The courthouse at 8303 Haven Avenue does more than most directories say. Older listings describe the Rancho Cucamonga District as a criminal court. The court's own Where Can I File page, read in October 2026, shows three units in that building: the Civil Division of the Rancho Cucamonga District, the criminal district for felonies and misdemeanors, and the Appeals and Appellate Division, which the court notes was relocated there.
Valpro Attorney Services takes Rancho Cucamonga Service Requests at our Sacramento office, 379.5 miles away in a straight line. We assign each request to a process server who makes the attempts at the address in Rancho Cucamonga. The proof of service comes back to you, and status updates come by email.
Which court hears a Rancho Cucamonga case?
It depends on the case type. Three buildings in three cities handle the common ones. Distances below are straight-line miles from the city's Census center point.
| Case type | Where it's filed | Address | Straight line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil, limited and unlimited | Civil Division, Rancho Cucamonga District | 8303 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga | 1.6 mi |
| Appeals and appellate filings | Appeals and Appellate Division | 8303 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga | 1.6 mi |
| Small claims | Fontana District | 17780 Arrow Boulevard, Fontana | 8.6 mi |
| Limited landlord-tenant ($35,000 or less) | Fontana District | 17780 Arrow Boulevard, Fontana | 8.6 mi |
| Unlimited landlord-tenant | Civil Division, San Bernardino Justice Center | 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino | 15.8 mi |
| Family law | Family Law Division, Historic Courthouse | 351 North Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino | 15.8 mi |
The court lists clerk's hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at Haven Avenue and Fontana. The $35,000 dividing line between limited and unlimited cases comes from Code of Civil Procedure § 85. Rancho Cucamonga is also named on the San Bernardino Justice Center's countywide civil list, but Haven Avenue is the closer of the two by about 14 miles.
Next-door cities that file somewhere else
The Haven Avenue civil list covers Alta Loma, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, unincorporated Mt. Baldy, parts of Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. Two close neighbors aren't on it. Ontario, 6.4 miles south, and Fontana, 5.9 miles east, are listed under the San Bernardino Justice Center for civil cases instead.
That matters when one office files for clients across the west end. Upland, 5.5 miles away, shares the Haven Avenue list with Rancho Cucamonga, while its other neighbors don't. Check the court's list for each case rather than assuming the nearest building. Service doesn't change: the papers go to each party's address, and the proof goes to whichever court has the case.
Montclair, 8.5 miles away, is on the Haven Avenue list. Claremont, 8.6 miles west, is across the county line in Los Angeles County, where cases belong to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Rancho Cucamonga addresses: what the server needs
The city has four Census ZIP Code areas: 91701, 91730, 91737 and 91739. The courthouse is in 91730. Addresses written as Alta Loma or Etiwanda are still Rancho Cucamonga in the court's lists, and the server works from the street address you give.
Put these in the Letter of Instruction:
- Suite and building numbers for business parks and shopping centers. Some commercial sites use one street number for several buildings.
- HOA gates. A gate code, or the name of the management office, saves waiting for a resident to come through.
- Second-unit and rear-house details. Say if the person lives in a guest house or a rear unit behind the main home.
- Hours. When the person leaves for work and gets home. A weekday morning and an evening attempt cover most schedules.
- A photo or a vehicle, if you have one, so the server can confirm the right person.
When an address turns out to be old, ask about skip tracing, and see our post on finding a defendant in California.
Papers to serve in Rancho Cucamonga?
Small claims at the Fontana District
Rancho Cucamonga small claims are filed and heard at Fontana. The court's small claims page lists the filing fees: $30 for a claim of $1,500 or less, $50 up to $5,000, and $75 up to $12,500. Individuals can claim up to $12,500 in most cases and businesses up to $6,250.
The plaintiff can't serve the claim personally. The options are an adult who isn't a party, the sheriff, a process server, or certified mail sent by the clerk for $15 per defendant. California also lets small claims plaintiffs use substituted service without first trying personal delivery (CCP § 116.340(a)(3)).
The deadlines are tight. Service has to be complete at least 15 days before trial for a defendant living in San Bernardino County, or 20 days for one outside it. The court asks for the proof of service, usually SC-104, 5 days before the hearing. Rush is worth considering when the hearing is less than a month out. This is general information, not legal advice.
Help with the forms is available to people without a lawyer. The court's Self-Help Resource Center reviews completed small claims, landlord-tenant, family law, child support and guardianship forms for self-represented visitors. Staff give legal information, not advice, and see people first come, first served, so bring the draft forms and any case number early in the day.
Evictions for Rancho Cucamonga rentals
Limited landlord-tenant cases go to Fontana, where the court runs a landlord-tenant resource center on the 2nd floor, Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Unlimited cases go to the Justice Center in San Bernardino. Landlord-tenant eFiling has been voluntary since October 2, 2023.
The court's landlord-tenant page gives tenants 10 days to respond after service, so the service date drives the case. From January 1, 2027, an eviction complaint must also state the date, time and location the termination notice was served (CCP § 1166(a)(5), operative January 1, 2027).
Family law and civil filing for Rancho Cucamonga cases
Family law isn't heard at Haven Avenue. Divorce, custody and domestic violence restraining order filings for Rancho Cucamonga go to the Family Law Division at 351 North Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino. Family summons service is proved on form FL-115.
Civil cases at Haven Avenue fall under the court's eFiling rules. Attorneys have had to e-file civil documents since September 2, 2025, and self-represented parties can choose. The court's eFiling system processes up to $25,000 in fees per filing, and anything above that is billed after acceptance. A civil summons gives the defendant 30 days to respond after service is complete (CCP § 412.20(a)(3)), and substituted service is complete on the 10th day after mailing (CCP § 415.20). Our San Bernardino County court filing page covers filing and service on one request.
Appearing by Zoom at Haven Avenue and Fontana
The court lists remote technology courtroom by courtroom. At the Rancho Cucamonga District, departments R1, R12, R14 and R17 host Zoom with audio and video, and CourtCall with audio and video too. Fontana, where Rancho Cucamonga's small claims and smaller evictions are heard, lists eight courtrooms, F1 through F8, on Zoom, with CourtCall limited to audio.
A listed courtroom doesn't mean a remote appearance is automatic. The page says the judicial officer decides, that the courtroom has to be told ahead of the hearing date, and that a party who waits until the day of the hearing risks not being let in. Check in on Zoom 15 minutes early.
The notice rules depend on how much warning the hearing came with:
- At least 3 court days' notice of a non-evidentiary hearing. Tell the court and the other parties at least 2 court days ahead. The court's copy goes in as form RA-010.
- Less than 3 court days, if you're the moving party. Give notice of the remote appearance at the same time as the moving papers.
- Less than 3 court days, if you're responding. Notify the court and every party that has appeared by 2:00 p.m. on the court day before.
That second case matters for service. When a motion on shortened time has to reach the other side today, the RA-010 can go out with it on the same delivery, and we can deliver both and file the proof. Filing the proof of service is an additional fee.
Serving companies with offices in Rancho Cucamonga
A corporation or LLC is served through the agent for service of process it names with the Secretary of State (Corporations Code §§ 1502 and 17701.13). The agent's address is often a registered agent company in another city, not the local office. Check bizfile Online first and tell us both addresses. If the case calls for serving an officer at the Rancho Cucamonga location instead, name the officer and title in the Letter of Instruction.
When no agent can be found, the court can allow service through the Secretary of State, accepted only by hand at the Sacramento counter. Our guide to serving corporations explains each method. Every other city in the county is on the San Bernardino County page.