Simi Valley sits at the far east end of Ventura County, and that location drives most of the questions we get about it. The county seat and its main courthouse are a 26-mile drive west. The Los Angeles County line runs along the hills to the east and south, so some of the closest neighbors answer to a different court system entirely.
We serve summonses, small claims, subpoenas, family law papers and eviction notices at Simi Valley homes and workplaces. The work is managed from our Sacramento office. Send a Service Request with up to 5 PDFs, or email the papers to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com.
A courthouse in town that doesn't take filings
The East County Courthouse is at 3855-F Alamo Street, Simi Valley 93063, about 1.9 miles from the city's Census center point. Its page lists three case types: criminal, small claims and traffic. The building is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Two limits catch people off guard:
- No small claims filings. Small claims hearings for the east end of the county take place here, yet the court states that this building doesn't accept small claims paperwork. Claims go in at the Hall of Justice in Ventura.
- A two-day traffic window. The Traffic Division is open Monday and Tuesday only, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephone hours cover Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
So a trip to Alamo Street is for a hearing, not for a filing. If your Service Request includes a filing step, plan on the Hall of Justice or eFiling instead.
Where Simi Valley cases are filed and heard
Ventura Superior Court splits its work among three buildings. Here is where each type of Simi Valley case lands, based on the court's division and building pages, checked October 2026. Distances are straight-line miles from Simi Valley's Census center point.
| Case type | Filed at | Heard at | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited and unlimited civil | Hall of Justice, Ventura | Hall of Justice | 26.4 |
| Unlawful detainer (eviction) | Hall of Justice, Ventura | Hall of Justice | 26.4 |
| Family law and domestic violence | Hall of Justice, Room 210 | Hall of Justice | 26.4 |
| Small claims | Hall of Justice, Ventura | East County Courthouse, Simi Valley | 1.9 |
| Civil harassment restraining orders | Juvenile Justice Center, Oxnard, or eFiling | Juvenile Justice Center | 25.2 |
| Probate, guardianship, conservatorship | Juvenile Justice Center, Oxnard | Juvenile Justice Center | 25.2 |
The Hall of Justice is at 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura 93009. The Juvenile Justice Center is at 4353 E. Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard 93036. Both list weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The civil division page says every civil matter in the county is filed in that division, and evictions are civil cases. The family law page sends civil harassment petitions to Oxnard, while domestic violence and elder abuse requests stay with family law in Ventura. That split matters for a dispute between Simi Valley neighbors who aren't related or dating.
Small claims hearings follow where the claim arose
The court assigns small claims hearings by ZIP Code. Its page says that if the claim occurred in the east end of the county, the case is set for hearing at the East County Division in Simi Valley. The list has 15 ZIP Codes: 91301, 91302, 91304, 91307, 91360, 91361, 91362, 91377, 93020, 93021, 93062, 93063, 93064, 93065 and 93093. Any other ZIP in the county gets a hearing in Oxnard.
Both of Simi Valley's Census ZIP areas, 93063 and 93065, are on that list. A dispute that arose at a Simi Valley address is heard on Alamo Street. Note the wording: the test is where the claim occurred, so check the facts before you assume a hearing location.
The court names two ways to serve a small claims defendant:
- Certified mail from the clerk, at $15 per defendant. The court calls it the least effective method. The green return receipt has to be signed by the defendant personally, or the claim must be served again.
- Personal service by someone 18 or older who isn't a party. The plaintiff can't do it. The server signs a proof of service, which is then filed with the court.
For a defendant who might not sign for mail, personal service removes the guesswork. Give us the hearing date with the request so the timing fits.
Papers to serve in Simi Valley?
The county line just east of town
Three of Simi Valley's neighbors are Los Angeles County cities: Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills and Calabasas. Cases there belong to the Los Angeles Superior Court, which has its own filing rules and buildings.
We ran the Los Angeles court's filing court locator for those cities on October 28, 2026. For Agoura Hills (91301) and Hidden Hills (91302), it returned:
- Unlimited civil and small claims: Van Nuys Courthouse East, 6230 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys 91401.
- Family law, restraining orders and limited evictions: Chatsworth Courthouse, 9425 Penfield Ave., Chatsworth 91311.
- Probate and non-collection limited civil: Stanley Mosk Courthouse, downtown Los Angeles.
Calabasas splits at Mulholland Highway. North of it, the results match Agoura Hills. South of it, unlimited civil goes to the Beverly Hills or Santa Monica courthouse.
Here is the trap. Ventura's east-county small claims list includes 91301 and 91302, and Census data ties both of those ZIP areas to Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Hidden Hills. A ZIP Code alone doesn't tell you the county. The Ventura small claims page warns that a claim filed in the wrong county will be dismissed, so confirm which side of the line the address or the events fall on.
For most civil cases, CCP § 395(a) makes the county where a defendant lives when the case starts a proper court. Injury cases add the county where the injury happened. We serve papers on either side of the line under the same request, whichever court issued them.
Simi Valley addresses: details that save a trip
Most Simi Valley addresses are ordinary city streets, and a good street address with a unit number goes a long way. Some homes sit on hillside lots, private roads or ranch parcels at the edges of the valley. For those, Henry's turnaround note applies: remote areas are subject to different timelines.
Things worth adding to the Letter of Instruction:
- Gate or access details. An HOA gate code, a call box name, or the management office that can buzz a visitor in.
- A time window. The hours the person is usually home, or a shift schedule if they work nights.
- A workplace, even in another county. If the person works in the San Fernando Valley or the Conejo Valley, a work address gives the next attempt somewhere to go.
- Who else lives there. A roommate or family member may answer the door, which affects how a substituted service attempt is handled.
- A vehicle. Make, color and plate help the server confirm the person is home.
When a Simi Valley address has gone stale, skip tracing searches for a current one before the papers go back out. Our post on finding a defendant in California covers what to try yourself first.
Businesses with a Simi Valley location
A store or office in Simi Valley is often not where a company accepts legal papers. Corporations and LLCs name an agent for service of process with the Secretary of State, and the agent's address is listed on bizfile Online. That address may be in Simi Valley, in another city, or at a commercial agent.
When bizfile names a commercial agent, the papers go to that agent's California address, not the company's local site. See how we serve CSC Lawyers Incorporating Service and CT Corporation. The broader rules, including officers who can accept for a corporation, are in our guide to serving corporations.
One request for the filing and the service
Because Simi Valley civil cases start 26 miles away in Ventura, many requests begin with a filing. Attorneys in Ventura civil cases must e-file, and self-represented parties may still use the counter, the drop box or the mail. Our Ventura County court filing page explains how we handle each route.
Put both steps in one Service Request: file the complaint, then serve it once the summons issues. Every update comes by email. The completed proof comes back to you to file. Our guide to proof of service in California covers which form fits which document.
California's service rules change on January 1, 2027. Our AB 747 guide lists what changes for proofs and service, and who can serve papers in California covers who may serve a summons today.
Cities around Simi Valley
Moorpark is the closest Ventura County neighbor, about 7.5 miles away, and its 93021 ZIP is also on the east-county small claims list. Thousand Oaks is about 8.8 miles southwest. Across the Los Angeles County line, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills and Calabasas are each 8 to 11 miles away. Every other city in the county is listed on our Ventura County process server page.