court_form | California

APP-109-INFO - What Is Proof of Service?

UIDca_court_forms:app-109-info
CitationAPP-109-INFO
Court / bodyJudicial Branch of California
Decision dateN/A
CollectionCA_COURT_FORMS
SourceOriginal

Summary

What Is Proof of Service?

Text

Form ID: APP-109-INFO
Title: What Is Proof of Service?
Effective Date: 2021-01-01
Mandatory Form: no
Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/APP-109-INFO
Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/app109info.pdf
Form Detail Page:
What Is Proof of Service?
(APP-109-INFO)
Explains the different ways that legal papers in a case in the Superior Court Appellate Division can be delivered to (served on) another party and who can serve them in these ways. Also explains how to complete Proof Service (form APP-109) or Proof of Electronic Service (form APP-109E).
Get form APP-109-INFO
Effective: January 1, 2021
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PDF Text:
Judicial Council of California, www.courts.ca.gov
Rev. January 1, 2021, Optional Form What is Proof of Service?
APP-109-INFO What is Proof of Service?
GENERAL INFORMATION
What does this information sheet cover?
This information sheet tells you how to fill out Proof of
Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109) or Proof of
Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E).
This information sheet is not part of the proof of service
and does not need to be copied, served, or filed.
1 What is "serving" a document?
“Serving” a document on a person means having the
document delivered to that person. The general
requirements for serving documents are set out in
California Code of Civil Procedure sections 1010.6 -1013a
(you can get a copy of these laws at any county law library
or online at www.leginfo.ca.gov.calaw.html). There are
three main ways to serve documents: (1) by mail, (2) by
personal delivery, or (3) by electronic service.
When a document is served by mail, it must be put in a
sealed envelope or package that is addressed to the person
who is being served and that has the postage fully prepaid.
The envelope then has to be deposited with the U.S. Postal
Service by leaving it at a U.S. Postal Service office or mail
drop or at an office or business mail drop where the person
serving the document knows the mail is picked up every
day and deposited with the U.S. Postal Service.
When a document is personally delivered to a party who is
represented by an attorney, the document must either be
given directly to the attorney representing that party or the
document can be placed in an envelope or package
addressed to the attorney and left with the receptionist at
the attorney’s office or with a person who is in charge of
the attorney’s office. When a document is personally
served on a party who is not represented by an attorney, the
document must either be given directly to the party or the
document can be given to someone who is at least 18 years
old at the party’s residence between the hours of eight in
the morning and six in the evening.
You may be able to serve a document electronically if the
person being served has agreed to accept electronic service
or if the court has ordered the person to accept electronic
service. The requirements for electronic service are set out
in California Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6.
When a document is electronically served, it must be
served either by electronic transmission or by electronic
notification. “Electronic transmission” means sending the
document to the person's electronic service address, an
email address the person has given the court and the other
parties to the case for this purpose. “Electronic
notification” means sending a notice to the person with the
exact name of the document and a hyperlink—a link to a
web address—at which the document may be viewed and
downloaded.
2 What documents have to be served?
Rule 8.817 of the California Rules of Court requires that
before you file any document with the court in a case in the
appellate division of the superior court, you must serve one
copy of the document on each of the other parties in the
case and on anyone else when required by law (statute or
rule of court). Other rules require that certain documents in
cases in the appellate division be served, including the
notice of appeal and the notice designating the record on
appeal in appeals in limited civil cases and briefs in all
appeals. (For more information about appeals in general
and about these documents, read Information on Appeal
Procedures for Limited Civil Cases (form APP-101-INFO),
Information on Appeal Procedures for Misdemeanors
(form CR-131-INFO), and Information on Appeal
Procedures for Infractions (form CR-141-INFO).)
3 Who can serve a document?
State law (the Code of Civil Procedure) says that a
document in a court case can only be served by a person
who is over 18 years old. Service by mail or by personal
delivery must be by someone who is not a party in the case;
electronic service may be performed directly by a party.
If you are a party in a case and wish to serve documents by
mail or by personal delivery, you must have someone else
who is over 18 and who is not a party in your case serve
any documents in your case for you. You will need to
give the person who is serving the document for you (the
server) the names and addresses of all the people who need
to be served with that document. You will also need to give
the server one copy of each document that needs to be
served for each person who is being served.
APP-109-INFO, Page 1 of 5

