Islands lists its address as 1 University Drive, Camarillo 93012. On a campus or a large business park, a street address covers many people. Send the building, the office or department, the person's hours and a photo.
A company is normally served through its agent for service of process, listed on the Secretary of State's bizfile Online. See our guides to CSC Lawyers Incorporating Service and CT Corporation, and the serving corporations page. Records subpoenas usually go to a custodian of records; see our post on how to serve a subpoena in California.
Serving the City of Camarillo
The city's website lists City Hall at 601 Carmen Drive, Camarillo 93010. Judicial Council form SC-104C says a claim against a city starts with a claim filed with that city under its own procedure, before any lawsuit. A later summons goes to the city clerk, a chief officer or an agent authorized to accept service.
Filing and service together
We can e-file or file at either building and then serve once the summons issues. Our Ventura County court filing page lists what we need, and each update comes to you by email. If the person has moved, skip tracing looks for a current address. We make no guarantees for service.
Nearby: Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Santa Paula and Ventura. For the rest of the county, see our Ventura County page.