Oroville is the Butte County seat, with 20,042 residents at the 2020 Census, and the Butte County Courthouse is at One Court Street. Most people sending legal papers there never use it. Butte Superior Court divides its work between two buildings by case type, and the one in Oroville doesn't take civil filings.
So an Oroville eviction, divorce, small claims case or lawsuit is filed about 20 miles away in Chico, while the person being served is usually in Oroville or one of the unincorporated communities that share its ZIP Codes. Oroville is about 61 miles from our Sacramento office, and a Service Request can cover both the service in Oroville and the filing in Chico.
The county seat's courthouse doesn't take civil filings
The Butte County Courthouse at One Court Street handles criminal cases, juvenile dependency and juvenile justice, adoptions and juvenile traffic. Its location page lists hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, a main line of (530) 532-7002 and free parking in two lots on the south side of the building.
Local Rule 1.3 is short and settles the question: all civil matters, including small claims, are filed at the North Butte County Courthouse in Chico. The court's Family Law and Probate pages give the same Chico address. For a paralegal or landlord, the Oroville building matters mainly if a criminal or juvenile case overlaps with a civil one. The Juvenile page adds that dependency and juvenile justice cases are confidential, so case information is given only in person to a party with photo ID.
| Oroville case | Where it's filed |
|---|---|
| Unlawful detainer (eviction) | North Butte County Courthouse, 1775 Concord Avenue, Chico |
| Limited and unlimited civil | Chico |
| Small claims | Chico |
| Divorce, custody, child support | Chico |
| Probate, guardianship, conservatorship | Chico |
| Criminal and juvenile | Butte County Courthouse, One Court Street, Oroville |
Getting papers to Chico
The North Butte County Courthouse sits at Concord Avenue and Beacon Hill, about 20.4 miles from Oroville's Census center point in a straight line. The court's directions from Yuba City follow Highway 99 north to the Skyway exit, then Bruce Road and Beacon Hill. Its hours match Oroville's, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the divisions have separate lines: civil, including small claims and evictions, at (530) 532-7009, family law at (530) 532-7008 and probate at (530) 532-7017.
The Civil page adds two counter details. The court doesn't require courtesy copies, and it will conform any copies you hand in. Under Local Rule 13.1, faxed civil and family law filings must come through a fax filing agency. Our Butte County court filing service handles the Chico counter and the electronic route.
E-filing is the default for attorneys
Butte has required e-filing since July 1, 2017. Local Rule 21.1(A) makes it mandatory for represented parties in juvenile dependency, all civil, all probate and all family law matters, including child support cases. Self-represented parties are exempt under subsection (B) but encouraged to take part. Criminal, traffic and juvenile delinquency filings are permissive.
The court's eFiling page lists the costs. Each electronic envelope carries a $3.50 court fee outside criminal cases, plus whatever the provider charges, and card or eCheck payments add a convenience fee. Documents can be sent at any hour, and anything received between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed filed that day.
Rule 21.4 keeps some items off the system: wills and codicils, bonds, subpoenaed documents, lodged documents, documents in sealed cases, trial exhibits and copy requests, among others. Those still go to Chico on paper. General information, not legal advice.
Oroville evictions on Butte's 45-day track
Butte's Local Rule 4 sets its own pace for unlawful detainers on top of state law. After personal service, the tenant has 10 court days to answer. The local rules then add:
- Rule 4.6. At filing, the plaintiff is told that the court will issue a dismissal OSC in 45 days unless the case is resolved, a conditional settlement is filed or a Request to Set Case for Trial has been filed.
- Rule 4.8. That request, Judicial Council form UD-150, must be filed within 45 days of the complaint.
- Rule 4.7. If you ask the court for permission to serve by posting or publication, the proposal must state the date by which that service will be completed.
- Rule 4.4. The court's stated goal is to finish 90% of eviction cases within 30 days of filing and all of them within 45.
On that schedule, a missed first attempt costs real time. Put the tenant's work hours, vehicle and any other occupants' names in the Service Request so the first visit has the best chance of counting. Our proof of service guide shows what the server's signed proof covers. General information, not legal advice.
Papers to serve in Oroville?