Rev. January 1, 2021 What is Proof of Service?
APP-109-INFO What is Proof of Service?
If you are serving documents electronically, you can do so
yourself or have another person over 18 do it for you. The
person doing the serving (the server) will need the names
and electronic service addresses of everyone who must be
served, as well as the document to be served in a form that
allows it to be electronically transmitted or made available
by hyperlink.
4 What is proof of service?
A “proof of service” shows the court that a document was
served as required by the law. Rule 8.817 also requires a
party who is filing a document with the court in a case in
the appellate division to attach a proof of service to the
document the party wants to file. You can use Proof of
Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109) or Proof of
Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E)
to give the court this proof of service in any case in the
appellate division of the superior court. The server should
follow the instructions below for completing the Proof of
Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109) or Proof of
Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E).
If another person is serving the documents for you—as is
required if the document will be served by mail or personal
delivery—tell the server to give you the original form
when it is filled out and signed. You will need to attach the
original proof of service to the document you want to file.
If you are electronically filing the document, the proof of
service may also be filed electronically. However, the
original signed proof of service must be kept by the party
filing the document and produced upon request.
INFORMATION FOR THE SERVER
5 Who fills out the Proof of Service or
Proof of Electronic Service?
If you are the server (the person who serves a document for
a party in a court case), you must prepare and sign the
proof of service. If you served the document by mail or
personal delivery, you can use Proof of Service (Appellate
Division) (form APP-109) to prepare this proof of service
in any case in the appellate division. If you served the
document electronically, you can use Proof of Electronic
Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E) to prepare
the proof of service.
6 How do I fill out the Proof of Service?
These instructions are for Proof of Service (Appellate
Division) (form APP-109), if you are serving the document
by mail or personal delivery. If you are serving the
document electronically, please see 7 , below, for
instructions on how to fill out Proof of Electronic Service
(Appellate Division) (form APP-109E).
You can fill out most of the information on Proof of
Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109) by copying
the information from the document you are serving before
you serve that document. However, you should not sign
and date the form until after you have finished serving the
document. By signing form APP-109, you are swearing,
under penalty of perjury, that the information that you
put in the form is true and correct.
When you fill out the Proof of Service (Appellate Division)
(form APP-109), you should print neatly or use a
typewriter. If you have Internet access, you can fill out the
form online at www.courts.ca.gov/forms (use the “fillable”
version of the form).
Filling in the top section of form APP-109:
First box, right side of form: Leave this box blank for the
court’s use.
Second box, right side of form: Fill in the name of the
county in which the case is filed and the street address of
the court. You can copy this information from the first
page of the document that you are serving. If the document
you are serving is another Judicial Council form, this
information will be in the second box on the right-hand
side of the form.
Third box, right side of form: Fill in the trial court case
name and number. You can copy this information from the
first page of the document that you are serving. If the
document you are serving is another Judicial Council form,
this information will be in the third box on the right-hand
side of the form.
Fourth box, right side of form: Fill in the appellate division
case number, if you know it. If this number is available, it
will be on the first page of the document that you are
serving. If the document you are serving is another Judicial
Council form, this number will be in the fourth box on the
right-hand side of the form.
APP-109-INFO, Page 2 of 5

