Mammoth Lakes is the only incorporated community in Mono County, a town of 7,191 people at the 2020 Census, high on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. It isn't the county seat; that's Bridgeport, about 46 miles north. But Mammoth Lakes is where most of the Mono County Superior Court's day-to-day business happens. The court's South County Branch stands on Thompsons Way in town, and all of the court's mail, for both branches, goes to a Mammoth Lakes post office box.
That puts the courthouse within a few minutes of most town addresses. The challenge for a process server here is less the court than the terrain and the address. Mammoth Lakes is about 152 miles from our Sacramento office in a straight line, but the Sierra stands in between, so we plan each Mammoth job, and every outlying address, before a server is sent.
The South County Branch on Thompsons Way
The court lists the Mammoth Lakes Courthouse at 100 Thompsons Way, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546. Its pages spell the street both "Thompson Way" and "Thompsons Way"; the building is the same. Here's what the court's own pages say about it:
- Clerk's office: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon; closed holidays and during court closures.
- Phones: (760) 924-5444, answered 9:00 a.m. to noon on weekdays.
- Mailing address for both branches: Mono County Superior Court, P.O. Box 1037, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546.
- Email by topic: civil@mono.courts.ca.gov for civil inquiries, traffic@ for traffic and criminal@ for criminal matters, each at mono.courts.ca.gov.
- Building: courtrooms and offices are on the second floor, with an elevator.
The court's location page adds a rule visitors don't expect. Both buildings are full-security facilities with weapons screening and x-ray of bags, and shorts, tank tops, crop tops and bare feet aren't allowed inside. If you're going to a hearing in Mammoth Lakes, dress for court, not for the mountains.
The small claims page sends in-person filings to Thompsons Way, and the Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator work out of the same building. The court's e-filing page notes that civil motions not needing a special date are heard on the law and motion calendar on Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Bridgeport opens on Tuesdays
The North County Branch is the historic courthouse at 278 Main Street in Bridgeport, the county seat. Its location page lists every case type, from civil, small claims and unlawful detainer to family law, probate, conservatorships and juvenile matters. But it opens only on Tuesdays.
The court's pages don't agree on the exact Tuesday hours. The Bridgeport location page says 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Civil Division page lists 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:15 to 4:00 p.m. A notice still on the location page, about a January–February 2026 courtroom closure, gives 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the clerk's office. Call ahead before planning a Bridgeport filing. All Bridgeport mail is handled in Mammoth Lakes.
For a Mammoth Lakes case, the practical answer is simple: file at Thompsons Way, which is open most of the week and a short drive from anywhere in town.
E-filing since 2025, paper still welcome
Mono County began accepting electronic filing on February 10, 2025, and stopped taking fax filings after March 14, 2025. The court's e-filing page lists four case types: civil, family law, probate and small claims. Self-represented parties may e-file, and the page says it isn't mandatory. Anyone can still file on paper at the clerk's office, through the drop box or by mail.
A few details matter for timing:
- Processing takes three to five business days, according to the court. Build that into any deadline.
- Some hearings aren't set automatically. Ex parte hearings, summary judgment motions and demurrers need a date reserved through civil@mono.courts.ca.gov or by phone.
- Some papers can't be e-filed. The court's list includes original wills and codicils, peremptory challenges to a judge, an ex parte application filed with a new complaint, bonds, exhibits lodged for a hearing or trial, subpoenaed documents, and in family law, requests for entry of default and out-of-state judgments to be registered.
Each provider may charge its own transaction fee, which the court says is waived for parties with an active fee waiver and for government entities. Our Mono County court filing page explains how we can file and then serve the filed papers on one request.
Papers to serve in Mammoth Lakes?
Small claims filed in Mammoth Lakes
Small claims are filed in person at the Mammoth Lakes Courthouse or by mail to P.O. Box 1037. A mailed claim must include all five pages of form SC-100 with the original signature, a check or money order for the fee, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for the court to send the filed copy back.
Then the defendant has to be served, and the plaintiff can't do it personally. The court's page lays out the options: a non-party adult or a professional process server, the sheriff for a fee, or the clerk by certified mail for $15 per defendant. With certified mail, the plaintiff has to follow up with the court to confirm the receipt came back.
