Sacramento County is the one place we serve outside Southern California, and it has been part of our practice for years. The reason it works is simple: California unlawful detainer procedure is set by state law. The forms are the same statewide, the response deadline is the same statewide, and a response prepared correctly is a response prepared correctly whether the courthouse is in Sacramento or San Bernardino.
What is local is the courthouse, the calendar, and any city ordinance that applies to the property. Those we confirm case by case.
The court
Unlawful detainer cases here are filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. Your summons names the courthouse assigned to your case. Confirm it against the document before you file anything.
Cities we serve in Sacramento County
We work throughout the county, including Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Galt, Carmichael, Arden-Arcade, North Highlands, and Fair Oaks, along with the surrounding communities and unincorporated areas.
What we prepare
- Unlawful Detainer Answer, form UD-105. Your formal response to the eviction lawsuit, prepared and filed on time.
- Stay of eviction requests. Emergency requests to postpone a lockout once a sheriff’s notice to vacate is posted.
- Notice response guidance. Review of a 3-day, 30-day, or 60-day notice for defects and what to do next.
- Motions and demurrers. Challenges to a defective notice or complaint.
- Foreclosure evictions. For tenants and former owners after a trustee’s sale.
- Filing and deadline tracking. Every date calendared, with 24/7 online access to your file’s progress.
Your deadline
Served with a summons and complaint? You generally have 5 court days to file a written response. Court days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays, so five court days is usually about a calendar week.
If nothing is on file when that closes, the landlord can request entry of default. A default judgment leads to a writ of possession, and the sheriff then posts a notice to vacate at the property, typically giving about five days before the lockout. There is no additional hearing along the way.
If you are holding a notice from your landlord rather than court papers, no case has been filed. That is the stage where you have the most room, and it is the stage most people spend waiting.
What changes locally, and what does not
What does not change is the framework. The notice requirements, the form numbers, the response deadline, the default judgment procedure, the writ of possession, and the sheriff’s role are all set by state law and are identical in Sacramento County and in Los Angeles County.
What does change is local. Several California cities have their own tenant protection ordinances with their own just cause requirements, their own notice language, and sometimes their own registration or filing obligations for landlords. Whether one applies to you depends on the address of the property. It is one of the first things we check, and it is one of the more common places a landlord’s paperwork comes apart, particularly on a no-fault termination where a required disclosure was never given.
Start here
- What can I do if I’m being evicted? covers every stage and what still works at each.
- How to respond to an unlawful detainer explains the UD-105 answer and the defenses available.
- 30-day and 60-day notices in California covers just cause, no-fault terminations, and relocation assistance.
- Eviction court dates and deadlines shows how to read a summons and count court days.
Call now
Call (951) 702-7771 at any hour. Read us the first page of what you were served and give us the date it arrived. The consultation is free, and you will know your deadline and your options by the end of the call.
Sacramento County questions
Which court handles evictions in Sacramento County?
Unlawful detainer cases are heard in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. Your summons identifies the courthouse handling your case. Check it there rather than assuming, because a response delivered to the wrong location is not a filed response.
You are based in Southern California. Can you still help me?
Yes. Sacramento County is one of the seven counties we serve. California's unlawful detainer rules are set by state law, so the procedure and the deadline are the same there as in the south, and we handle Sacramento cases by phone and by mail.
How long do I have to respond?
Generally 5 court days after service of the summons and complaint, counting only days the court is open. Weekends and court holidays are skipped. It is the shortest and most consequential deadline in the case.
Does the city of Sacramento have its own rules?
Several California cities have their own tenant protection ordinances that apply on top of state law, and which rules govern depends on the address of the property. Tell us the property address when you call and we will sort out what applies to your situation.
This website provides general information about the California eviction process and is not legal advice.