Rev. January 1, 2021 What is Proof of Service?
APP-109-INFO What is Proof of Service?
Filling in items 1–5:
Items 1 and 2 : You are stating, under penalty of
perjury, that you are over the age of 18 and that you are not
a party in this court case.
Item 3 : Check one of the boxes and provide your home or
business address. This information is important because, if
you serve the document by mail, you must live or work in
the county from which the document was mailed.
Item 4 : Check or fill in the name of the document that
you are serving. If the document you are serving is another
Judicial Council form, the name of the document is located
on both the top and the bottom of the first page of the form.
If the document you are serving is not a Judicial Council
form, the name of the document should be on the top of the
first page of the document.
a. Check box 4a if you are serving the document by
mail. BEFORE YOU SEAL AND MAIL THE
ENVELOPE WITH THE DOCUMENT YOU ARE
SERVING, fill in the following parts of the form.
(1) You are stating, under penalty of perjury, that
you are putting one copy of the document you
identified in item 4 in an envelope addressed to
each person listed in 4a(2), sealing the envelope,
and putting first-class postage on the envelope.
(2) Fill in the name and address of each person to
whom you are mailing the document. You can
copy this information from the list of people to
be served or the envelopes provided by the party
for whom you are serving the document. If you
need more space to list names and addresses,
check the box under item 4a(2) and attach a page
listing them. At the top of the page, write
“APP-109, Item 4a.”
(3) Fill in the date you are mailing the document and
the city and state from which you are mailing it.
REMEMBER: You must live or work in the
county from which the document is mailed.
(a) Check box 4a(3)(a) if you are personally
depositing the document with the U.S. Postal
Service, such as at a U.S. Post Office or U.S.
Postal Service mailbox.
(b) Check box 4a(3)(b) if you are putting the
document in the mail at your place of
business.
Once you have finished filling out these parts of the
form, make one copy of Proof of Service (Appellate
Division) (form APP-109) with this information
filled in for each person you are serving by mail. Put
this copy of Proof of Service (Appellate Division)
(form APP-109) in the envelope with the document
you are serving. Seal the envelope and mail it as you
have indicated on the Proof of Service.
b. Check box 4b if you personally delivered the
documents. Remember, when a document is
personally delivered to a party who is represented by
an attorney, the document must either be given
directly to the party’s attorney or the document can
be placed in an envelope or package addressed to the
attorney and left with the receptionist at the
attorney's office or with a person who is in charge of
the attorney’s office. When a document is personally
served on a party who is not represented by an
attorney, the document must either be given directly
to the party or the document can be given to someone
who is at least 18 years old at the party’s residence
between the hours of eight in the morning and six in
the evening.
For each person to whom you personally delivered
the document, fill in:
(1) (a) The person’s name.
(b) The address at which you delivered the
document to this person.
(c) The date on which you delivered the
document to this person.
(d) The time at which you delivered the
document.
If you need space to list more names, addresses, and
delivery dates and times, check the box under 4b. and
attach a page listing this information. At the top of
the page, write “APP-109, Item 4b.”
APP-109-INFO, Page 3 of 5

