Mount Shasta is a city of about 3,200 people at the south end of Siskiyou County, on I-5 between Weed and Dunsmuir. It doesn't have a courthouse. Siskiyou County has one, in Yreka, roughly 33 miles north of Mount Shasta's Census center point in a straight line. The Sheriff's Civil Division works from Yreka too.
So a Mount Shasta case is usually split across two places: the papers are served here and filed there. Mount Shasta is about 192 miles from our Sacramento office as the crow flies, and we coordinate both halves of the job on one Service Request.
Filing a Mount Shasta case in Yreka
The Siskiyou County Superior Court, at 411 Fourth Street in Yreka, hears every kind of case for the county. The court's location page lists no branch, and its local rules refer to the building as the Yreka Branch. Civil cases, evictions, small claims, probate, family law and criminal matters all go there.
The building closes over lunch. Its posted hours run 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. A runner leaving Mount Shasta for a filing has to arrive before noon or wait out the closed hour.
That's why e-filing matters more here than in Yreka itself. For a filer 33 miles from the counter, an e-filing provider removes the trip.
When e-filing saves the trip north
Siskiyou's Local Rule 2.23 makes e-filing optional, not required, in four case types: civil, probate, family law and small claims. The court's File Online page breaks that down further, listing civil unlimited and civil limited, probate, family law, family support, small claims and adoptions. Paper still goes in at the clerk's windows for anyone who prefers it.
A few practical points from the rule:
- Filings go through an approved electronic filing service provider, and each provider may charge its own transaction fee.
- The court won't accept civil, probate, family or small claims filings by email or fax. Domestic violence and gun violence restraining order requests are the exception, sent to an email address on the court's site.
- Original wills and codicils, bonds and exhibits lodged for hearings still have to be filed on paper.
- Timing favors the remote filer. A submission that reaches the court electronically on a court day, even late at night, is treated as filed that day if it's in proper form. One sent on a weekend or holiday is filed the next court day.
- Format counts. The rule asks for searchable PDFs with page numbers, and longer documents with several exhibits need bookmarks.
The court has been converting case types to electronic files. A public notice says unlawful detainer cases became paperless on March 30, 2026, following small claims, child support, traffic and non-traffic infractions. For a Mount Shasta landlord, an eviction can be filed electronically and served locally without anyone driving to Fourth Street.
Our Siskiyou County court filing service handles either route, through a provider or at the windows, and the court filings page lists what to send with the documents.
How much of 96067 is the city
Mount Shasta's one ZIP Code area covers a lot more ground than the city does. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file breaks 96067 down this way:
| Part of 96067 | Land area | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Shasta city | about 3.8 sq mi | about 4.9% |
| Dunsmuir city | about 0.1 sq mi | about 0.2% |
| Outside any city or named community | about 72.5 sq mi | about 94.9% |
| Total | about 76.4 sq mi |
The same file shows that most of Dunsmuir is in its own ZIP Code, 96025, with only a small piece in 96067.
For service, the table matters more than it might seem. An address on a city street is a short job. A 96067 address in the unincorporated area can be a house up a forest road with no visible number. Remote areas are subject to different timelines, so for an address outside town, tell us what you know about access before you choose Rush.
The neighbors file in the same place. Cases from Dunsmuir, about 6.6 miles south, and Weed, about 7.2 miles north, go to the Fourth Street windows in Yreka or through the same e-filing providers, and the Sheriff's Civil Division serves process in both cities. Both are small: the 2020 Census counted 2,862 people in Weed and 1,707 in Dunsmuir. A defendant who lives in one of the three towns and works in another is common enough that it's worth listing every address you know.
A Letter of Instruction for a Mount Shasta address
A good set of instructions lets a server make a useful first attempt. For Mount Shasta, include:
- The physical address, plus a cross street or the nearest named road if it's outside city limits.
- A description of the property: gate, long driveway, dogs, a cabin set back from the road.
