Novato is the second-largest city in Marin County. The 2020 Census counted 53,225 people there, behind only San Rafael's 61,271, and the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025 is 51,947. It sits at the north end of the county, on the way to Sonoma, and it covers about 27.5 square miles of land.
Size and position shape the work. A Novato job can be a large apartment complex, a business park or a house in a subdivision, but the ZIP Codes also reach into ranch land and bayside neighborhoods that aren't part of the city at all. The courthouse is in San Rafael, so a Novato case is filed in one city and served in another. Novato is about 68 miles from our Sacramento office, and each job stays one request from intake to the signed proof, with every update by email.
Novato in numbers
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2020 population | 53,225 (Census), second in Marin after San Rafael |
| 2025 estimate | 51,947 (Census Bureau, July 1, 2025) |
| Land area | about 27.5 square miles |
| ZIP Code areas | 94945, 94947, 94949, all entirely inside Marin County |
| Courthouse | Hall of Justice, San Rafael, about 6.1 miles south |
| Sheriff's civil office | 1600 Los Gamos Drive, San Rafael, about 4.5 miles south |
Distances are straight-line, from the Census Bureau's internal point for Novato to the coordinates on the court's location page and the Census Geocoder's match for the Sheriff's address.
Three ZIP Codes, three different maps
A Novato mailing address tells a server less than it seems to. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file shows how each of the city's three ZIP Code areas divides between city land and unincorporated land:
- 94949 has about 13.4 square miles of land, and about 71% of it is inside Novato. The rest is unincorporated. Bel Marin Keys, a populated place in the federal GNIS place-name database, falls in this ZIP Code outside city limits, about 1.8 miles from the city's center point. Ignacio, another GNIS name, is inside the city here.
- 94945 has about 23.3 square miles of land. Roughly 53% is Novato and about 12% is the Black Point-Green Point Census-designated place. The remaining 35% isn't in any city or Census place. The GNIS names Burdell and San Antonio both fall in that unincorporated part.
- 94947 has about 21.9 square miles of land, and only about 25% of it is in the city. Old Town, a GNIS name, sits inside city limits, but roughly three quarters of the ZIP Code is outside any city or Census place.
None of this changes how papers are served. A summons is delivered to the person, not to a jurisdiction. It does change how long an attempt takes and what the server needs to know. A house on an unincorporated road in 94947 can be set well back behind a gate, while an address in central Novato may be a quick find. If you know which kind of address you're sending, say so.
Black Point, Green Point and Bel Marin Keys
The Black Point-Green Point Census-designated place had 1,431 residents in 2020 and covers about 2.8 square miles of land, with a small amount of water. Its internal point is about 2.4 miles from Novato's. It has no city government, so it's governed by the County of Marin, but it shares Novato's 94945 ZIP Code.
Bel Marin Keys is in 94949, also outside city limits. For either area, give the server the full street address as the person uses it, plus any gate or community entrance detail you have. If the papers name a homeowners association or another local body as a party, check its exact legal name before filing, since the name on the summons is the name the server serves.
Filing a Novato case in San Rafael
Marin Superior Court has one courthouse for every kind of case: the Hall of Justice at the Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive. Civil, family law and probate papers all go to the windows in Room 113. Small claims shares that room. The clerk's office is open 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, and the civil phone line answers from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
For a counter filing, bring the original and at least two copies, and arrive before 3:30 p.m. if the papers start a new case. The clerk keeps the original, file-stamps the copies and hands them back. Documents that need a judge's signature, such as fee waivers, orders and judgments, can't be filed until they're signed. The court asks for a self-addressed stamped envelope so it can mail the conformed copies, and otherwise leaves them in a will-call box at the office. Parking at the Civic Center is free all day.
Our Marin County court filing service can take Novato papers to Room 113 or e-file them, and serve the same case on one request.
Papers to serve in Novato?
E-filing after Administrative Order 26-01
The court began accepting eFiling on March 25, 2024, and made it mandatory for parties represented by attorneys on April 26, 2024. Local Rule 1.51(B)(1) now carries that requirement for all civil cases, including family, juvenile dependency and probate, except where personal service is required by statute or rule. Self-represented parties may still file on paper.
