Knightsen is a few miles from Oakley and Brentwood in eastern Contra Costa County, about 45.7 miles from our Sacramento office in a straight line. It's an unincorporated community with no courthouse, and its cases split between two court towns: Pittsburg for evictions and small claims, Martinez for most of everything else.
What makes Knightsen tricky is the address. The community spreads across three ZIP Codes, and two of them belong mostly to neighboring cities. The sections below sort out the ZIP Codes, the courthouse for each kind of case, and the papers that come up in a family guardianship, which have their own notice rules.
Three ZIP Codes for one small community
The 2020 Census counted 1,596 people in the Knightsen Census-designated place, on about 8.4 square miles of land. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file shows how that land divides:
| ZIP Code area | Share of Knightsen's land | What else is in the ZIP Code area |
|---|---|---|
| 94513 | about 65.3% (5.5 sq mi) | All of Brentwood, parts of Byron, Discovery Bay and Antioch, and about 57 square miles outside any community |
| 94548 | about 27.6% (2.3 sq mi) | Nothing else: the whole ZIP Code area lies inside Knightsen |
| 94561 | about 7.0% (0.6 sq mi) | Nearly all of Oakley |
So a Knightsen home may have a Knightsen, Brentwood or Oakley mailing address. The court's Where to File table lists Knightsen under 94548 only, but the Brentwood (94513) and Oakley (94561) rows send small claims and evictions to the same Pittsburg courthouse, so the routing doesn't change. The service plan can. Most of 94513 is open land outside any community, about 72.5% of its area, and remote areas are subject to different timelines. A cross road, a parcel number, gate details and the name on the mailbox all help the server find the right place.
Pittsburg, Martinez, or both
| Knightsen matter | Where it's filed | Straight-line distance from Knightsen |
|---|---|---|
| Small claims | Richard E. Arnason Justice Center, 1000 Center Drive, Pittsburg | about 13.8 miles |
| Unlawful detainer (eviction) | Richard E. Arnason Justice Center | about 13.8 miles |
| Limited and unlimited civil | Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, 725 Court Street, Martinez | about 26.7 miles |
| Probate, guardianship, conservatorship, elder abuse | Wakefield Taylor Courthouse | about 26.7 miles |
| Divorce, custody, support, adoptions, most domestic violence orders | Spinetta Family Law Center, 751 Pine Street, Martinez | about 26.7 miles |
Distances run from Knightsen's Census center point to each courthouse's Census-geocoded address. Juvenile cases go to Walnut Creek. Our Contra Costa County court filing page explains how a filing in either town and the service in Knightsen can go on one request.
The Pittsburg courthouse
The court describes the Arnason Justice Center as the East County courthouse, serving Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley and Pittsburg. Its seven courtrooms hear family law, small claims, eviction, criminal and traffic cases, plus some domestic violence and juvenile matters. There's one entrance, with a security check.
Hours matter for a same-day filing. The filing clerk windows run 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and phones are answered until 3:00 p.m. The building itself is open until 5:00 p.m.
Although family law hearings happen in Pittsburg, family law filings go to Martinez, with one exception. A Knightsen resident who wants a domestic violence restraining order, and who has no existing case with the other party, no children together and no marriage to them, submits the papers at the Pittsburg domestic violence window instead.
Limited civil papers and the Richmond rule
Every limited and unlimited civil case is filed and heard in Martinez under the court's Where to File page. The George D. Carroll Courthouse in Richmond adds one wrinkle for limited civil filers: forms can be dropped off there only if the next hearing or filing deadline is at least 3 court days away. With less time than that, the papers must go to Martinez, 725 Court Street, Room 103. For a Knightsen filer, Martinez is the shorter trip anyway.
Attorneys must e-file civil cases under Local Rule 2.87 and the court's Ninth Amended E-Filing Standing Order, and self-represented filers may e-file if they choose. Filing electronically doesn't replace service. A new defendant still has to be served with the summons and complaint in person or by substituted service.
Papers to serve in Knightsen?
Guardianships for Knightsen children
When a grandparent, aunt or family friend asks to become a child's guardian, the case is filed at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez. The court's probate page says that after the case is opened, certain family members must be served, and it points filers to Judicial Council form GC-54 for the service rules and to form GC-51, a parental diagram, for organizing the child's relatives before filling out the forms.