Rev. January 1, 2021 What is Proof of Service?
APP-109-INFO What is Proof of Service?
Item 5 : At the bottom of the form, type or print your
name, sign the form, and fill in the date that you signed the
form. By signing this form, you are stating under
penalty of perjury that all the information you filled in
on Proof of Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109)
is true and correct.
After you have finished serving the document and filled in,
signed, and dated Proof of Service (Appellate Division)
(form APP-109), give the original completed form to the
party for whom you served the document.
7 How do I fill out the Proof of Electronic
Service?
You can fill out most of the information on Proof of
Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E)
by copying the information from the document you are
serving before you serve that document. However, you
should not sign and date the form until after you have
finished serving the document. By signing form
APP-109E you are swearing under penalty of perjury
that the information you have put in the form is true
and correct.
You can fill out the Proof of Electronic Service (Appellate
Division) (form APP-109E) online at www.courts.ca.gov/
forms (use the “fillable” version of the form), or you can
print it out and fill it in, printing neatly or using a
typewriter.
Filling in the top section of form APP-109E:
First box, right side of form: Leave this box blank for the
court’s use.
Second box, right side of form: Fill in the name of the
county in which the case is filed and the street address of
the court. You can copy this information from the first
page of the document that you are serving. If the document
you are serving is another Judicial Council form, this
information will be in the second box on the right-hand
side of that form.
Third box, right side of form: Fill in the trial court case
number and name. You can copy this information from the
first page of the document that you are serving. If the
document you are serving is another Judicial Council form,
this information will be in the third box on the right-hand
side of that form.
Fourth box, right side of form: Fill in the appellate division
case number, if you know it. If this number is available, it
will be on the first page of the document that you are
serving. If the document you are serving is another Judicial
Council form, this information will be in the fourth box on
the right-hand side of that form.
Item 1 : You are stating, under penalty of perjury, that you
are over the age of 18.
Item 2 :
a. Check one of the boxes and provide your home or
business address.
b. Fill in your electronic service address. This is the
address at which you have agreed to accept electronic
service, usually an email address.
Item 3 : Check or fill in the name of the document that
you are serving. If the document you are serving is another
Judicial Council form, the name of the document is located
on both the top and the bottom of the first page of the form.
If the document you are serving is not a Judicial Council
form, the name of the document should be on the top of the
first page of the document.
Item 4 : Fill in the name of each person served, and the
name or names of the parties represented, if the person
served is an attorney. For each person served, fill in that
person’s electronic service address and the date you served
the person. If you need more space to list additional
persons served, check the box under item 4 b. and attach a
page listing them, with their electronic service addresses
and the date each person was served. At the top of the
page, write “APP-109E, Item 4.”
When you have filled in the information in items 1–4,
create an electronic copy of the Proof of Electronic Service
(Appellate Division) (form APP-109E) with this
information filled in. Transmit the filled-in form with the
document you are serving to each person served.
Filling in items 1–5:
APP-109-INFO, Page 4 of 5

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Form ID: APP-109-INFO Title: What Is Proof of Service? Effective Date: 2021-01-01 Mandatory Form: no Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/APP-109-INFO Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/app109info.pdf Form Detail Page: What Is Proof of Service? (APP-109-INFO) Explains the …
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the attorney’s office or with a person who is in charge of the attorney’s office. When a document is personally served on a party who is not represented by an attorney, the document must either be given directly to the party or the document can be given to someone who is at least 18 years old at the party’s resid…
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mail or by personal delivery, you must have someone else who is over 18 and who is not a party in your case serve any documents in your case for you. You will need to give the person who is serving the document for you (the server) the names and addresses of all the people who need to be served with that document…
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personal delivery, you can use Proof of Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109) to prepare this proof of service in any case in the appellate division. If you served the document electronically, you can use Proof of Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E) to prepare the proof of service. 6 Ho…
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right-hand side of the form. APP-109-INFO, Page 2 of 5 Rev. January 1, 2021 What is Proof of Service? APP-109-INFO What is Proof of Service? Filling in items 1–5: Items 1 and 2 : You are stating, under penalty of perjury, that you are over the age of 18 and that you are not a party in this court case. Ite…
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(form APP-109) in the envelope with the document you are serving. Seal the envelope and mail it as you have indicated on the Proof of Service. b. Check box 4b if you personally delivered the documents. Remember, when a document is personally delivered to a party who is represented by an attorney, the document mu…
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and correct. You can fill out the Proof of Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E) online at www.courts.ca.gov/ forms (use the “fillable” version of the form), or you can print it out and fill it in, printing neatly or using a typewriter. Filling in the top section of form APP-109E: First box, r…
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page listing them, with their electronic service addresses and the date each person was served. At the top of the page, write “APP-109E, Item 4.” When you have filled in the information in items 1–4, create an electronic copy of the Proof of Electronic Service (Appellate Division) (form APP-109E) with this infor…

APP-109-INFO - What Is Proof of Service?

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