Valpro Attorney Services serves legal papers in Daly City, the San Mateo County city on the San Francisco line, and in the Broadmoor and Colma areas that share its ZIP Codes. We serve summonses, subpoenas and every other legal document on people and businesses, and we file the matching papers with San Mateo County Superior Court. Daly City is about 83 miles from our office.
Upload up to 5 PDFs on a Service Request or email the papers to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com. For a deadline that's close, call 855-582-5776, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On the county line with San Francisco
The city's profile describes Daly City as the "Gateway to the Peninsula," at the northernmost edge of San Mateo County, next to San Francisco, reaching from the Pacific Ocean on the west nearly to San Francisco Bay on the east. Interstate 280 runs through the middle of the city, and BART serves it. The profile puts downtown San Francisco about eight miles north and San Francisco International Airport about nine miles away.
That location is the first thing to check on any Daly City case. San Francisco is its own city and county with its own Superior Court. An address a block across the line goes to a different court, a different sheriff and different local rules. Before filing, confirm the county for the exact street address, not just the mailing city.
City Hall, which also houses the Police Department, is at 333 90th Street, Daly City, CA 94015, phone 650-991-8000. A claim or lawsuit against the city names the City of Daly City, and your attorney should check whether a government claim has to be presented first.
Two ZIP Codes, three local governments
Daly City addresses use 94014 and 94015, and neither belongs to the city alone. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP Code area file splits them this way:
| ZIP Code | Daly City | Also in the ZIP Code |
|---|---|---|
| 94015 | about 4.9 of 5.7 sq mi | Broadmoor, about 0.4 sq mi; about 0.3 sq mi outside any place |
| 94014 | about 2.8 of 6.4 sq mi | Town of Colma, about 1.9 sq mi; about 1.8 sq mi outside any place |
So a 94015 address may be in Broadmoor, and a 94014 address may be in Colma or in unincorporated county land. All of it is San Mateo County, and the filing court doesn't change. What changes is the local government and the police agency, which matters for claims, police reports and subpoenas.
Broadmoor: an enclave with its own police district
Broadmoor is an unincorporated community in northern San Mateo County. The Broadmoor Police Protection District's history page says residents created their own police service in 1948, and the county Board of Supervisors formally established the district on December 21, 1948. For nearly twenty years, from 1957 to 1976, the district also provided services to the Town of Colma, ending when Colma set up its own department. The page also notes the Colma BART station nearby, opened in 1996.
For a case that touches Broadmoor, that means:
- Police reports and officers come from the Broadmoor Police Protection District, not the Daly City Police Department. Subpoenas go to the district.
- Local government is San Mateo County, since Broadmoor has no city council.
- The court is the same San Mateo County Superior Court used for Daly City.
The court's judicial district page lists Daly City, Broadmoor and Colma, along with BART and the airport, among the agencies whose matters are assigned to the Northern Branch. That list matters most for criminal and traffic cases, which the Northern Branch handles.
Where Daly City papers get filed
San Mateo County Superior Court has three branches a Daly City filer may deal with. Straight-line distances from Daly City's Census center point:
| Courthouse | Address | What happens there | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Branch | 1050 Mission Road, South San Francisco | Criminal and traffic clerks; small claims hearings | about 2.6 miles |
| Central Branch | 800 North Humboldt Street, San Mateo | Civil hearings only; no clerk's office or drop box | about 10.6 miles |
| Southern Branch: Hall of Justice and Records | 400 County Center, Redwood City | Civil, family law, probate and small claims filing; records | about 18.9 miles |
The nearest courthouse is the one least likely to take a Daly City filing. The Northern Branch page lists the court's civil cases among those served there, but the only clerk services it lists are criminal and traffic, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Hall of Justice handles the rest. Its page lists in-person hours of 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on weekdays for the civil, family law, probate and small claims clerks and for the records management counter, each by appointment. Family Court Services takes calls at (650) 261-5080 in the morning and early afternoon. The Family Law Facilitator sees people in person on Monday and Tuesday mornings and offers live chat on weekday mornings and Monday and Tuesday afternoons.
