San Bernardino County reaches from the Los Angeles County line to the Colorado River. The 2020 Census counted 2,181,654 residents, and its largest cities are in the valley between Chino Hills and Yucaipa. The rest are spread across the mountain resort towns, the Victor Valley, the Morongo Basin and the Colorado River towns along the Arizona line.
We serve papers in all of those places, coordinated from our Sacramento office. Send the documents on a Service Request, or email PDFs to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
Where San Bernardino County cases are filed
San Bernardino Superior Court doesn't send every case type to the same building. It splits the county into districts, and the split changes with the matter. A Victorville eviction, a Victorville divorce and a Victorville civil suit can land in three different places. The court's own advice is to look up the city on its Where Can I File? page before filing.
Here is how the main civil-side work divides as of October 29, 2026:
- General civil, limited and unlimited. The Civil Division at the San Bernardino Justice Center, 247 West Third Street, lists nearly every community in the county. Smaller civil divisions sit at 8303 Haven Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga (Alta Loma, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Mt. Baldy, Upland and parts of Pomona) and at 14455 Civic Drive in Victorville (Apple Valley, Barstow, Victorville and a few desert communities).
- Unlimited landlord-tenant. The Justice Center Civil Division.
- Small claims and limited landlord-tenant. The Fontana District at 17780 Arrow Boulevard for the valley and mountain areas, the Barstow District for the High Desert, the Joshua Tree District for the Morongo Basin, and the Needles District for the river communities.
- Family law. The Historic Courthouse at 351 North Arrowhead Avenue for the valley and mountains, Barstow for the High Desert, and Joshua Tree and Needles for their own areas.
- Probate, guardianship and conservatorship. Fontana for the valley, mountains and Morongo Basin, and Victorville for the High Desert. Needles accepts a short list of probate petitions.
One detail trips people up. Ontario and Fontana are not on the Rancho Cucamonga civil list, so their general civil cases go downtown to the Justice Center, even though Haven Avenue is closer. Appeals for the whole county are filed at 8303 Haven Avenue and can't be e-filed.
E-filing by case type
Attorneys must e-file in general civil cases. The court adopted mandatory e-filing and e-service for limited, unlimited and complex civil, plus civil harassment, workplace violence and name change petitions, effective September 2, 2025, under Local Rule 1810.B. Probate has been mandatory for attorneys since June 16, 2025.
The rest is still optional. Landlord-tenant e-filing has been voluntary since October 2, 2023, small claims since May 8, 2023, and family law since February 26, 2024. The court hasn't set a mandatory date for any of them. Self-represented parties are exempt from the civil rule but may e-file through an approved provider.
Our Court Filings service handles both routes in this county. For paper filings, the clerk's offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. See Court Filings for what to send with the documents. This is general information, not legal advice.
Papers to serve in San Bernardino County?
Valley, mountains and desert
The valley cities are dense and close together. San Bernardino (222,101 residents), Fontana (208,393), Ontario (175,265) and Rancho Cucamonga (174,453) sit along the I-10 and I-210 corridors with Rialto, Upland, Chino and Redlands between them. A weekday attempt at a large workplace often needs a suite or building number and a shift time.
The mountain communities are a different job. Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and Running Springs are reached by winding state highways.
Up the Cajon Pass, Victorville (134,810), Hesperia and Apple Valley form the High Desert's population center. Past them, the court's area lists name places like Baker, Ludlow, Trona, Kelso and Fort Irwin, which is an Army installation with controlled access. To the east, the Morongo Basin runs from Yucca Valley to Twentynine Palms, and Needles sits on the Colorado River about 462 miles straight-line from our Sacramento office. Remote areas are subject to different timelines.
What helps on a San Bernardino County job
A complete Letter of Instruction saves trips in a county this size. Include:
- the unit, suite or building number, and a gate code if you have one
- for desert or mountain property, a cross street or the nearest highway mile marker
- the person's employer and shift
- whether a mountain address is a primary home or a weekend cabin
- every other address you have, in the county or elsewhere
If the only address is old, skip tracing can look for a current one before the first attempt. Our post on how to find a defendant in California covers what to gather first.
Companies, proofs and the 2027 change
A corporation or LLC is usually served through the agent for service of process listed with the California Secretary of State. Our serving corporations page shows how to look the agent up.
After service, you get a proof that fits the method used. Our guide to proof of service in California explains the forms, and the who can serve papers guide covers the rules for servers. From January 1, 2027, AB 747 changes how service attempts are documented on proofs. The AB 747 guide has the details. This is general information, not legal advice.
Starting a request and getting updates
Start a Service Request, upload up to 5 PDFs, list each person and address, and choose Rush or Standard. Get every update by email. Phone hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 855-582-5776.
Working a case that crosses county lines? See our hubs for Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Kern County and Inyo County.