An Oroville divorce starts its clock at service
Divorce, legal separation and paternity cases from Oroville are filed with the Family Law Division in Chico. The court's Family Law page sets out two timing points. To file for divorce, one spouse must have lived in California for the last six months and in the filing county for the last three. And a divorce can't become final until at least six months after the divorce papers are served on the other spouse, so the date of service sets the earliest possible end date.
The petitioner can't serve the papers. Another adult can, and the server then signs a proof of service for the court. If the other spouse has moved out of Butte County, we can serve them at the new address on the same request.
Help that stays in Oroville
Two kinds of free help are in Oroville even though the cases are filed in Chico.
SHARP. The court's Self-Help Assistance and Referral Program keeps an office in the Butte County Courthouse at One Court Street, as well as in Chico. Its contact page lists hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Friday, at (530) 532-7015. It helps people without lawyers with family law, guardianships, evictions, small claims, name changes and restraining orders.
The small claims advisor. The court names the Butte County Public Law Library, 1675 Montgomery Street, Oroville, as its Small Claims Advisor, free of charge. The library can explain forms, how to name the defendant, where to file and how to serve the other party.
Neither office serves papers. A small claims defendant who lives in Butte County must be served at least 15 days before the hearing, or at least 20 days before if they live in another county (CCP § 116.340), and the plaintiff can't do it personally.
When an Oroville defendant is hard to find
The Civil page answers a question we hear often. If the person can't be located or is avoiding service, a judge may allow alternative service. To qualify, you show that someone tried many times to serve personally, usually 3 or more, and that the person is avoiding service or can't be found.
From January 1, 2027, three good-faith attempts on three different days, at three different times, show reasonable diligence before substituted service under CCP § 415.20(b)(2). Our AB 747 guide explains that standard and the new public register of process servers. If the address itself is stale, skip tracing looks for a current one first, and our post on skip tracing for legal cases explains the process.
Two ZIP Codes, a dozen communities
Oroville uses ZIP Codes 95965 and 95966, and the city covers only a sliver of each. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file shows:
- 95965, about 311 square miles of land. Oroville city holds about 2.8%. Concow holds about 8.8%, Butte Valley 5.9%, Thermalito 4.1%, Durham 3.0%, Palermo 2.1% and Yankee Hill 1.9%, with smaller pieces in Cherokee and Richvale. About 70% is outside any named community.
- 95966, about 170 square miles. Oroville city holds about 2.9%. Oroville East and Palermo each hold about 12%, with smaller shares in Honcut, Bangor, Berry Creek, South Oroville, Kelly Ridge, Robinson Mill and Forbestown. About 62% is outside any named community.
An "Oroville, CA" address can therefore mean a city street near the courthouse, a tract in Thermalito or South Oroville, or a ridge-top parcel in Concow or Yankee Hill.
Foothill addresses above Oroville
Concow, Yankee Hill, Berry Creek, Forbestown and Robinson Mill are foothill communities inside Oroville's ZIP Codes, away from the city grid. Remote areas are subject to different timelines, and these communities fit that description. If the papers show only a P.O. box, we need the physical address too.
For a foothill address, tell us:
- the physical address, not just a P.O. box
- the nearest cross road, and landmarks along the driveway
- whether there's a gate, dogs or a shared private road
- when the person is usually home
Serving through the Sheriff in Chico
The court's Civil page lists a relative, a friend, the county sheriff and a professional process server as people who can serve, as long as the server is over 18 and not involved in the case. It places the Sheriff's Civil Division at 402 Otterson Drive, Suite 120, in Chico, and refers readers to the Sheriff's website for hours and service details. Our guide on who can serve papers in California compares the options.
Sending an Oroville Service Request
- Upload up to 5 PDFs through the Service Request form.
- Name every party as the papers do, and include the hearing date or the 45-day eviction deadline.
- Give the physical address and access notes, especially for foothill parcels.
- Choose Rush or Standard, and add the Chico filing if you need one.
Get each update by email. For a business, check its agent on bizfile Online and see our serving corporations page. Reach us at 855-582-5776 or Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. We make no guarantees for service.
Near Oroville
Biggs is 10.1 miles from Oroville and Gridley 11.8. Live Oak is 15.9 miles south, Paradise 18 and Chico, where Oroville's civil cases are filed, 22.8. Our Butte County page lists every community we serve in the county.