Portola Valley is an incorporated town in the hills of southern San Mateo County, with about 9.1 square miles of land along the county's border with Santa Clara County. The 2020 Census counted 4,456 residents, and the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate is 4,292. Valpro Attorney Services serves summonses, complaints, subpoenas, family law and probate papers, restraining orders and eviction documents at Portola Valley homes, and on residents at their offices elsewhere on the Peninsula.
Portola Valley requests are handled from our Sacramento office, about 95 miles away. The address details you send decide how quickly the first attempt goes, more than the drive does.
94028 reaches into another county
Portola Valley has a single ZIP Code area, 94028, and the Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA-to-place file shows all of the Town's land inside it. But 94028 is about twice the Town's size, 17.3 square miles of land, and it doesn't stop at the county line:
| Part of 94028 | Share of the land | Government |
|---|---|---|
| Portola Valley town | about 52.4% | Town of Portola Valley |
| Palo Alto city | about 13.1% | City of Palo Alto, Santa Clara County |
| Ladera CDP | about 2.5% | San Mateo County (unincorporated) |
| Menlo Park city | a tiny sliver | City of Menlo Park |
| Outside any named place | about 32.0% | San Mateo County (unincorporated) |
The Census place codes file puts Palo Alto in Santa Clara County and Ladera in San Mateo County. So a "Portola Valley, CA 94028" address can sit in the Town, in unincorporated Ladera, or in Palo Alto's foothill land across the county line. Ladera, though unincorporated, falls inside 94028 too, so a Ladera home can carry the same ZIP as a house in the Town; for a Ladera address, the County of San Mateo is the local government. The Palo Alto case matters for venue: a lawsuit about Santa Clara County property, or one where the defendant lives there, may belong in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Service itself works the same anywhere in California.
Serving the Town of Portola Valley
When the Town is a party, the papers go to Town Hall at 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028. Two details from the Town's own pages, captured in October 2026, shape the visit:
- Short public hours. Town Hall lists hours of Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to noon, and its lobby is closed every Friday. The main line is (650) 851-1700.
- The Town Clerk keeps the records. The clerk's page calls the Town Clerk the official custodian of all Town records, responsible for records management, council minutes, ordinances and resolutions.
The clerk's page describes Portola Valley as a general law city that elects five council members at large, in November of even-numbered years. When the Town is sued, name the Town of Portola Valley. Under CCP § 416.50, a summons on a public entity can be delivered to its clerk, secretary, president, presiding officer or other head of its governing body. A damages claim usually starts as a written government claim to the Town before any suit; that's your attorney's call.
A public records request and a subpoena are different tools. The clerk's page warns that, because of staffing, records requests may take up to 10 days to answer, with extensions allowed by law. A records subpoena in a pending case follows the Code of Civil Procedure's timelines instead, and we deliver it to the clerk as custodian.
Law enforcement comes from the Sheriff
Portola Valley doesn't run its own police department. The Town's Sheriff page describes a longstanding agreement under which the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement, with one patrol deputy available to the Town 24 hours a day, plus traffic and parking enforcement and criminal investigations.
For a civil case, that has two consequences. A report about a Portola Valley collision or incident is a Sheriff's Office record, so a subpoena for it names the Sheriff's custodian of records. And a deputy who handled the call is served as a Sheriff's employee, not a Town employee.
Where Portola Valley cases are filed
San Mateo County Superior Court keeps one civil filing address: the Hall of Justice and Records, 400 County Center, Redwood City, about 8 miles north of the Census Bureau's internal point for Portola Valley. Civil, small claims, family law and probate filings all go there.
- Counter: the civil, family law, probate and small claims clerk is open 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on weekdays, by appointment only. Emergency ex partes, domestic violence petitions and temporary restraining order petitions are still accepted.
- Drop box: outside Room A on the first floor. Papers in the box before 4:00 p.m. are deemed filed that court day.
- E-filing: Local Rule 2.1.7 requires parties with attorneys to e-file in civil, small claims, eviction, family law and probate cases; self-represented parties may file on paper.
- Paper only: Local Rule 2.1.8 lists documents that can't be e-filed, including most ex parte applications, writs, abstracts, subpoenas, bonds and trial exhibits.
Our San Mateo County court filing service books the appointment, uses the drop box or e-files, then sends the endorsed copies to the server.
Papers to serve in Portola Valley?
Probate and trust matters
A Portola Valley estate, trust, guardianship or conservatorship goes through the Probate Division at the Hall of Justice, using the same by-appointment clerk window. The court's probate page lists decedents' estates, conservatorships, guardianships, trusts and elder abuse cases among its work.
