Valpro Attorney Services serves summonses, complaints, subpoenas, small claims, family law and eviction papers on people and businesses in Soledad and the surrounding Salinas Valley. Soledad also holds two state prisons, and papers that involve someone who lives or works inside one follow rules set by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, not by us. This page covers both.
Soledad is about 151 miles from our Sacramento office in a straight line, and every request starts online. You upload the papers, we plan the attempts, and you get the updates by email.
The courts that handle Soledad cases
The Superior Court of California, County of Monterey, starts nearly every non-criminal case in one building on the Peninsula. Monterey Local Rule 2.2 says probate, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, and all civil proceedings, are commenced in the Monterey Division. Its list of civil proceedings includes family law, civil domestic violence, harassment, child support agency cases, paternity, adoption and small claims.
| Soledad matter | Filed at | Heard at |
|---|---|---|
| Civil, any amount | Monterey Courthouse, 1200 Aguajito Rd, or e-filed | Monterey |
| Unlawful detainer | Monterey Courthouse | Monterey |
| Family law and restraining orders | Monterey Courthouse; King City takes filings on its open days | Monterey |
| Probate, guardianship, conservatorship | Monterey Courthouse | Monterey |
| Small claims | Monterey Courthouse; King City takes filings on its open days | Marina Courthouse, Dept. 20 |
| Criminal and juvenile | Salinas Courthouse, 240 Church St | Salinas |
From Monterey Local Rules 2.2 and 19.12, and the court's King City and small claims pages, read October 2026.
Straight-line distances from central Soledad run about 18.9 miles to King City, 25.1 miles to Salinas, 32 miles to Marina and 32.9 miles to Monterey. The courthouse that takes Soledad's civil filings is the farthest of the four.
King City and the "received" stamp
For a Soledad filer without an attorney, the King City Courthouse at 250 Franciscan Way is the nearest door. Its page lists family filings, restraining order filings, small claims filings, traffic matters, child support calendars and self-help services. It isn't open every day. Local Rule 19.12 says King City accepts filings in person on the days it's open to the public.
The same rule explains what happens to papers handed in at a courthouse that doesn't handle that case type. Paper filings may be delivered to the Salinas, Marina or Monterey courthouse, but they're filed only at the location with jurisdiction. Papers delivered elsewhere are date-stamped "received" and moved by court courier, and they're deemed filed at the date and time of that stamp. The rule adds a warning: a new complaint that turns out to be incomplete, or that arrives without the filing fee, is deemed not filed and is returned unprocessed.
Attorneys don't use any of this. Local Rule 1.7 makes e-filing mandatory in all case types except appellate department cases. Self-represented parties may still file on paper. For a filing or records request handled for you, see our Monterey County court filings page.
Salinas Valley State Prison and the Correctional Training Facility
CDCR runs two prisons in Soledad. Both have current facility pages, and neither appears on CDCR's closure and deactivation timeline as of October 2026.
| Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) | Correctional Training Facility (CTF) | |
|---|---|---|
| Physical address | 31625 Highway 101, Soledad | Soledad Prison Road, Soledad |
| Main phone | (831) 678-5500 | (831) 678-3951 |
| Institution or staff mail | P.O. Box 1020, Soledad, CA 93960-1020 | P.O. Box 686, Soledad, CA 93960-0686 |
| Mail for incarcerated people | P.O. Box 1050, Soledad, CA 93960-1050 | Separate boxes for Facilities A and B, C, and D |
| Litigation Coordinator | (831) 678-5573, fax (831) 678-5544 | (831) 678-5826, fax (831) 678-5866 |
From CDCR's facility pages and its Ombudsman's Litigation Coordinator list, read October 2026.
CDCR sets different routes depending on who the papers are for.
A person incarcerated at either prison. CDCR's Ombudsman says all legal matters should go to each institution's Litigation Coordinator, who handles attorney visits and notary services, processes legal documents, serves legal documents and works with outside parties on legal matters. Before you send a Service Request, call the coordinator, write down what they tell you, and put it in your Letter of Instruction. CDCR asks that mail for an incarcerated person carry the person's name, CDCR number and last known housing, and those details belong on the request too. We can't promise access to anyone in custody.
Finding the person first. CDCR's Office of Legal Affairs tells attorneys who need to locate an incarcerated party to a lawsuit to call CDCR's ID Warrants unit at 916-445-6713, with the full name and date of birth if the CDCR number isn't known.
Prison staff, on a work-related matter. The Office of Legal Affairs says to contact the Litigation Coordinator at that facility and be prepared to serve the person on site.
Prison staff, on a personal matter. CDCR doesn't accept service of process for non-work-related matters involving its employees and points people to local law enforcement. A divorce, custody or debt case against someone who works at SVSP or CTF should be planned around a home or other non-work address.
The department itself. The Office of Legal Affairs accepts service only for CDCR and certain executive staff at headquarters, at 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 100, Sacramento, and asks callers to phone (279) 223-2100 for instructions. It doesn't accept service for the Receiver, California Correctional Health Care Services or the Board of Parole Hearings.