The law behind that is Probate Code § 1511. Notice of the hearing, with a copy of the petition, must be given at least 15 days before the hearing, and the statute divides the people entitled to it into two groups:
- Served personally, or by mail with an acknowledgment of receipt (CCP §§ 415.10 or 415.30), unless the court allows another method: the child if 12 or older, anyone with legal custody or serving as guardian of the estate, both parents, and anyone nominated as guardian.
- Mailed notice to the addresses in the petition: the spouse named in the petition, the relatives named in it, and the person caring for the child if that's someone other than the legal custodian.
The court can excuse notice to someone who can't be found with reasonable diligence, and before appointing a guardian it needs proof that each person was either notified or excused. If a parent lives out of the area, works odd hours or has moved without a forwarding address, say so. Send every address you have for each parent, and the hearing date, with the Service Request.
For an adult, the probate page notes that the court requires anyone appointed as a conservator, other than a professional fiduciary, to complete its Conservatorship Workshop, with advance sign-up through the Contra Costa County Public Law Library at (925) 655-4627. A conservatorship petition carries its own notice and service requirements, separate from a guardianship's, so ask the attorney which papers need hand delivery and to whom. For a limited conservatorship of the person only, for an adult with a developmental disability, the same Probate Facilitator described below helps self-represented petitioners. Questions about wills, trusts and estates go to the probate line, (925) 608-2613.
The court's Probate Facilitator, an attorney employed by the court, helps self-represented people seeking guardianship of a child's person (not the estate). The facilitator takes questions by email at probfac@contracosta.courts.ca.gov or by voicemail at (925) 608-2066. General information, not legal advice.
Evictions and small claims in Pittsburg
A Knightsen eviction is filed in Pittsburg. After personal service of the summons and complaint, the tenant has 10 court days to file an answer, not counting weekends and court holidays; some older court pages still show a shorter period, so go by the current state rule. The statewide self-help site lists longer periods when the papers were left with someone else and mailed, or posted.
Small claims cases are also filed and heard in Pittsburg. Service must be completed at least 15 days before the hearing for a defendant who lives in Contra Costa County, or 20 days for one who lives elsewhere (CCP § 116.340), and the person suing can't serve the claim. Our guide on who can serve papers in California covers who can.
The court's small claims page adds a few working rules. Hearings are held in person, and a party who wants to appear remotely must comply with CCP § 367.75 and file the court's remote appearance form. For any remote hearing, documents must be served and submitted to the clerk in person, by drop box or by overnight delivery at least 3 court days before the hearing, and electronic delivery isn't allowed. A filer who brings more than 12 small claims cases in any 12-month period pays a $100 filing fee per case. Questions go to the court's Self-Help and Small Claims Advisor by email, and the court says to expect a reply within two weeks.
Looking up an earlier case
Before serving, it can help to see what's already on file, such as a prior judgment, an old eviction or an existing family case. Court Records for non-criminal cases moved to Room 103 of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez on January 12, 2026. Business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, and a valid ID is required to view any file. Copies cost 50 cents a page; certifications are $40 plus 50 cents a page, and a certified divorce judgment is $15 with copies included. The court is scanning its paper files toward a public web portal and warns of delays while that's under way. Our document retrieval page explains how a records pull can be added to a request.
Service rules from 2027
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 business (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. Our AB 747 guide and proof of service guide explain the details. We make no guarantees for service.
Sending a Knightsen Service Request
- Attach up to 5 PDFs to the Service Request.
- Give the address as written, and add the ZIP Code you know the person actually uses if it differs.
- Describe rural access: a cross road, gates, dogs and which building on the parcel.
- For a business, look up its agent for service of process on bizfile Online; our serving corporations page explains why.
- Choose Rush or Standard, then get the updates by email.
If the person has moved, skip tracing can look for a current address. Call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Near Knightsen
Oakley is about 3.4 miles away and Brentwood about 4.3. Antioch is about 8.1 miles off and Pittsburg, home of the East County courthouse, about 14. Across the county line, Isleton in Sacramento County is about 13.9 miles away and Rio Vista in Solano County about 15.1; cases there go to their own county courts. Every Contra Costa community we serve is on our Contra Costa County page.