Rohnert Park is Sonoma County's third-largest city, with 44,390 residents at the 2020 Census. It shares its ZIP Code area with neighboring Cotati and with the Sonoma State University campus. Valpro Attorney Services serves summonses, complaints, subpoenas, restraining orders, family law papers and eviction notices at Rohnert Park addresses.
We handle Rohnert Park requests from our Sacramento office, about 67.7 miles away. We don't keep a Sonoma County location. Requests come in online, and each update comes to you by email.
Rohnert Park cases go to Cleveland Avenue
Rohnert Park has no courthouse. Sonoma County Superior Court operates four locations, all in Santa Rosa, and the one Rohnert Park civil and family cases use is the Civil and Family Law Courthouse at 3055 Cleveland Avenue. It's about 8.5 miles north in a straight line, measured from the city's Census center point to the court's published coordinates.
Inside, separate clerks handle civil and small claims at (707) 521-6610 and family law at (707) 521-6630. The offices keep counter hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Attorneys don't need to make the drive for most papers. Sonoma's Local Rules 17.22 and following require represented parties to e-file in civil, probate and family law matters, and since January 1, 2026 in criminal and juvenile matters too. Self-represented parties are exempt and can file at the counter. We do both: e-filing for law offices, or a counter run with conformed copies sent back. See the Sonoma County court filing page for county details. Source: sonoma.courts.ca.gov, checked October 2026.
Motion calendars and tentative rulings
Rohnert Park litigants with a motion on calendar can hear or read the tentative ruling before driving up. The court's civil page lists when each kind is ready:
| Calendar | Tentative ruling available |
|---|---|
| Law and motion | After 2:00 p.m. the day before the hearing |
| Case management | Three court days before the hearing |
| Order to show cause | Two court days before the hearing |
The recording line for all three is (707) 521-6606. When a tentative ruling leads to an order that has to be served, send it with a Service Request and say when service is due.
Sonoma State University: who gets the papers
Sonoma State's own website gives its address as 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA 94928. The campus is part of the California State University, and the CSU's Office of General Counsel publishes the rules on serving it:
- The right defendant. A civil suit names the Board of Trustees of the California State University. Individual campuses are not separate legal entities and can't be parties.
- Where to serve the Board. At the CSU's Office of General Counsel, or through the California Attorney General's office. The OGC accepts service by personal delivery or by notice and acknowledgment of receipt in state court (CCP § 415.30).
- Who else the OGC accepts for. Individually named Trustees, the Chancellor and campus Presidents. The Attorney General's office can take personal service for the Board only.
- Not at the campus. CSU campuses aren't authorized to accept service for these parties, so handing a summons to a Sonoma State office doesn't serve the Board.
- Everyone else. Any other person associated with the CSU, such as an instructor sued personally, is served wherever that person is.
- Subpoenas. A witness subpoena goes to the witness. A subpoena for CSU business records must be personally served on the custodian of records wherever the records are kept. The OGC accepts records subpoenas only for its own records.
- Small claims. Papers may be delivered to the campus involved, to the head of the department in the dispute.
Source: CSU Office of General Counsel page, archived copy, April 1, 2026. Our post on serving a subpoena in California covers witness fees and lead time.
Papers to serve in Rohnert Park?
One ZIP Code, three kinds of places
Rohnert Park uses a single Census ZIP Code area, 94928. That doesn't mean every 94928 address is inside the city. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file splits the area's land like this:
- About 90% is in Rohnert Park city.
- About 5% is in Sonoma State University CDP, the campus. The Census counts it as an unincorporated place, with 2,679 residents in 2020, separate from the city.
- About 4% lies outside any city or Census community.
- A small sliver falls in Cotati.
ZIP Code areas are Census approximations of postal ZIP Codes. For service, the practical point is the campus. A student or employee living in university housing has a Rohnert Park mailing address, but campus housing can have controlled entries. A unit number, a building name, or an off-campus address saves an attempt.
Notes for a Rohnert Park Service Request
Rohnert Park addresses range from apartment complexes to single-family streets and shopping centers. What to put in the Letter of Instruction:
- Apartment details. Complex name, building letter and unit. A leasing office may or may not let a server in, so a gate code helps.
- Hours the person keeps. A shift worker or a student has a different pattern from a commuter. Tell us what you know.
- A description or photo. In shared housing, it helps the server confirm who answers the door.
- A second address. A job in Santa Rosa, Petaluma or on campus gives another window.
- The deadline. Put the hearing date first.
Upload up to 5 PDFs, choose Rush or Standard, and start the Service Request. Questions: 855-582-5776 or Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Restraining orders and tenant answers
The court's Civil Self-Help Center at 3055 Cleveland Avenue helps people without lawyers on two common Rohnert Park problems. On a walk-in basis, Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to noon, it assists with civil harassment and elder abuse restraining orders and with tenant answers in residential evictions. Small claims and other eviction questions are by appointment, through voicemail at 707-521-6534 or selfhelp@sonomacourt.org. Commercial evictions and lawsuits over $12,500 are outside what it handles.
The center prepares information, not service. Once a judge signs a temporary restraining order and sets a hearing, the papers still have to reach the other person before that date. Send us the filed packet with the hearing date, and see who can serve papers in California and the proof of service guide for what comes after.
Serving a Rohnert Park business
At a franchise or chain store, the manager on duty is rarely the person to serve. Look up the company's agent for service of process on the California Secretary of State's bizfile Online, then send us that name and address. A national chain often names a commercial agent such as CSC or CT Corporation. The serving corporations guide explains the rest.
AB 747 changes substituted service and proofs on January 1, 2027. Read the AB 747 guide before planning a 2027 service. We make no guarantees for service.
If the address doesn't pan out
Rental addresses change hands. If attempts show the person has moved, ask about skip tracing, and see finding a defendant in California. For a copy of an existing Sonoma County file, use document retrieval.
Cities around Rohnert Park
Straight-line distances from central Rohnert Park:
- Cotati (1.4 miles) and Penngrove (3.6)
- Santa Rosa (6.8), the county seat and court location
- Sebastopol (7.8) and Petaluma (8.3)
Every Sonoma County city we serve is on the Sonoma County page.