Facility pages change. Confirm the coordinator's number on CDCR's site before relying on it.
Papers to serve in Soledad?
Hearing calendars for Soledad family and probate cases
Once a Soledad family or probate case is filed, most hearings happen in Monterey on a fixed weekly pattern. The court's family law and probate pages list:
| Calendar | When and where |
|---|---|
| Family law | Departments 16 and 17, Monterey Courthouse; odd-numbered cases in 16, even-numbered in 17 |
| Domestic violence restraining orders | Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m., Department 16 |
| Civil harassment restraining orders | Tuesdays, 1:30 p.m., Department 16 |
| Child support | Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m., Department 21, Marina Courthouse |
| Guardianships | Wednesdays, 1:30 p.m., Department 13 |
| Probate | Wednesdays in Department 13, third floor, starting with ex partes at 8:30 a.m. |
Probate notes go up about two weeks before a hearing and are updated the Friday and the Tuesday before it. Read them early. If a note flags missing notice or a missing proof of service, send us the papers that still need to go out the same day you see it, with the hearing date.
For older files, the Civil Division's records page says case files can be viewed and copies requested only between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. A name search without a case number costs $15, and a file stored off-site takes 7 to 10 days to retrieve, with a $10 fee for up to three files. Our document retrieval service can handle the request.
A ZIP Code much bigger than the city
The City of Soledad covers only a small piece of its ZIP Code. The Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP Code to place file puts about 2.6% of the 93960 ZIP Code's land inside the city. The other 97.4% lies outside any city or Census-designated place. The ZIP Code area holds roughly 451 square kilometers of land, about 174 square miles, and all of it is in Monterey County.
That size changes how service is planned. A "Soledad, CA 93960" address can be a house in town or a rural parcel many miles out. Remote areas are subject to different timelines under both Rush and Standard requests, and much of 93960 qualifies. To keep attempts productive:
- Send the full address exactly as it appears, with any road or ranch name.
- Describe the approach: a locked gate, a shared farm road, more than one house on the parcel.
- Give a work address and schedule. Shift work can mean early starts or late returns.
- Add a photo or a map pin if the address doesn't match what a map shows.
Small claims for a Soledad dispute
Monterey's small claims page says all small claims documents are filed at the Monterey Courthouse, and all hearings are at the Marina Courthouse. Trials are on Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Department 20, and the person filing can ask for the morning or afternoon calendar. The court asks parties to arrive at least 15 minutes early. It encourages e-filing, and it says an address change should be reported on form MC-040.
The claim limit for an individual is $12,500. The court's free mediation program, run with the Monterey College of Law and the Mandell-Gisnet Center, covers small claims and eviction cases when both sides represent themselves. For an eviction, the court's page says a request before the trial date can go to the ADR Coordinator by fax at 831-582-4095 or by email to courtadr@mandellgisnetcenter.org.
The plaintiff can't serve the claim personally. Our guide to who can serve papers in California covers who can, and the proof of service guide explains the form.
Evictions in Soledad
A Soledad unlawful detainer is filed at the Monterey Courthouse or e-filed. The tenant's answer is due 10 court days after personal service, not counting weekends or court holidays, or 10 calendar days plus 10 court days after substituted service and mailing.
The court's eviction page makes two points about stays of eviction that matter for a filer this far from Monterey. Drop box and mailed filings are being processed the next day, not the same day, and using the drop boxes at Salinas or Marina may add another day. The court asks for at least 48 hours to process a stay request, which should be submitted as soon as possible after the Monterey County Sheriff posts the residence. A stay request can also be made electronically.
Posting an eviction summons needs a court order under Code of Civil Procedure § 415.45. From January 1, 2027, AB 747 sets out how reasonable diligence before substituted service is shown: personal delivery attempted on at least three occasions, on three different days, at three different times. See our AB 747 guide.
Self-help closer to Soledad
The court's Self-Help Center runs a King City office on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., closed from noon to 12:30. The Salinas office is open Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and the main Monterey office is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 1200 Aguajito Road. The center's phone is (831) 647-5800, extension 3005. Staff explain forms and options but don't give legal advice.
Serving a Soledad business
Many employers with Soledad operations are companies whose agent for service of process is elsewhere. Look up the entity on the California Secretary of State's bizfile Online and send us the agent as listed. Our serving corporations page covers each route, with pages for CSC and CT Corporation.
Sending Soledad papers
- Start a Service Request and upload up to 5 PDFs.
- Name each person or company to be served, with every address.
- If anyone is in CDCR custody or works at a prison, say so and include what the Litigation Coordinator told you.
- Pick Rush or Standard, and add a Monterey filing if you need one.
Get status updates by email. Questions go to 855-582-5776 or Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com. We make no guarantees for service. If the person has moved, our skip tracing service can look for a current address.
Near Soledad
Straight-line distances from central Soledad:
- Gonzales, 8.5 miles north
- Greenfield, 8.7 miles south
- King City, 18.3 miles south, with the nearest courthouse
- Salinas, 24.9 miles north
- Hollister, 29.4 miles, in San Benito County
The Monterey County page lists every place we serve in the county.