We serve legal papers anywhere in Glendale: houses, apartment buildings, offices and storefronts across the city. That covers summonses, subpoenas and every other legal document. We also file with the Los Angeles Superior Court, in person or by eFiling.
Start a Service Request and upload up to 5 PDFs, or email the papers to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com. Our office is in Sacramento, about 355 miles away in a straight line. You get status updates by email, and the proof of service comes back to you when service is complete.
Glendale has a courthouse, but not for every case
The Glendale Courthouse stands at 600 East Broadway, Glendale, CA 91206. The court's directory lists civil, criminal, family law and traffic divisions there. It's open 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and the Clerk's Office 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., on court days.
That doesn't mean Glendale cases are filed in Glendale. The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, assigns each case by community, ZIP Code and case type through its Filing Court Locator. We searched every Glendale community in it on October 28, 2026. The results put four courthouses in play.
| Case type | Glendale filing court |
|---|---|
| Unlimited civil (over $35,000) | Glendale Courthouse, 600 East Broadway |
| Family law and restraining orders | Pasadena Courthouse, 300 East Walnut St., Pasadena |
| Small claims | Pasadena Courthouse |
| Limited unlawful detainer | Pasadena Courthouse (one exception below) |
| Limited civil, not a collection | Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles |
| Limited civil collection | Chatsworth Courthouse, 9425 Penfield Ave., Chatsworth |
| Probate | Stanley Mosk Courthouse |
Put plainly, only the larger civil cases stay in Glendale. A Glendale divorce, a small claims case and most evictions go to Pasadena. A $15,000 contract dispute goes downtown. A collection case of the same size goes to Chatsworth, across the San Fernando Valley.
The court adds two cautions. A mailing address can name the post office's community instead of the true city. And the criteria for assigning a case are in Local Rules Chapter 2, so the locator's answer is the starting point rather than the last word.
The Colorado Street line in 91204
Most of Glendale gets the same answer from the locator. The 91204 ZIP Code is the exception. The locator lists it twice, split at Colorado Street:
- North of Colorado Street: evictions go to the Pasadena Courthouse, like the rest of Glendale.
- South of Colorado Street: limited eviction cases go to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
When the locator names a street as a boundary, the court says the line is the street's centerline. If your property is on Colorado Street itself, check which side it's on before the complaint is filed. The locator also lists the Glendale Galleria (91210) as a separate community, with the same results as the rest of the city.
Getting to the Glendale and Pasadena courthouses
Parking is the first thing people ask about. At the Glendale Courthouse, the lot is for employees only. Public parking is metered and unmetered street parking around the building, and the court's directory says not to park at City Hall for court business.
At the Pasadena Courthouse, 300 East Walnut St., the directory lists a paid structure at the southeast corner of Marengo Avenue and Walnut Street, entered from 240 Ramona St. The Pasadena Courthouse handles civil, criminal, family law, small claims, traffic and unlawful detainer cases.
You can skip both trips. Send the filing to us with the courthouse and case number, and we file it in person or by eFiling. For attorneys, the court's civil e-filing FAQ says e-filing is mandatory in civil cases unless the court grants an exemption. See Los Angeles County court filing for what to send.
Injury cases and the Glendale civil counter
The Glendale Courthouse directory names its civil counter, Room 279 on the 2nd floor, "Civil Unlimited [excluding Personal Injury PI cases]." So the locator's answer for unlimited civil doesn't settle where a Glendale injury lawsuit goes.
Personal injury has its own rule. Under Local Rule 2.3, an unlimited case for bodily injury, wrongful death or damage to personal property must be filed in the judicial district where the incident arose. That includes motor vehicle cases, premises liability, product liability and medical malpractice. Defamation, discrimination and emotional distress claims fall outside the definition. Glendale and Burbank make up the North Central District under Local Rule 2.2. For a Glendale crash or fall, confirm the receiving courthouse with the clerk before you file, then send us the conformed summons.
Papers to serve in Glendale?
The form served with every Glendale summons
Each new civil case in the county is filed with form LACIV 109, the Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum and Statement of Location. Local Rule 2.3 adds a step that affects service: a copy of the completed form must be served with the summons and complaint. Put it in the PDF set on your Service Request, and it goes out with the rest.
How do you serve papers in Glendale?
Glendale had 196,543 residents in the 2020 Census, and the Census Bureau estimates 187,160 as of July 1, 2025. Twelve Census ZIP Code areas overlap the city. They run from 91201 through 91208, plus 91020, 91046, 91210 and 91214.
Glendale addresses range from apartment blocks to hillside streets. These details make the difference:
- Apartment buildings. Give the unit, the building entrance and any call-box name. Many buildings have secured lobbies or gated parking.
- Hillside homes. A winding street can hide the house number. A note about the driveway, a gate or a landmark helps the server find it the first time.
- Offices and storefronts. Name the business, the suite and the hours, and who usually sits at the front desk.
- A second address. A workplace in Burbank, Pasadena or downtown Los Angeles is just as valid a place to try.
- Names. If the person uses a nickname, a middle name or a hyphenated last name, tell us. It helps the server confirm they have the right person.
We serve every address in the city regardless of which courthouse has the case.
Serving businesses and registered agents in Glendale
Whether the business operates in Glendale or only lists an agent there, the starting point is the same: the entity's record on the Secretary of State's bizfile Online search. California corporations and LLCs must name an agent for service of process (Corporations Code §§ 1502 and 17701.13).
Send us the agent's name and address exactly as the record shows them. If the agent is a business that accepts service for other companies, the papers go to someone that office has authorized to take them. Give us the defendant's exact legal name, because an agent that represents many entities will ask which one is being served.
If the listed agent has resigned or isn't at the address, CCP § 416.10 allows service on certain officers instead, and a court order can allow service through the Secretary of State. Our serving corporations guide covers every option.
Family law papers in Glendale
Glendale family cases are filed in Pasadena, but the papers themselves are served wherever the other party is. A family law summons is usually proved on Judicial Council form FL-115. The person who serves it has to be at least 18 and not a party to the case (CCP § 414.10), so a spouse can't hand the papers over personally. And if a Glendale family case turns out to be in the wrong district, Local Rule 2.3 sends the motion to move it to Department 2 in the Central District, not to Pasadena.
If the other party is hard to catch at home, give us their work schedule and a second address. From January 1, 2027, diligence before substituted service is shown by attempting personal delivery on at least 3 occasions, on 3 different days at 3 different times (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Our AB 747 guide explains the rest.
Restraining order requests from Glendale are filed in Pasadena too, at the 1st-floor counter in Room 100. The directory sets a cutoff: an application must be filed before 3:30 p.m. to be heard the same day. Once a temporary order is signed, send us the papers and the hearing date right away, so the attempts at personal service aren't held up waiting for paperwork.
What if the person has moved?
When an address turns out to be old, ask about skip tracing. Our post on how to find a defendant in California explains the search. Once you approve a new address, the papers go back out on the same request, and every update comes by email. We make no guarantees for service.
Glendale's neighbors
The locator treats La Cañada Flintridge and the community it calls Montrose the same way it treats Glendale: unlimited civil in Glendale, most other cases in Pasadena. Burbank has its own courthouse for unlimited civil, at 300 East Olive, and sends its family cases and most small claims and eviction cases to Pasadena too.
Pasadena is about 6 miles east. For a Pasadena address, the locator lists both the Alhambra and Pasadena courthouses for unlimited civil. South Pasadena, Los Angeles and every other community are on the Los Angeles County page.