Ceres is an incorporated city in Stanislaus County, just south of Modesto, with 49,302 residents at the 2020 Census and an estimated 48,982 in mid-2025. Valpro Attorney Services serves divorce and custody papers, summonses and complaints, small claims, eviction papers and subpoenas on people and businesses across Ceres.
Ceres requests are handled from our Sacramento office, about 76 miles north. Requests come in online, and the updates come to you by email.
Three Stanislaus courthouses handle Ceres cases
Ceres sits between two court towns. Modesto, about 3 miles north of central Ceres in a straight line, has the main courthouse and the civil building. Turlock, about 9.5 miles south, has the division that takes every small claims and eviction case in the county. Which one a Ceres case uses depends on the case type, according to the court's locations and division pages:
| Ceres matter | Courthouse | Where to go inside |
|---|---|---|
| Civil lawsuit, civil harassment, name change | City Towers, 801 10th Street, Modesto | Civil Clerk's Office, 4th floor |
| Probate estates, trusts, conservatorships | City Towers, 801 10th Street, Modesto | Probate unit, Civil Clerk's Office, 4th floor |
| Divorce, custody, support, domestic violence | Main Courthouse, Modesto | Family Law Clerk's Office, I Street entrance |
| Guardianships, LPS conservatorships, adoptions | Main Courthouse, Modesto | Clerk's office at the I Street entrance |
| Small claims and unlawful detainers | Turlock Division, 300 Starr Avenue | Department 19 |
| Traffic | 2260 Floyd Avenue, Modesto | Department 20 |
The court gives one main phone line, (209) 530-3100, for all of these. Limited civil cases are those with $35,000 or less in controversy, and anything above that is unlimited, per the civil division page. Both are filed at City Towers.
Ceres divorce and custody papers
Family law is the part of Stanislaus practice with the most local rules about service, and a Ceres household's case is filed at the main courthouse in Modesto. The court lists the Family Law Clerk's Office at 1100 I Street, and filings can go in person, by e-file or by mail to P.O. Box 1098, Modesto, CA 95353, with fees and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Serving the petition (Local Rule 7.03). The rule covers divorce, nullity, legal separation, domestic partnership dissolution and parentage cases. It doesn't cover domestic violence restraining order requests, summary dissolutions or exclusive custody actions under Family Code section 3120.
- 60 days. The petition must be served on the respondent, and the proof of service filed, within 60 days after filing.
- More time. An application to extend the time to serve has to be filed before the 60 days are up. It needs a declaration showing why service hasn't happened, the efforts made, and the date by which service is expected.
- Missing the deadline. Without an extension, failing to serve and file can lead to an order to show cause about sanctions.
- The response. The parties can agree, without the court, to one 15-day extension beyond the 30 days a respondent normally has to file a response.
This is where a server's notes earn their keep. If a Ceres respondent is avoiding the door, the dates, times and details of each attempt are what the extension declaration has to show.
Serving a Request for Order (Local Rule 7.09). Requests for Order and the papers that answer them are served on the schedule in CCP sections 1005, 1011 and 1013 unless the court shortens time. If service isn't completed and the proof isn't filed on time, the matter stays on calendar to be dropped in open court unless both parties appear, or the moving party appears with proper proof of service. The tentative ruling can tentatively deny the request when proof of service wasn't filed at least five days before the hearing, citing California Rules of Court, rule 5.94(b).
Domestic violence cases. Under Rule 7.09(C), a party can ask to reissue a Request for Order or a domestic violence restraining order request no later than the day of the hearing. In a domestic violence case with no existing orders, if reissuance isn't asked for on time, the whole case is dismissed. If we couldn't complete service on a Ceres respondent before the hearing, that's the date to reissue by.
Getting signed family law papers to the other party
The court's family law page sets a pickup routine. Family law Requests for Order and temporary restraining orders are picked up from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. at Window #1 in the family law lobby. A Request for Order submitted in person at the counter by 8:45 a.m. is ready for pickup the next court day in that window. An emergency drop box takes documents after hours.
Custody and visitation hearings are calendared at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m., Monday through Thursday, and the mediation takes place by phone. Support hearings are set at 9:00 a.m., generally about two weeks after the custody hearing. Departments 11, 13 and 14 are in the basement of the main courthouse, and Department 25 is on the second floor.
When we serve a Ceres respondent, send the conformed petition or Request for Order, the hearing date and department, any temporary orders, and the blank response forms that go with them. Our proof of service guide shows what the server signs.
Papers to serve in Ceres?