Three rules on the court's pages affect planning for service:
- Temporary guardianships and conservatorships. Since December 12, 2022, the court asks that these requests be filed and then served on the relevant parties at least 5 days before the hearing. It reads ex parte criteria strictly and denies an ex parte request it thinks could be heard on that short notice instead.
- Original documents stay on paper. Under Local Rule 2.1.8, wills, codicils, estate planning documents, letters and certified death certificates are filed by conventional means, not e-filed.
- Two email addresses. The Probate Court Investigator's office takes email at PCI@sanmateocourt.org, and other probate ex parte matters go to probate@sanmateocourt.org.
When a petition or notice has to reach a beneficiary, a trustee or a proposed conservatee in Portola Valley, send the filed papers, the hearing date and the person's actual living situation, including a care facility and room number if that applies.
Portola Valley evictions
An unlawful detainer for a Portola Valley rental, whether a house, a guest unit or an accessory dwelling, is filed in Redwood City or e-filed and then heard about 16 miles away at the Central Branch, 800 North Humboldt Street, San Mateo. Pretrials are Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m., in person or by Zoom; court trials are in person on Fridays at 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; and eviction ex partes are heard Tuesdays and Fridays at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom H.
The court's eviction page adds a newer instruction. Because e-filed papers can take time to reach the court's file, it says parties must email a copy of any reply brief, any eviction opposition and any summary judgment motion to lawandmotionreplybriefs@sanmateocourt.org, or risk a continuance.
For service, send the summons, the complaint and the name of every adult occupant, including anyone in a second unit. A tenant who is served personally has 10 court days to respond.
Small claims from Portola Valley
A Portola Valley small claims case is filed with the Small Claims Clerk in Room A at the Hall of Justice, on the same appointment-only schedule, or electronically. The hearing is in person, either at the Hall of Justice or at the Northern Branch in South San Francisco, about 23 miles from Portola Valley, so check the notice for the location. The court's forms list includes SC-103, the Fictitious Business Name Declaration, for a plaintiff doing business under a fictitious name. After filing, the claim still has to be served on the defendant by someone other than the plaintiff.
Restraining orders and family cases
Domestic violence restraining order requests from Portola Valley are filed at the Hall of Justice, where the clerk keeps accepting temporary restraining order petitions even outside the appointment system. The court's family law page says a hearing on a domestic violence or temporary restraining order may go forward remotely or in person, and that counsel and parties don't have to appear in person unless the court orders it. The person asking for the order is expected to bring a proposed order to the hearing, since orders are completed before anyone leaves the courtroom.
None of that removes the service step. The restrained person has to be served with the temporary order and the hearing notice before the hearing date. Send us the signed order, the hearing date, every address where the person might be, and a recent photo. For a divorce or custody case, the same applies to the petition: we serve the respondent at home, at work, or wherever they're living now.
Hillside lots, long driveways and private roads
When a Portola Valley address is a large lot, or is reached by a shared driveway or a private road instead of a public street, the law of service doesn't change, but what the server needs from you does:
- The route in. Name the private road or shared drive, where it leaves the public street, and which fork or mailbox belongs to the address.
- Gates. A code, a call box name, or the hours a gate is usually open.
- Which structure. Main house, guest house, studio or barn. Say which one the person uses.
- Who answers. A caretaker, nanny or house manager, with any name you have. Whether handing papers to a household employee is valid substituted service is a question for your attorney; the server reports exactly who was there.
- Another place to try. An office in Menlo Park, Palo Alto or elsewhere, or a regular appointment.
Our server stays off any road or property they're told to leave, and records the attempt. From January 1, 2027, AB 747 adds a stamped photo to each proof of personal, substituted or posted service. At a home, the photo shows the door, or the entrance if the door can't reasonably be reached, with an explanation. Three good-faith attempts on three different days at three different times show reasonable diligence before substituted service (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Our AB 747 guide covers the rest. We make no guarantees for service.
Sending Portola Valley papers
Open a Service Request, attach up to 5 PDFs, add the route and gate notes above, and choose Rush or Standard. The updates come to you by email. For a company, start with serving corporations; if the person has moved, skip tracing can look for a current address. Call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Places near Portola Valley
Woodside is about 4.2 miles away and Atherton 6.6. Menlo Park is 9.2 miles. In Santa Clara County, Los Altos is about 7.5 miles and Mountain View 8.8. The full county list is on our San Mateo County page.