Huntington Beach is the fourth-largest city in Orange County by 2020 Census count, with 198,711 residents, and it doesn't have a courthouse. Its cases are spread over courthouses in four other cities. The right one depends on the case type, and the nearest building isn't where civil papers go.
We serve summonses, small claims, eviction papers, subpoenas and family law documents at Huntington Beach homes, apartments and businesses. Each job is coordinated from our Sacramento office. Start a Service Request with up to 5 PDFs, or email the papers to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Four courthouses, none in the city
Orange County Superior Court assigns case types by building under its designation list, effective June 30, 2025. For Huntington Beach it works out like this. Distances are straight-line miles from the city's Census center point to the coordinates on each court page.
| Building | Huntington Beach cases it takes | Miles |
|---|---|---|
| West Justice Center, 8141 13th Street, Westminster | Criminal and traffic | 4.1 |
| Costa Mesa Justice Complex, 3390 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa | Probate, mental health, elder and dependent adult abuse restraining orders | 4.9 |
| Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana | Limited and unlimited civil, small claims, unlawful detainer, civil harassment | 8.3 |
| Lamoreaux Justice Center, 341 The City Drive South, Orange | Family law, domestic violence, juvenile | 8.9 |
Complex civil cases from the city go to the Civil Complex Center, 751 W. Santa Ana Blvd., a few blocks from Central.
The order matters for planning. The building closest to Huntington Beach takes none of its civil filings, and the one that takes nearly all civil work is more than 8 miles away.
What the West Justice Center does and doesn't take
The Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center describes itself as handling traffic, minor offenses and criminal matters, plus some civil proceedings. It serves nine cities: Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton and Westminster.
Civil filing isn't one of its jobs. The page lists civil clerk hours as Central Justice Center only, and its civil mailing address is the Santa Ana courthouse. A Huntington Beach complaint mailed or walked to Westminster is in the wrong place.
The building does have a live self-help kiosk, open Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday until 3:00 p.m. It is a full security facility, so everyone entering goes through weapons screening.
A subpoena in a Huntington Beach criminal case names the West Justice Center as the place to appear. If you need a witness served for a Huntington Beach criminal matter, send the subpoena with the hearing date. Our post on serving a subpoena in California covers the timing rules.
Small claims for Huntington Beach parties
Every Orange County small claims hearing is held at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, according to the court's small claims self-help page. Filings can go in three ways:
- In person at the Civil Clerk's Division, Central Justice Center, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- eFiling through one of the court's approved providers. The court lists three: Efficient Legal Support, LegalConnect and One Legal.
- Guide and File, the court's online interview that fills in the forms.
For a Huntington Beach plaintiff, either online route can save a round trip of more than 16 miles to Santa Ana just to file.
Service is still a separate step. Once the claim is filed and a hearing date is set, the defendant has to be served before that date, and whoever serves signs the small claims proof of service, form SC-104. Send us the filed claim and the hearing date together.
Papers to serve in Huntington Beach?
Sunset Beach and the 90742 ZIP Code
Sunset Beach sits on the coast at the northwest end of Huntington Beach, next to Seal Beach. The Census ties ZIP Code area 90742 to Huntington Beach. The city's page for the Sunset Beach Local Coastal Program Review Board says the board was set up by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and that, upon annexation, the city continues to work with it.
That history shows up in paperwork. A lease, a loan file or a judgment from before the annexation may describe a Sunset Beach address as unincorporated county land. For service, the street address is what counts. For filing, all civil cases from the county go to the same Santa Ana courthouse anyway.
Coastal homes, gated tracts and rentals
Huntington Beach has a wide range of housing: beach-area apartments and duplexes, harbor-front homes, gated tracts and inland neighborhoods. Each type has its own access issues, and the Letter of Instruction should answer them up front.
- Rear units and alleys. If the unit is behind the main house or opens onto an alley, say so, and give the letter or number on the door.
- Gated communities. Send the gate code if you have it, the guard station procedure, or the HOA or management company that can authorize entry.
- Rentals and roommates. If the home is a rental, tell us the lease dates you know and whether others share it.
- Mobile home and RV parks. If the address is in a park, include the space number and the park office hours.
- Workplaces. Give a work address with hours, especially if the person leaves early and gets home late.
A server who arrives knowing which door to knock on and when wastes fewer attempts. If an attempt shows the person moved, skip tracing can look for a new address before the papers go back out. Our post on finding a defendant has steps to try first.
Evictions from Huntington Beach rentals
Unlawful detainer cases from the city are filed and heard at the Central Justice Center, according to the designation list. Represented landlords must e-file civil cases there, while self-represented landlords can file at the first-floor Civil Clerk's Division. The summons a tenant receives names the Santa Ana courthouse, even for a beachfront unit.
Eviction timelines are short, and a missed attempt costs days. Send the summons, the complaint and every address you have for the tenant, plus any access details for the building. Our Orange County court filing page explains how we file the complaint first if you need that too.
Serving a Huntington Beach business
Shops, restaurants and offices in Huntington Beach are often branches of companies that accept legal papers elsewhere. Search the company on bizfile Online for its agent for service of process. When bizfile lists a commercial agent such as CT Corporation or CSC Lawyers Incorporating Service, the papers go to the agent's address, not the storefront. A sole owner of a local shop is served personally. Our guide to serving corporations covers both cases.
From request to proof
Pick Rush or Standard on the request. Status updates come by email. When service is done, the signed proof comes back to you. Our proof of service guide explains which form goes with which document, and who can serve papers in California covers who may serve. Proofs signed from January 1, 2027 follow new rules, set out in our AB 747 guide.
Cities next to Huntington Beach
Fountain Valley is about 3.2 miles from Huntington Beach and Westminster, home of the West Justice Center, about 3.8. Seal Beach is about 5.5 miles up the coast, Costa Mesa about 5.7, and Garden Grove about 6.1. Civil cases from all of them go to Santa Ana. The rest of the county is on our Orange County process server page.