The Fresno County Sheriff’s Civil Unit is a full-service county. Our office serves civil process in the manner prescribed by law, covering 6,000 square miles daily. Our office is a neutral third party; therefore, we remain impartial between each party requesting and receiving service.

The Civil Unit is not connected to any department of the court. We do not handle civil disputes, civil crimes, or give any legal advice. All civil disputes or civil crimes should be directed to the local jurisdictional agency the address is assigned to—NOT THE CIVIL UNIT. For assistance with a lawsuit, an eviction, a restraining order, or any legal advice, please contact the California Superior Court or an attorney.

Civil Unit Contact Information

Please have your court case number and Sheriff file number when corresponding with the Civil Unit.

• Civil Unit Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Civil Unit Phone: 559-600-8230 (MWF 9:00am to 3:00pm)

The Civil Unit does not guarantee service of your request. By law, we are required to perform due diligence attempts to accomplish a successful service. For timely service, please submit your requests early.

Any request, order, or submission received after hours will fall to the next business day.

Please follow the steps below:

1. Step One: Instructions
   Complete the SER-001 form for each person and/or entity to be served. The SER-001 form must be completed and signed by the plaintiff/petitioner, or by their retained attorney. It is very important that the type of document to be served is listed on the instruction form. Any document title listed on the instruction form will be reflected on the proof of service. The more information you provide to us on the SER-001 form, the better we can serve you.

   *** Any minor 12 and older requesting a service must sign the SER ***

2. Service Address Limit
   We must have an address in Fresno County to serve. We will attempt two addresses (i.e., home address and work address). Additional addresses will require an additional fee. See the Fees & Service Type page for the fee schedule.
3. Step Two: Document Packets
   Provide copies of your documents for each party to be served. We must have physical copies of your documents for service. For more information, see Fees & Service Type and Services (Non-Enforcement) for the specific criteria.
4. Step Three: Processing Fees
   Include the appropriate fee for service. The completed SER-001 form, documents for service, and fee(s) can be brought to our public window during regular hours or can be mailed to our post office box address. When mailing a request for service, DO NOT MAIL CASH. See Fees & Service Type for acceptable payment structures.

Any service request submitted to our office that has a time restraint and does not allow our office the time to make due diligence attempts in a timely manner, may be ineffective with the court.

You must follow California Civil Procedure Code 262—see the “Civil Process” panel above for more information.

Unless you provide specific information in writing regarding how service is to be executed, our office will follow default California rules of court.

Any mail sent to an address other than the civil unit post office box address is subject to delays if received at all.

Once our office has received and reviewed your request, a receipt will be mailed to the address provided on the instruction form for all paid requests.

Most services will take up to two weeks for due diligence attempts. Once the service is complete, a proof of service or a proof of due diligence will be mailed to the address that was provided on the instruction form. We will not email a proof of service. The proof of service will reflect the titles of the documents exactly as you have listed them on your instruction form.

A proof of service will be sent directly to the court if there is a court hearing acknowledged on the instruction form. (*** California courts only ***)

You may contact our office by phone or email to check the status of your service. Status requests are monitored and answered in the order they are received. Please allow 72 hours for a response.

Civil Unit Contact Details:

• Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Phone: 559-600-8230 (MWF 9:00am to 3:00pm)

Cancelling any service must be done in writing. You may mail, email, or bring in a written document signed by the person who requested the service. If the request to cancel is submitted by email, the request must originate from the individual who requested the service. Attorneys utilizing professional staff must be CC’d in the email. Requests to cancel must contain the following:

• Case name
• Case number
• Levy number (if available)
• Reason for cancellation
• Requestor name and signature
• Mailing Address
• Contact Phone Number

The Civil Unit will serve an inmate located in the local county jail. However, we will not attempt to take documents and wait for them to be signed. If you require notarization of any document, you must contact the jail directly. See Jail Notary Information.

If the respondent is in custody with the Fresno County Jail, see inmate search for their jail identification (JID) and booking number. The jail identification and booking number can be explicitly listed on your instruction form. See Inmate Search Portal.

If the respondent is in a prison located within Fresno County, you must provide the exact physical address of the facility and any identifying factors (e.g., registration number) for the inmate.

If you need to update your address with our office, please complete the change of address form located under forms. You can mail the form to our post office box address or email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Civil Unit makes every effort to attempt to perform our due diligence. It is important to note that we need the public's help in order to serve the public.

If you are aware of any officer safety concerns, please make note of the specific concerns on the instruction form. The health and safety of the public and our staff is part of our mission.