Valpro Attorney Services serves summonses, complaints, subpoenas, eviction papers, restraining orders, family law papers and small claims in San Martin, in the south end of Santa Clara County. San Martin is unincorporated: the 2020 Census counted 7,008 residents in the San Martin Census-designated place, which lies between Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
San Martin requests are handled from our Sacramento office, about 106 miles north in a straight line. You send the papers online and get status updates by email.
What San Martin is on the map
San Martin has no city government. The County of Santa Clara provides local government there, and the Census Bureau counts it as a Census-designated place covering about 11.6 square miles of land.
The CDP's boundary splits across two ZIP Code areas. According to the Census Bureau's 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file, about 82% of San Martin's land is in 95046 and about 18% is in 95020, the area that carries Gilroy addresses. ZIP Code area 95046, about 18.8 square miles of land, breaks down like this:
| Part of ZIP Code area 95046 | Share of the land |
|---|---|
| San Martin CDP | About 50% |
| Morgan Hill city | About 2% |
| Outside any city or Census-designated place | About 47% |
Both 95046 and 95020 lie entirely within Santa Clara County, according to the Census ZCTA to county file. ZIP Code areas only approximate postal ZIP Codes, but the practical point holds: a San Martin resident may have a "San Martin, CA 95046" address, a "Gilroy, CA 95020" address, or a rural parcel outside the CDP. All of them file in the same San Jose courthouses.
San Jose courthouses for San Martin cases
Santa Clara Superior Court doesn't route San Martin cases to a South County courthouse. For a San Martin case:
| Case type | Courthouse | Straight-line distance from central San Martin |
|---|---|---|
| Civil, unlawful detainer, small claims, probate | Downtown Superior Court, 191 North First Street, San Jose | About 24.1 miles |
| Family law, juvenile dependency | Family Justice Center Courthouse, 201 North First Street, San Jose | About 24 miles |
Both buildings are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Their phone service hours are shorter: 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday. Each has a drop box inside, open during building hours. The South County courthouse at 301 Diana Avenue in Morgan Hill, about 4.1 miles away, hears criminal and traffic matters, not civil or family filings. Being closer doesn't change where a San Martin civil or family case is filed.
Attorneys e-file in civil, family and probate cases, and self-represented parties may file on paper. Our Santa Clara County court filing service handles either route.
The ADR notice that goes with a family law petition
Santa Clara's family rules add one local form to the first service in most family cases. Family Rule 1.G requires a notice regarding Alternative Dispute Resolution Information, local form FM-1021, served with any new:
- Petition for dissolution, legal separation or nullity
- Parentage petition
- Petition for custody and support of minor children
The same notice goes with any post-judgment Request for Order in a case where a judgment has already resolved all matters. For a San Martin respondent, send the summons, the petition, any UCCJEA declaration and the FM-1021 notice in one set.
Family law ex parte notice in Santa Clara
Emergency family law requests have stricter notice rules in Santa Clara than many parties expect. Under Family Rule 5.A(4), notice means serving every self-represented party and every attorney of record with the Declaration in Support of Ex Parte Application for Orders (form FM-1013), the proposed orders and all moving papers before they're submitted to the Court Specialist. Telephone notice alone isn't enough.
The rule allows three methods:
- Personal service, or fax with the recipient's written consent and a printed confirmation or a sender's declaration of receipt.
- Mail, with notice not complete until five calendar days after mailing.
- Next-day carrier, with notice not complete until two calendar days after the carrier receives the papers.
Under Rule 5.A(5), the other side then has 24 hours after submission to serve and file a written response, unless the court asks for one sooner. When time is short, personal delivery is the fastest way to complete notice on a San Martin party. Send the packet with Rush and the planned submission time.
Restraining orders and the firearms form
Domestic violence restraining orders in Santa Clara follow Family Rule 5.B. All restraining order applications and orders after hearing carry the Confidential CLETS Information form. The local form How to Safely Turn in Firearms and Ammunition (FM-1047) must be served with any CLETS temporary restraining order or restraining order after hearing.
A party who wants the sheriff to serve files a Request for Sheriff to Serve and Sheriff's Fee Statement (form FM-1041). Private service is the other route, and either way the protected person doesn't deliver the papers. For civil harassment orders that allow property removal, Civil Rule 20.A(2) lets the court use attachment FM-1102 with the temporary order and the order after hearing; serve it with the rest.
For a San Martin restrained party, send the request, the temporary order, the notice of hearing, FM-1047 and any attachments, plus a photo or description and any safety notes.
Papers to serve in San Martin?
