In Monterey Park, the courthouse for an eviction can change from one side of a street to the other. The court's locator splits ZIP Code 91754 into three areas using Monterey Pass Road and West El Repetto Drive, and two of those areas send evictions downtown while the third sends them to Pasadena. Most other Monterey Park civil work goes to Pasadena or Alhambra. The one courthouse inside the city, the Edelman Children's Courthouse, handles dependency and adoption matters for the whole county.
We serve summonses, subpoenas and every other legal document at Monterey Park homes, apartments and businesses, and we file the case at whichever building it belongs in. Start a Service Request or email the papers to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Where Monterey Park cases are filed
We entered 91754 and 91755 in the court's Filing Court Locator on October 29, 2026. Every Monterey Park row returned the same buildings for most case types. Distances are straight-line from the city's Census center point.
| Case type | Courthouse | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Family law and restraining orders | Pasadena Courthouse, 300 East Walnut St. | 7.0 mi |
| Small claims | Pasadena Courthouse | 7.0 mi |
| Unlimited civil (over $35,000) | Alhambra Courthouse, 150 West Commonwealth, or Pasadena Courthouse | 3.0 or 7.0 mi |
| Unlawful detainer (limited) | Pasadena Courthouse or Stanley Mosk Courthouse, by street | 7.0 or 6.5 mi |
| Limited civil, collection | Chatsworth Courthouse, 9425 Penfield Ave. | 28.3 mi |
| Limited civil, other | Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill St., Los Angeles | 6.5 mi |
| Probate | Stanley Mosk Courthouse | 6.5 mi |
Pasadena and Alhambra make up the court's Northeast District under Local Rule 2.2. Both open at 8:00 a.m., and their clerks take filings from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on court days.
The 91754 eviction split
For limited evictions, the locator doesn't give one answer for 91754. It lists three Monterey Park rows, each named for a street boundary:
| Locator row for 91754 | Eviction courthouse |
|---|---|
| Monterey Park (North of W. El Repetto Dr.) | Pasadena Courthouse |
| Monterey Park (North of Monterey Pass Rd.) | Stanley Mosk Courthouse |
| Monterey Park (South of Monterey Pass Rd. that is not North of W. El Repetto Dr.) | Stanley Mosk Courthouse |
ZIP Code 91755 has a single row, and its evictions go to Pasadena. Every other case type matched across all four rows.
The row names come straight from the locator, and they overlap in ways that are easy to misread. Before filing a 91754 eviction, place the rental on a map against both streets and, if it's close to either one, confirm the courthouse with the clerk. The reason for the split is in Local Rule 2.3(a)(2): limited eviction cases are filed at the courthouse the rule's Appendix 2.D charts for the community and ZIP Code where the property sits.
The summons the tenant receives will print the courthouse address. A tenant told to answer in Pasadena when the case is downtown, or the reverse, is a problem you'd rather catch before service.
Evictions and small claims at Pasadena
The Pasadena directory puts both the Unlawful Detainer Hub clerk and the Small Claims Clerk's Office on the 1st floor in Room 102. Eviction ex parte hearings are heard at 1:30 p.m. in Department R on the 2nd floor. Parking is in the paid structure at Marengo Avenue and Walnut Street, entered from 240 Ramona Street, and the directory warns that its 6-foot-6-inch clearance may stop large trucks and SUVs.
Once an eviction summons is served, the answer period is short. Under the Judicial Council's eviction guide, a tenant who is handed the papers has 10 court days to respond, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or court holidays. After substituted service or posting, followed by mailing, the tenant has 10 calendar days plus 10 court days from the mailing.
For a Monterey Park rental, give us each adult occupant's name as it appears on the summons, the unit number, the gate or garage code, and the date and method of the notice that started the case.
Small claims deadlines
Monterey Park small claims are heard at Pasadena, and the service deadline counts backward from the trial date on page 1 of the claim. The Judicial Council's self-help guide sets it at 15 days before trial, or 20 days if the defendant is in a different county from the court. Substituted service must be done 10 days earlier than that. A deadline that falls on a weekend or court holiday moves to the last court day before it.
The plaintiff can't hand over the claim. Any adult who isn't part of the case can, and that person completes form SC-104. If a second defendant can't be found in time, form SC-150 asks the court to postpone the trial, filed 10 or more days before the court date.
Family law and restraining orders in Pasadena
Monterey Park divorce, custody, support and restraining order cases are filed in Pasadena. The directory lists the Family Law Clerk's Office, Family Court Services mediation and the civil harassment and domestic violence restraining order window together in Room 100 on the 1st floor. The building also has a Family Law Facilitator Office, and Family Court Services evaluators who assess parenting plans and make recommendations to the court.
