Ukiah is the county seat of Mendocino County, and the main courthouse of the Mendocino County Superior Court stands on its North State Street. Valpro Attorney Services handles Ukiah process serving and Mendocino County court filings from our office at 1520 W El Camino Ave #125, Sacramento, CA 95833. That covers summonses, subpoenas and every other legal document served on people and businesses, and papers filed with the court.
Upload the documents on a Service Request, or send them to Service@ValproAttorneyServices.com. For a deadline that is already close, phone 855-582-5776 during office hours, Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Two courthouses for one large county
The Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino, has two courthouses: the main one in Ukiah and the Ten Mile Branch on the coast in Fort Bragg. A Ukiah address almost always means the Ukiah courthouse.
| Courthouse | Address | Clerk's public counter |
|---|---|---|
| Mendocino County Courthouse | 100 North State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 (civil and small claims clerk in Room 107) | 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. |
| Ten Mile Branch | 700 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 | 8:30 a.m.–noon and 1:00–3:30 p.m. |
Source: Mendocino County Superior Court location, civil and small claims pages, checked October 2026. Both counters are open Monday through Friday, excluding judicial holidays.
Note the early close. The counter stops at 3:30 p.m., so a same-day paper filing in Ukiah has less afternoon to work with than in many other courts. Send it to us in the morning.
The coastal branch has had staffing questions. After a judge retired on October 31, 2025, the court said in a November 13, 2025 press release that "There is no plan to close the Ten Mile courthouse" while it covers coastal calendars with the remaining judges. Check the court's announcements before you send a hearing-day filing to Fort Bragg.
A new Ukiah courthouse is coming
Construction started on April 30, 2025 on a new courthouse at the corner of Perkins Street and Hospital Drive in Ukiah. The court's May 14, 2026 press release describes a three-story, seven-courtroom, 82,000 square-foot building, with an extension of Hospital Drive to be named Courthouse Boulevard. The release says the project is on track to open in summer 2027.
Until the court publishes a move date, file and serve courthouse papers using 100 North State Street. When the move is announced, we will update this page, and you should update the courthouse address in your notices and cover letters. Source: Mendocino County Superior Court press release, May 14, 2026, checked October 2026.
E-filing is mandatory for most Mendocino County cases
The court's e-filing page is clear: electronic filing is mandatory for most civil, family law, probate and juvenile case types, as well as for most criminal filings. Self-represented litigants don't have to e-file, though the court strongly encourages it. Filers go through an electronic filing service provider.
Some documents can't be e-filed in Mendocino County. The court's list, in summary:
- In all actions: ex parte applications, stipulations and proposed orders, orders after hearing, orders of examination, trial exhibits, requests for judgment, proposed judgments, bonds and undertakings, out-of-state commissions and judgments, and subpoenas for out-of-state actions.
- Judge challenges: motions or declarations to disqualify a judge, and peremptory challenges under CCP § 170.6.
- Probate: original wills and codicils, letters, and certified death certificates, among others.
- Civil: mandatory settlement conference statements.
Proposed orders that are e-filed come back stamped LODGED. If a document is filed within 2 days of a hearing (other than ex parte), the court requires a courtesy copy with proof of electronic submission. Source: mendocino.courts.ca.gov e-filing page, checked October 2026.
The court's list of common rejection reasons is worth reading too: wrong court location, wrong case type, a party name that doesn't match the document, or several documents under one filing code. We handle Mendocino County filings by eFiling where the court requires it and at the counter for the paper-only items. See Mendocino County court filing for more.
Papers to serve in Ukiah?
Inland valley or coast: why the address matters
Mendocino County stretches from the inland valleys around Ukiah to the Pacific coast. Our distances, all straight-line from the Sacramento office:
| Place | Miles from our office |
|---|---|
| Hopland | 90.7 |
| Talmage | 96.6 |
| Ukiah | 99.3 |
| Redwood Valley | 102.3 |
| Willits | 113.6 |
| Covelo | 124.8 |
| Mendocino | 132.5 |
| Fort Bragg | 136.3 |
Every one of them is far enough from Sacramento that our turnaround note applies: remote areas are subject to different timelines. A Ukiah street address near the courthouse and a ranch road outside Covelo are not the same job, even though both are in the same county.
When you send a Mendocino County request, tell us:
- The exact location. Street number, road name, unit, and the community. Rural route descriptions help.
- Access. Gates, codes, long private roads, dogs, a caretaker's name.
- Timing. Hours the person is usually there, and work schedules if you know them.
- Your date. The hearing or last day for service, so we can tell you up front whether it is workable.
For coastal addresses, call 855-582-5776 before choosing Rush. We will tell you what to expect for that location before you commit.
Small claims in Ukiah
The small claims clerk is in Room 107 of the Ukiah courthouse, and the Ten Mile Branch also takes small claims. Per the court's small claims page, the limit is $12,500 (CCP § 116.221), and only two cases above $2,500 may be filed in a year (CCP § 116.231). The filing fee runs $30 for claims up to $1,500, $50 from $1,500.01 to $5,000, and $75 from $5,000.01 to $12,500, and $100 per claim for anyone who has filed more than 12 claims in the past year.
The hearing date is set when the case is filed, and the plaintiff is responsible for serving the defendant with the Plaintiff's Claim and Order to Go to Small Claims Court that shows that date. If service will be tight, a postponement can be requested with forms SC-110 and SC-111 and a $10 fee at least 10 days before the hearing, but only after the defendant has been served. Source: mendocino.courts.ca.gov small claims page, checked October 2026.
Local rule changes proposed for 2027
The court has posted proposed changes to its local rules. If adopted, they take effect January 1, 2027, and comments are due by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16, 2026. If you practice in Mendocino County, read the proposal on the court's site. Statewide service rules also change on January 1, 2027 under AB 747. Our AB 747 guide has the details. This is general information, not legal advice.
Ukiah ZIP Code area and nearby places
The city of Ukiah had 16,607 residents in the 2020 Census, and the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimate is 16,068. One Census ZIP Code area, 95482, overlaps the city, and it also reaches outside the city limits.
Places next to Ukiah we serve: Talmage (2.7 miles from Ukiah), Calpella (6.1), Redwood Valley (8.4), Boonville (12.8) and Potter Valley (13). See every community in Mendocino County, or the neighboring Lake County, Sonoma County and Humboldt County pages.
More we do for Mendocino County cases
- Serving a business: how to reach a company's agent for service of process.
- Skip tracing: finding a current address when the Ukiah one is stale.
- Document retrieval: Mendocino County court records pulled and sent to you.
- E-filing help: what to know before you e-file in a California court.