Your deadline
Once a UD-150 is filed the court sets the trial fast, typically within about 20 days. If you want a jury, want to object to the estimated length, or want to correct anything on the landlord's request, a counter-request should be filed promptly after you are served with it. Discovery, witnesses, and evidence all have to be ready on that timeline.
- Form
- UD-150
- Official name
- Request / Counter-Request to Set Case for Trial, Unlawful Detainer
- Who gives it to you
- Usually filed by the landlord after your answer; you can file a counter-request
- The clock it starts
- Trial is normally set within about 20 days of the request being filed
- Version shown here
- New January 1, 2005, mandatory form
What to do if you are served a UD-150
- Read the landlord's estimate and choices. The form states the estimated length of trial and whether the landlord is asking for a jury. Both affect how you prepare.
- Decide whether you want a jury. A tenant has the right to a jury trial in an unlawful detainer. Requesting one on a counter-request and posting jury fees, or a fee waiver, changes how the case is heard.
- File a counter-request if anything needs correcting. Use the same form, check the counter-request box, and state your own estimate, jury demand, and any dates you are unavailable.
- Prepare for trial immediately. Gather the lease, the notice, receipts, photos, repair requests, and witnesses. With trial weeks away there is no time to wait for the notice of trial date to arrive.
The UD-150 is the form that puts an eviction case on the trial calendar. Once a tenant files a UD-105 answer, the case cannot be decided by default, so the landlord’s next move is to ask the court for a trial date. That request, and the tenant’s response to it, are both made on the UD-150.
What the form contains
The request is one page. It gives the case information, states whether the party filing it is the plaintiff or the defendant, estimates how long the trial will take, and says whether a jury is demanded. It also lists dates the party is not available. The court uses it to set the trial and mails both sides a notice of the date.
The second use of the same form is the counter-request. If you disagree with anything on the landlord’s request, want a jury when the landlord did not ask for one, or have dates you cannot appear, you file the UD-150 with the counter-request box checked.
How fast the trial comes
California’s unlawful detainer statute requires the court to set the trial quickly after a request is filed, normally within about 20 days. That is the single biggest difference between an eviction case and any other civil lawsuit, and it is why an eviction case that started with a summons can be at trial about six weeks later. Everything you need for trial, the lease, the notice, receipts, photos, repair requests, text messages, and witnesses, has to be gathered on that timeline.
Jury or judge
Either side can demand a jury. A jury trial takes longer to schedule and to try, requires jury fees to be posted unless a fee waiver has been granted, and changes how the case is presented. Whether it helps depends on the defenses in the case. It is a decision worth making deliberately rather than by default, and it has to be made when the trial request is filed.
What to do when you receive one
Read the landlord’s estimate and jury choice, decide whether a counter-request is needed, and start preparing immediately. If you have not spoken to us yet, this is a good time: with an answer on file and a trial date coming, there is often room to negotiate additional time or a move-out agreement, and the leverage to do it comes from being ready for trial.
Frequently asked questions
What is a UD-150 form?
The UD-150 is the Request or Counter-Request to Set Case for Trial in a California unlawful detainer case. After the tenant files an answer, either side files it to ask the court to schedule the trial. It also states the estimated length of trial and whether a jury is requested.
How soon is an eviction trial set after a UD-150?
California law requires unlawful detainer trials to be set quickly, normally within about 20 days of the request. That is why an eviction case can go from service of the summons to trial in roughly six weeks.
Should I file a counter-request?
File one if you want a jury, if you disagree with the landlord's estimate of trial length, or if you need the court to know dates you cannot appear. It is the same form with a different box checked, and it should be filed promptly after you are served with the landlord's request.
Can I get a jury trial in an eviction case?
Yes. Either party can demand a jury in an unlawful detainer. The demand is usually made on the UD-150, and jury fees have to be posted unless you have a fee waiver. Jury trials take longer to schedule and to try, which is sometimes a consideration on its own.
What if I never filed an answer and received a UD-150 anyway?
That would be unusual, because a trial request normally follows an answer. If you received one and have not responded to the complaint, call immediately; the landlord may be moving for default at the same time and the window to act is short.
This website provides general information about the California eviction process and is not legal advice. Court forms are reproduced from the Judicial Council of California; confirm you are using the current revision before filing.