One timing rule stands out in that listing: restraining order applications must be filed before 3:30 p.m. to be heard the same day. If you file a request for a temporary order in the afternoon and need the papers served quickly, tell us the hearing date as soon as you have it. The restrained person must be handed the order and notice personally before the hearing, so a photo, a vehicle description and the person's usual weekday locations all help.
Papers to serve in Monterey Park?
Larger civil cases at Alhambra
For an unlimited case, the locator lists Alhambra and Pasadena. Local Rule 2.3(a)(1)(C) narrows it: when an unlimited case may be filed either in the Northeast District or in Central, a Northeast District filing goes to the Alhambra Courthouse. Alhambra's Civil Clerk's Office is on the 2nd floor in Room 234, and there's a pay lot on the south side of the building.
Personal injury cases follow a separate, mandatory rule. An unlimited suit for bodily injury, wrongful death or personal property damage must be filed in the district where the incident happened. Every new civil filing also needs form LACIV 109, the Statement of Location, and the rule requires a copy to be served with the summons and complaint. Send it with the packet.
The Edelman Children's Courthouse
Monterey Park's own courthouse sits at 201 Centre Plaza Drive. The directory lists one division there, juvenile dependency, and Local Rule 2.2 counts it among the Central District's centrally administered juvenile courthouses.
Local Rule 2.3 gives the building a countywide role. Three kinds of petitions must be filed at Edelman no matter where the family lives:
- Petitions for adoption.
- Petitions for consent to an adoption outside California.
- Petitions to free a child from parental custody and control.
The directory places the Adoptions and Abandonment Unit on the 2nd floor in Room 2100, and the Petition Filing Unit and Records in Room 2700. Parking is in a paid structure next to the courthouse, and the Clerk's Office keeps the same 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekday schedule as the civil buildings. When a petition requires notice to a parent, the parent is served wherever they live, which may be far from Monterey Park. Give us every address you have.
Collection cases at Chatsworth, probate downtown
The locator sent limited collection cases from both Monterey Park ZIP Codes to the Chatsworth Courthouse, about 28 miles northwest in the San Fernando Valley. Chatsworth is a long way from Monterey Park, so check the locator again near your filing date. Other limited civil cases go to Stanley Mosk downtown, and so does probate. Local Rule 2.3 keeps probate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship filings in the Central District unless the North District exception applies, and that exception covers only the district whose courthouse is in Lancaster.
Monterey Park ZIP Codes
The Census Bureau's 2020 relationship file shows how Monterey Park's land divides between its two ZIP Codes:
- 91754 lies entirely inside Monterey Park and holds about 59% of the city's land.
- 91755 is about 98% Monterey Park, with a small piece in Alhambra, and holds about 40% of the city.
- Slivers of the city reach into 90022 and 90063, ZIP Codes centered to the southwest.
For service, the server goes to the street address. For filing, a 91755 address on the Alhambra side may route under Alhambra rather than Monterey Park, so run the exact community through the locator if the property is near the line.
Serving a Monterey Park business
For a corporation, LLC or limited partnership, the Judicial Council's guide for finding a business points to the Secretary of State's business search. The listing shows the agent for service of process, the person or company that accepts legal papers. If no agent can be found, an officer of a corporation can be served. For a sole owner or partnership trading under a shop name, the guide suggests fictitious business name records at the county clerk-recorder. Our serving corporations guide covers the rest.
What helps a Monterey Park request
Add these to the Letter of Instruction:
- The full address, with the unit or suite, and whether the building has a gate or call box.
- For 91754 evictions, the nearest cross street, so the courthouse can be double-checked.
- When the person is usually there, such as work hours or a shift.
- A second address, like a workplace.
- A photo or description, and a vehicle and plate if known.
- The hearing date.
If the address is stale, skip tracing looks for a current one, and you approve it before the next attempt. Every update comes by email. We make no guarantees for service.
Filing first, then serving
We file Monterey Park cases at Pasadena, Alhambra, Stanley Mosk or Chatsworth, at the counter or by eFiling, then serve the papers once the summons issues. If a lawyer is on the case, plan on eFiling. The court's civil e-filing FAQ says represented litigants must e-file civil documents unless they obtain an exemption order, using forms EFS-007 and EFS-008. Self-represented filers aren't required to e-file. Our Los Angeles County court filing page explains how, and the proof of service guide covers the form you get back. For witnesses, see our post on how to serve a subpoena in California.
Cities near Monterey Park
Alhambra is 2.4 miles from Monterey Park, Montebello 2.6 and Rosemead 3.2. San Gabriel and Commerce are each 3.8 miles away, and family cases are heard in Pasadena. The rest of the county starts from our Los Angeles County page.