The court's timing rules are strict. The defendant must be served at least 15 days before the trial if they live in Mono County and at least 20 days if they live elsewhere. Substituted service or certified mail needs 10 more days. Proof of service on form SC-104 must be filed before the hearing, or the matter may be continued. If no defendant has been served yet, you can ask for a new trial date at the counter or by mail, at least 3 court days before trial, with no fee.
Two more papers can come out of a small claims case. A defendant who wants to sue back files form SC-120, and the court sets that claim for the same hearing date; the plaintiff then has to be served with it, under the same timing rules. And a witness who won't come voluntarily can be ordered to appear with a subpoena the clerk issues, or ordered to send records with a subpoena duces tecum. A subpoena has to be served too, and the witness may charge a fee for appearing.
Mono County's small claims advisor works by phone and mail, at (866) 768-9013, and asks Mono residents to identify themselves as such.
Divorce: the clock starts at service
The court's family law page puts it plainly: a divorce can't become final until 6 months after the respondent was served. A petition that sits unserved is a petition whose clock hasn't started. That's a reason to send the papers out as soon as they're filed, and to give the server every address you have, including a work address or any other address in California.
For people without a lawyer, the Self-Help Center at the Mammoth Lakes Courthouse is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with walk-ins on Tuesdays and appointments on Wednesdays and Thursdays, at (760) 923-2314. The Family Law Facilitator in the same office helps with child support, spousal support and health insurance questions. Our proof of service guide shows what the server's signed proof contains.
93546: the town and the 395 corridor
Mammoth Lakes has a single ZIP Code area, 93546, and it reaches well beyond the town. The Census Bureau's 2020 relationship file measures about 610 square kilometers of land in it. About 10.6% of that land is the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Smaller shares fall in other Census places: McGee Creek about 1.7%, Aspen Springs 1.5%, Crowley Lake 1.2% and Sunny Slopes 0.8%, with a sliver in Swall Meadows. The remaining 84% lies outside any Census place.
So "Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546" on an envelope can mean a condominium in town or a house miles down U.S. 395. Each kind of address needs its own notes:
- Condominiums and complexes. Give the complex name, the building and the unit, and say whether there's a front desk, a call box or a gate.
- Homes outside town. Give the community name, the nearest cross road and a description of the driveway.
- Access. Mountain roads and winter weather can slow or block the way to outlying properties. Remote areas are subject to different timelines.
If you have more than one address for the person, send them all. Mono County's other cities are far away: Bishop, across the line in Inyo County, is about 37 miles south.
Evictions and civil suits
The court's Civil Division page describes an unlawful detainer as the lawsuit a landlord files to evict a tenant, and notes that if the judge agrees, the landlord can ask the Sheriff to remove the tenant. A Mammoth Lakes eviction is filed with the clerk at Thompsons Way or electronically. Each tenant named must be served, and a tenant who is personally served has 10 court days to answer. General information, not legal advice.
For debt, contract and injury suits, the defendant is served at their Mono County address or wherever else they can be found. If someone has left the area, skip tracing can look for a current address. For a company, look up its agent for service of process on bizfile Online; our serving corporations page covers the rules.
2027: three attempts, three days, three times
AB 747 takes effect on January 1, 2027. Three good-faith attempts at personal delivery, on 3 different days at 3 different times, show reasonable diligence before papers are left with another adult at the home (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Each county clerk's register of process servers becomes public (Bus. & Prof. Code § 22355). For an outlying 93546 address, those three trips are planned together from the start. Our AB 747 guide explains more, and who can serve papers in California covers who may serve. We make no guarantees for service. General information, not legal advice.
Sending a Mammoth Lakes Service Request
Start a Service Request and attach up to 5 PDFs. Name each person or business as the papers do. List every address with unit, complex and access notes, add a Mammoth Lakes filing if you need one, and choose Rush or Standard. Get the updates by email, call 855-582-5776 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Beyond Mammoth Lakes
The nearest city we serve is Bishop, about 37 miles south in Inyo County. West across the Sierra, Clovis is about 67 miles away in a straight line and Fresno about 73. Our Mono County page covers the rest of the county, and the Inyo County page covers the Owens Valley to the south.