On February 23, 2026, the presiding judge signed Administrative Order 26-01, a standing order on how e-filed documents are packaged in every non-criminal case. Its main points:
- Each document that needs its own file stamp must be e-filed as its own PDF. The order lists a motion, a declaration, a notice and a proof of service as examples.
- Each of those documents needs its own transaction and receipt.
- Attachments can still travel with the document they support, if they're clearly identified.
- The papers that start a case are exempt and still go in as one bundle.
The clerk may reject an e-filing that combines documents the order wants separated. For a Novato case that means the proof of service our server signs is filed as its own document, not stapled into a motion. Under Local Rule 1.51(B)(6), a document submitted at any hour of a court day is accepted as filed that day. General information, not legal advice.
Evictions for Novato rentals
A Novato unlawful detainer is filed in Room 113 like any other civil case, and an attorney files it electronically. After the summons and complaint are personally served, the tenant has 10 court days to answer. The date and method on the proof of service are what the court checks if the landlord later asks for a default.
Once the court issues a Writ of Possession of Real Property, form EJ-130, the Marin County Sheriff's Civil Division handles the lockout. It wants the original writ, one copy, its eviction instruction form and the fee for each address. A civil deputy first serves a five-day Notice to Vacate, either in person or by posting it at the property and mailing a copy. The deputy then tells the landlord's local contact the date and time of the restoration. The Sheriff's page says deputies won't force entry, so the owner or an authorized representative has to provide access, and evictions happen on weekdays only.
Small claims timing from Novato
Marin small claims hearings are set no earlier than 20 days and no later than 70 days after filing, according to the Sheriff's small claims guidance, and the court adds that a continuance has to be asked for in writing at least 10 calendar days before the court date. The service deadlines in CCP § 116.340 run backward from the hearing:
- Personal service must be complete at least 15 days before the hearing if the defendant lives in Marin County, or at least 20 days before if they live elsewhere.
- Substituted service is allowed in small claims without first attempting personal delivery (§ 116.340(a)(3)). Because substituted service also involves mailing, the Sheriff advises allowing 25 days in county and 30 days out of county.
- The proof of service must be filed with the court at least five days before the hearing (§ 116.340(c)).
The court's procedures page warns that only one continuance is allowed for failure to file a proof of service. After that, the plaintiff has to appear in person to ask for more time to serve, and a no-show means dismissal. When a hearing date arrives, ask for the latest date the clerk will give you. The person who filed the claim can't serve it, though any adult who isn't a party can. Our guide on who can serve papers in California explains the rule.
Serving Novato businesses
For a corporation or LLC, look up the agent for service of process on the Secretary of State's bizfile Online and send us the agent's name and address exactly as listed. The Marin court's small claims page also asks plaintiffs suing a corporation to list a corporate officer or the agent in parentheses under the corporation's name on the claim. A small company may list an owner at a home address. A larger one may name a commercial registered agent, such as CSC or CT Corporation. Our serving corporations page covers each type of entity.
Papers that cross the Sonoma County line
Novato's north edge is close to Sonoma County. Petaluma's internal point is about 11.7 miles from Novato's. When a defendant in a Marin case now lives in Petaluma or elsewhere in Sonoma County, the case stays where it was filed and the server goes to the new address. Upload every address you have, old and new, along with a workplace if you know one. If no current address turns up, skip tracing can look for one before the next attempt.
From January 1, 2027, AB 747 amends CCP § 415.20(b)(2): three good-faith attempts at personal delivery, on 3 different days and at 3 different times, show reasonable diligence before papers are left with another adult. Our AB 747 guide has the details. We make no guarantees for service.
Sending a Novato Service Request
- The documents. Up to 5 PDFs, uploaded with the Service Request.
- Each party's name as it appears on the papers.
- Every address, with unit numbers for apartment complexes and building numbers for business parks.
- Gate or entrance details for Black Point-Green Point, Bel Marin Keys and rural parts of 94945 and 94947.
- The hearing or answer date and any San Rafael filing you want done.
You can get each update by email, or call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our proof of service guide shows what you get back.
Near Novato
San Rafael, the county seat, is about 7.5 miles from Novato's center. Santa Venetia is about 6 miles, Fairfax 7.1, San Anselmo 7.2 and Woodacre 7.4. Every Marin community we serve is on our Marin County page.