Ceres small claims, heard in Turlock
Every Stanislaus small claims case is filed and heard at the Turlock Division, and the county's small claims rules add steps a plaintiff from another county may not expect:
- Rule 3.16(A): the Plaintiff's Claim (SC-100) is served with local form SC-001, Notice to Small Claims Litigants, attached.
- Rule 3.16(B): if the clerk serves by certified mail, the parties can check the file up to three days before the hearing to see whether service was completed, and the judge decides whether it was proper.
- Rule 3.16(C): a plaintiff who can't serve in time can file form SC-150, Request to Postpone Trial, at least two days before the hearing.
- Rule 3.17: the original proof of service is filed with the clerk at least five days before the hearing, or the matter may be dropped from calendar.
- Rule 3.18: a party who settles notifies the court in writing at least one court day before the hearing, using form CIV-100.
Turlock is about 9.5 miles from central Ceres in a straight line, and the court lists Department 19 there. For a Ceres defendant, the server only needs the claim, the SC-001 notice and the address.
Ceres evictions
A Ceres landlord files the unlawful detainer at the Turlock Division, or e-files it. Send us the summons, the complaint, the notice and the name of every adult occupant, with the unit or space number. A tenant who is handed the summons has 10 court days to file an answer, according to the state court self-help page, and more time if papers are left with another adult or posted.
From January 1, 2027, AB 747 adds that good-faith attempts at personal delivery on at least three occasions, on three different days at three different times, show reasonable diligence before papers are left with someone else (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Posting an eviction summons is covered by CCP § 415.45. Our AB 747 guide explains both. We make no guarantees for service.
Probate and estates for a Ceres family
Decedent estates, trusts and conservatorships are handled by the probate unit in the Civil Clerk's Office on the fourth floor at 801 10th Street. The court's probate page notes that a decedent's will must be delivered to the court within 30 days of the death, or of learning of it, under Probate Code § 8200, with a $50 lodging fee and a cover sheet. Probate matters are heard Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 a.m., and conservatorship hearings are usually set 45 to 60 days after the petition is filed.
From August 17, 2026, ex parte hearing requests in civil and probate matters are emailed to crc_civil@stanct.org with the department number and "Ex Parte Hearing Request" in the subject line, per the court's civil and probate pages. If a Ceres heir or proposed conservatee needs personal notice, add their names and addresses to the Service Request.
Ceres ZIP Code areas cross into Modesto
Ceres uses three ZIP Code areas, and none of them belongs to Ceres alone. In the Census Bureau's 2020 relationship file:
- 95307 holds about two-thirds of Ceres's land, but Ceres covers only about 19% of the ZIP Code area. The unincorporated community of Keyes, a CDP with 5,672 residents in 2020, takes another small share, and about 79% lies outside any city or CDP.
- 95351 is about 48% Modesto and 16% Ceres by land, with several unincorporated pockets.
- 95358 is mostly outside any city; Modesto has about 5.5% of its land and Ceres about 1.5%.
- A sliver of Ceres, about 1.4% of its land, falls in the 95326 ZIP Code area.
A "Modesto" mailing address can be a house inside Ceres city limits, and a "Ceres" address can be on unincorporated county land. We serve the street address either way. Census ZIP Code areas approximate postal ZIP Codes.
When the City of Ceres is a party
Ceres has a city government, so a dispute over a city decision, contract or property names the City of Ceres. CCP § 416.50 allows a summons on a public entity to be delivered to its clerk, secretary, president, presiding officer or other head of its governing body. The city's website lists City Hall at 2220 Magnolia Street, Ceres, CA 95307, phone (209) 538-5700, and its staff directory lists the City Clerk at (209) 538-5731. A damages claim usually comes first under the Government Claims Act, and your attorney handles that step. Send the claim history and the exact defendant name with the papers.
Serving a Ceres business
For a corporation or LLC, check its agent for service of process on the Secretary of State's bizfile Online and send us the listed name and address. A local owner may be the agent; larger companies often name a commercial agent such as CSC or CT Corporation. Our serving corporations page covers the options. If the person has moved, skip tracing can look for a new address.
Sending Ceres papers
- Open a Service Request and attach up to 5 PDFs.
- Name each person or entity as the papers do, and list every address you have.
- Note gates, unit numbers and the best time to find the person.
- Choose Rush or Standard. A Stanislaus County court filing can ride on the same request.
Near Ceres
Modesto is 3.3 miles north and Hughson 5.6 miles east. Turlock, home of the small claims and eviction court, and Riverbank are both 8.9 miles away, and Oakdale is 13.1. Every place we serve in the county is on our Stanislaus County page.