Campbell is an incorporated city in Santa Clara County, with 43,959 residents at the 2020 Census and about 42,490 in the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. It sits about 95 miles from our Sacramento office in a straight line, and about 5 miles from the courthouses that hear its cases. That short hop to downtown San Jose shapes most Campbell jobs: the filing happens there, and the service happens at the Campbell home, office or storefront.
The other thing that shapes Campbell work is the city line. Campbell and San Jose share streets and ZIP Codes, and an address that reads "Campbell" on an envelope isn't always inside the city. Both are sorted out below.
Campbell or San Jose? What the ZIP Code tells you
Nearly all of Campbell is in one ZIP Code area. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file measures it this way:
| ZIP Code area | Share of Campbell's land | What else is in it |
|---|---|---|
| 95008 | about 93.9% | About 11.7% of 95008's land is in San Jose |
| 95032 | about 2.8% | Mostly Los Gatos and unincorporated land |
| 95128 | about 1.6% | Mostly San Jose |
| 95125 | about 1.3% | Mostly San Jose |
| 95117 | about 0.5% | Mostly San Jose |
Campbell's land area is about 6.1 square miles, so those slivers are small, but they cut both ways. Some 95008 addresses are in San Jose, and a few Campbell addresses carry a San Jose ZIP Code.
For service, the city name doesn't change the courthouse: both cities are in Santa Clara County. It can matter elsewhere, though. A city ordinance, a local business license or the police agency that answers a call depends on which side of the line the property sits. When the papers name a city, send them as written and add anything you know about the exact location to the Letter of Instruction.
Five miles to the San Jose courthouses
Measured from Campbell's Census center point to each building's Census-geocoded address, the Downtown Superior Court at 191 North First Street is about 5.2 miles away and the Family Justice Center Courthouse at 201 North First Street about 5.3. The two buildings sit side by side, and the court's Old Courthouse at 161 North First Street, listed for civil matters in Departments 17 to 22, is close by. Filing still happens at the Downtown Superior Court; a Campbell civil case may simply be heard next door.
The court's locations page sets the hours for all of them:
- Clerk's office and telephone: 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday.
- Buildings: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Downtown Superior Court houses civil, probate and small claims, in Departments 1 to 16. The Family Justice Center houses family law, juvenile dependency, drug court, traffic and self-help, in Departments 60 to 79. Local Civil Rule 1.C requires every limited and unlimited civil case to be filed downtown, Rule 13.C does the same for every eviction, and Rule 19.A for small claims when the defendant lives in the county or the dispute arose there.
Our Santa Clara County court filing page covers filing a Campbell case and serving it on one request.
Who must e-file, and what still goes on paper
The court's e-filing page says e-filing is mandatory for all attorney-represented parties in civil, family and probate cases. In civil, that includes complex cases, unlawful detainers, later filings in civil harassment cases and every other case type, limited or unlimited. E-filing is available in small claims, and criminal e-filing is permissive. Self-represented parties aren't required to e-file.
The same page lists papers the court still accepts in hard copy:
- ex parte filings (attorneys must e-file probate ex parte petitions)
- family law judgments and defaults
- subpoenas for out-of-state actions, on the court's local form
- the order for payment from court deposit, local form FN-022
- the certificate of facts on an unsatisfied judgment
The court asks for searchable PDFs, and prefers searchable PDF/A. For complex civil litigation, it has moved the case documents to its Case Information Portal, where they can be viewed at no cost for now; the page warns that fees may come later. That portal is one way to check what has already been filed and served before a new round of service goes out. Filing is electronic, but the first papers in a case still have to reach the other side by personal or substituted service. That's the part done at the Campbell address.
Subpoenas from out-of-state cases
Out-of-state litigation sometimes needs testimony or records from a person or company in Campbell. California handles that through the clerk of the county where the discovery will happen. Under CCP § 2029.300, the party submits the foreign subpoena, an application on the Judicial Council form and the fee, and the Santa Clara County clerk then issues a California subpoena carrying the out-of-state caption and case number. No civil case cover sheet is needed, and asking for the subpoena doesn't count as appearing in a California court.
Once issued, the subpoena is served like any California subpoena. For a witness who must appear, CCP § 1987(a) calls for delivery to the witness personally, with the travel and one-day attendance fees offered if the witness asks for them. Our post on how to serve a subpoena in California covers the rest. General information, not legal advice.