The Hall of Justice also keeps an after-hours civil drop box outside the Clerk's Office, Room A, on the first floor. Its page says documents left there before 4:00 p.m. are deemed filed that court day, and later ones the next court day. With a round trip from Daly City to Redwood City of close to 40 miles even in a straight line, a filing service can save the drive. See San Mateo County court filing.
Papers to serve in Daly City?
E-filing in San Mateo County
San Mateo's e-filing page says all attorneys must e-file in civil, complex civil and small claims cases, and have had to e-file in family law and probate since January 21, 2020. Criminal, juvenile and adoption cases have their own mandatory rules for attorneys. Documents should be searchable PDFs, with searchable PDF/A preferred, and exhibits to e-filed briefs and declarations must be electronically bookmarked.
Some documents still go in on paper at the clerk's office. For general civil cases, the page lists civil restraining orders, abstracts of judgment, writs of execution, possession or attachment, subpoenas and administrative records. In small claims, anything that has to be issued, such as an abstract, a writ of execution or a subpoena, stays on paper, along with Caltrain and parking violation appeals.
Small claims: filed in Redwood City, heard in South San Francisco
Daly City residents and businesses who use small claims court file in Redwood City but often argue the case closer to home. The court's hearing schedule page sets out both halves:
- Filing. When the proper venue is in San Mateo County, the claim must be filed with the small claims clerk in Room A of the Hall of Justice. The clerk's phone line is (650) 261-5100, option 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on weekdays.
- Hearings in South San Francisco. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1:30 p.m., and Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
- Night court in Redwood City, on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
The small claims division page adds that hearings require an in-person appearance, with Zoom only for parties who show a hardship. Small claims appeals are e-filed as new case filings on form SC-140, with the old case number written on the form, not filed into the existing case. For help, the Small Claims Advisor, attorney Allen Capeloto, releases appointments each Tuesday morning through an online calendar. The advisor's page describes 10-minute consultations, written materials and a look at alternatives to court, and asks people to check the small claims phone line, (650) 261-5100 option 6, and write down their questions before the appointment. Small claims mediation sessions are held remotely over Zoom.
The person suing can't serve the claim personally. A friend or a process server can; the San Mateo County Sheriff won't serve a small claims claim without a fee waiver; see who can serve papers in California.
Daly City evictions and the Sheriff
A Daly City landlord files the unlawful detainer with the civil clerk at the Hall of Justice. After service, the tenant's answer is due 10 court days after personal delivery, not counting weekends and court holidays. After substituted service or posting, the answer period is 10 calendar days plus 10 court days, starting the day after the mailing. Posting a summons needs a court order under CCP § 415.45. The substituted service rules that change in 2027 are covered in our AB 747 guide.
After judgment, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Civil Enforcement Bureau carries out the writ of possession. Its page sets these terms:
- Location and hours: 330 Bradford Street, Redwood City, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Letter of instruction: every request for service or levy needs one, signed by the plaintiff or the attorney, with the right number of copies and the fees.
- Fee exceptions: no fee to serve restraining orders for domestic violence, elder abuse and workplace violence, and some civil harassment orders.
- Who else can serve: non-levy civil process may be served by anyone over 18 who isn't a party to the case.
The bureau's page explains why the letter matters: the law requires a letter of instruction with every process or notice handed to the Sheriff, and it has to identify the specific process and what the Sheriff is asked to do. Some levies, such as a levy and sale of real property, need very detailed instructions. A party with a court fee waiver must bring a certified copy of the order showing it covers the Sheriff's fees.
What to send for a Daly City address
Give us the documents, the name of each person or business to serve and every address you have, plus a Letter of Instruction. For a Daly City address, include:
- The unit number and building, for apartments and condominiums.
- Which side of the county line the address is on, if you know.
- The best times, a photo or description, and any vehicle.
- A work address, if the person commutes, with the employer name and shift. A workplace across the line in San Francisco is fine: a San Mateo County summons can be served anywhere in California.
For a business, send its agent for service from the Secretary of State's bizfile Online; our page on serving corporations explains the choices. Get each update by email. If the person has moved, skip tracing can look for a newer address, and document retrieval pulls copies from older San Mateo County files. Our post on serving a subpoena in California covers subpoenas to police agencies and records custodians.
Places near Daly City
Nearby places we serve include Colma, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Pacifica and Millbrae. For the rest of the county, see San Mateo County process servers.