Guardianships and missing relatives
Guardianship notice has its own local rules in Santa Clara. Probate Rule 12.B(2) lists the local addresses for notice under Probate Code sections 1516 and 1542, including the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency at 333 W. Julian Street, San Jose. Relatives entitled to notice still have to receive it, and some of them may live in or around San Martin.
When a relative can't be found, Probate Rule 12.B(4) lets a party ask to dispense with notice using local form PB-4068, following Rules of Court, rule 7.52, which calls for a diligent search. Skip tracing and documented service attempts are the kind of record that supports that request. If the minor's father is alleged to be unknown, Rule 12.B(3) asks for a copy of the birth certificate with the supporting declaration.
Probate ex parte petitions: 24 hours' notice
Estate and trust matters from San Martin go to the Probate Filing Office at the Downtown Superior Court. Santa Clara's Probate Rule 2.B(c) sets the ex parte procedure. The petitioner first considers whether anyone would oppose the request if they knew about it. A notice and a copy of the petition and supporting documents are then served on all parties at least 24 hours before the petition is presented. The filing includes a declaration saying when and to whom notice was given, or why it shouldn't be.
If the matter doesn't need action that same day, the court allows 48 hours, not counting weekends or holidays, for an opposing party to respond. If someone will object and it isn't urgent, the rule says to set a noticed hearing on the regular probate calendar instead. Temporary guardianships and conservatorships follow their own rules.
When a party entitled to that 24-hour notice lives in San Martin, personal delivery gives a clear time of service for the declaration. Tell us the planned presentation time.
Family status conferences and service deadlines
Family cases in Santa Clara get regular review. Under Family Rule 6.A, parties participate in a status review at least every 180 days until the case is resolved, and the clerk schedules an electronic case status review when the petition is filed. At a status conference, Rule 6.B(2) lets the court set time limits for service of process, filing proof of service, entering a default and serving preliminary declarations of disclosure.
So a family case that sits unserved won't stay quiet. If the court has set a service deadline for a San Martin respondent, put that date at the top of the Service Request.
Writ petitions and the County as a party
Because San Martin is unincorporated, disputes over local land use, permits or services usually involve the County of Santa Clara rather than a city. A public entity is served by delivering the summons, or the petition, to its clerk, secretary, president, presiding officer or other head of its governing body, under Code of Civil Procedure section 416.50.
Some of those disputes come as petitions for writ of mandate. Santa Clara Civil Rule 10 assigns non-CEQA writ petitions to a designated mandate judge. The clerk issues a notice of assignment and sets an initial case management conference 60 to 90 days after filing, and the petitioner notifies parties who haven't appeared of its date and time. Send that notice with the petition when it goes out for service.
Evictions and small claims
Evictions. San Martin unlawful detainers are filed at the Downtown Superior Court. After personal service, the tenant has 10 court days to file an Answer, according to the Judicial Council's self-help guide. Send each adult occupant's name and, for a parcel with more than one dwelling, which unit the tenant uses.
Small claims. Small claims are filed and heard downtown too. The limit for an individual plaintiff is $12,500, according to the Judicial Council's eligibility page. Our guides to who can serve papers in California and to the proof of service cover the steps after filing.
Rural parcels around San Martin
With nearly half of the 95046 area outside any city or CDP, many San Martin addresses are rural parcels. On the Service Request, include:
- The road and cross street, and how far in the driveway starts.
- Gate access, a code or a contact.
- Which building, if the parcel has a second dwelling or outbuildings.
- Animals on the property.
- A second address, such as a workplace in Morgan Hill, Gilroy or San Jose.
AB 747 takes effect on January 1, 2027. From then, three good-faith attempts at personal delivery on 3 different days at 3 different times show reasonable diligence for substituted service (CCP § 415.20(b)(2)). Our AB 747 guide explains the rest. A company is usually served through its agent for service of process; see serving corporations.
Sending San Martin papers
- Open a Service Request and upload up to 5 PDFs.
- Include FM-1021 with a family law petition, or FM-1047 with a restraining order.
- Give the hearing date or the ex parte submission time.
- Choose Rush or Standard, and tell us if we're also filing in San Jose.
Call 855-582-5776 or email Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com with questions. We make no guarantees for service.
Near San Martin
Straight-line distances from central San Martin:
- Morgan Hill (4.2 miles) and Gilroy (5.3)
- Coyote (12.2) and New Almaden (13.9)
- Watsonville (14.8), in Santa Cruz County, and San Juan Bautista (16.8), in San Benito County
The rest of the county is on our Santa Clara County page.