Papers to serve in Campbell?
Name changes, guardianships and other probate matters
The Probate Division sits in the Downtown Superior Court and takes more than estates. Its page lists:
- transfers of property of people who have died
- conservatorships, including Lanterman-Petris-Short mental health conservatorships
- guardianships of children
- adoptions of children and adults
- name changes and name and gender changes for adults and children
- minor's compromises, where the court approves a settlement of a child's claim
Several of these require notice to relatives or other interested people, and those people may live anywhere. List each one with a full address and the hearing date, so the attempts can be planned around the notice period.
Small claims papers that travel together
A Campbell small claims case is filed and heard downtown. Rule 19.D(1) adds a step that's easy to miss: the plaintiff must serve the Notice to Small Claims Litigants, form SC-8006, with the Plaintiff's Claim and Order to Go to Small Claims Court. Under CCP § 116.340, service must be completed at least 15 days before the hearing if the defendant lives in Santa Clara County, or 20 days if they live elsewhere, and the proof is due at least 5 days before the hearing.
Two more rules from the same section: a party who settles must tell the court in writing at least one court day before the hearing, for example with a request for dismissal on form SC-8007; and a party who doesn't appear has their own claim dismissed, though a claim against them is still heard. The person who filed can't serve the claim. Any adult who isn't a party can, as our guide on who can serve papers in California explains.
Help the court offers before the papers go out
Self-represented Campbell residents have two free court resources that touch on service. The Small Claims Advisor answers questions about filling out forms, naming the defendant, where to file, how to serve the other party and how to collect a judgment. The advisor takes calls at (408) 882-2929 during live phone hours on Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m., and replies by email to a web form the rest of the week.
For restraining orders, the court's Restraining Order Help Center gives in-person or phone help and reviews forms at no charge. Once a judge signs a temporary order, the restrained person has to be handed the order and the hearing notice before the hearing. A recent photo, a car description and a work schedule make that much easier.
Evictions and family cases
Every Campbell eviction goes to the downtown eviction department, and attorneys must e-file there. Send the summons, the complaint, the names of all adult occupants and the unit number. After personal service, the tenant has 10 court days to file an answer.
Divorce, custody and support cases go next door to the Family Justice Center, where the court also runs its Self-Help Center. The respondent is served wherever they now live. Send the filed petition and summons, the blank response and a recent photo if more than one adult lives at the address.
Collecting after a downtown judgment
A judgment from the Downtown Superior Court doesn't pay itself. One common next step is a debtor examination, where the judgment debtor must come to court and answer questions about wages, accounts and property. Under CCP § 708.110(d), the order to appear must be personally served on the debtor at least 10 days before the examination, in the manner set by § 415.10. Service also creates a lien on the debtor's personal property for one year. Ask for an exam date with room for more than one attempt, and send the debtor's work address along with the home address.
Serving a Campbell business
For a corporation or LLC, find the agent for service of process on the Secretary of State's bizfile Online before anyone goes to the storefront. A small Campbell business may list its owner at a home address; a larger company usually names a commercial agent such as CSC or CT Corporation, whose office may be in another city altogether. Our serving corporations page explains how to serve each kind of entity.
The 2027 changes
From January 1, 2027, three good-faith attempts at personal delivery, on three different days and at three different times, show reasonable diligence before papers are left with another adult at a home or workplace (CCP § 415.20(b)(2), as amended by AB 747). The county clerk's register of process servers becomes public under Business and Professions Code § 22355. See our AB 747 guide and our proof of service guide. We make no guarantees for service.
Starting a Campbell Service Request
- Upload up to 5 PDFs to the Service Request, including SC-8006 for a small claims case.
- Name every party exactly as the papers do, and give every address with unit or suite numbers.
- Note the city line if you know the address is in San Jose rather than Campbell.
- Choose Rush or Standard, and add a downtown filing if you need one.
Get the updates by email. If the person has moved, skip tracing can look for a new address. Call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Near Campbell
Monte Sereno is about 3.4 miles away and Los Gatos about 3.5. Saratoga is 4.1 miles off, Cupertino 5.7 and the city of Santa Clara 5.9. San Jose, home of every courthouse Campbell uses, is about 7.7 miles from Campbell's center point. Every city we serve in the county is on our Santa Clara County page.