- Whether the person lives there year-round. If the place is only occupied part of the year, say so and give any other address you have.
- Work details. A job in Mount Shasta, Weed or Yreka, with usual hours, gives a server a second place to try.
- A photo of the person, if you have one.
A P.O. box isn't a service address. CCP § 415.20(b) lets a server leave papers at a usual mailing address only if it isn't a U.S. Postal Service post office box. If the box is all you have, skip tracing can look for a street address first. Our post on how to find a defendant in California explains what that search covers.
Papers to serve in Mount Shasta?
Family cases and small claims from the south county
Siskiyou's Family Law Division handles divorce, separation, custody, support, visitation, adoptions and guardianships, and every adoption is filed there. The court has mediators who help parents work out a parenting plan. Its Self-Help Center offers access to a small claims advisor and help with family and civil matters, and the Family Law Facilitator takes questions by mail or email only.
For a small claims case, the claim has to reach the defendant at least 15 days before the hearing if they live in Siskiyou County, or 20 days if they live elsewhere (CCP § 116.340). The person suing can't hand it over themselves. For a family case, the respondent is served with the summons and petition wherever they live, which may be outside the county.
In both kinds of case, give the server the hearing date. A date that's three weeks out leaves room for evening and weekend attempts. A date next week may not. We make no guarantees for service.
Evictions and the 60-day proof of service rule
Siskiyou Local Rule 5.15 lets the court dismiss an unlawful detainer, without prejudice, when the plaintiff hasn't filed a proof of service of the summons and complaint within 60 days of filing. The rule relies on CCP § 1167.1. Once a tenant is personally served, the answer is due in 10 court days.
Local Rule 5.14 adds who can bring an eviction without a lawyer: an individual owner of record, or a bona fide lessee entitled to possession. A management company organized as a corporation or partnership must appear through an attorney.
If the landlord gets a writ of possession, the Sheriff carries it out. The Civil Division's fee for an eviction is $180, and its office sets a lockout date once the writ arrives. General information, not legal advice.
Sheriff or private server
The Siskiyou County Sheriff serves process throughout the county, including Mount Shasta, from its Civil Division at 305 Butte Street in Yreka. It wants a signed and dated letter of instruction with a physical address, a copy of each paper for every person plus one for its file, and payment before service. Most service fees are $50 per person.
The Sheriff's page also says its fees are owed whether or not service is completed, citing Government Code §§ 26736 and 26738, and that each person served is a separate fee, even at a shared address.
A private server is the other option. Any adult who is at least 18 and isn't a party can serve, as our guide on who can serve papers in California explains. From January 1, 2027, AB 747 changes what counts as diligence before substituted service: attempts on three different days, at three different times, show reasonable diligence (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Our AB 747 guide and proof of service guide cover the rest. A business defendant is usually served through its agent; see serving corporations.
Serving someone at work or at a business
For many Mount Shasta defendants, a workplace is the most predictable place to find them. If you know the employer, give the business name, the address and the shift. A server can usually make an attempt there without going onto a rural property at all.
When the defendant is the business itself, the rules change. A corporation or LLC is generally served through the agent for service of process on file with the Secretary of State, which may be an owner at a home address or a commercial agent outside the county. Look the entity up on bizfile Online and send us the agent's name and address as listed. If the business has closed or the agent has moved, tell us; that's a skip trace, not a second attempt at a dead address.
Getting a Mount Shasta request started
Send the papers on a Service Request with up to 5 PDFs. List each person exactly as the papers name them, add every address and the hearing date, and say whether you also need the filing done in Yreka. Choose Rush or Standard. Status updates come by email. Call 855-582-5776, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or write to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Neighbors on I-5
Dunsmuir is about 6.6 miles south of Mount Shasta in a straight line, and Weed about 7.2 miles north. Yreka, where the courthouse is, is about 32 miles away. Montague is about 30.2 and Etna about 31.5. For the rest of the county, see our Siskiyou County page.