Contra Costa Ex Parte Deadlines: There Is No Hearing to Count Back From
Not legal advice. Rules checked against the code on August 20, 2026. Verify every date yourself. Read the full disclaimer
Core CCP rules were checked against Westlaw (via CoCounsel legal research) on August 20, 2026. County local rules are paraphrased summaries; individual department standing orders are NOT included. Verify every date against the operative code sections and your court’s rules before relying on it. Using this site creates no attorney-client relationship.
Every other county on this site answers the question “how long before the hearing.” Contra Costa removed the hearing. Standing Order 3.5 abolished set ex parte hours in the civil departments from 1 October 2025, and an application is now decided on the papers unless the court orders a hearing. So the deadline you are counting to is a determination date, not an appearance, and if you want to be heard you have to ask for it on the face page of the application.
The second thing to know is that the court’s own materials disagree with the order. The public ex parte page still recites the CRC 3.1200 series 24-hour notice for civil, and two local rules still describe department ex parte hours that no longer exist. That is worse than a gap, because a practitioner who checks the county website comes away confident and wrong. The standing order controls.
Your dates
The rule, before you enter anything
Notify all parties no later than 10:00 a.m. on the court day before the ex parte appearance. CRC 3.1203(a). That is a clock deadline, not a date deadline. It is not extended by mail or electronic service, and if the day before the hearing is not a court day the deadline moves to the preceding court day, never the following one.
Then there is the county filing deadline, which is usually the one that bites. Enter a date and pick your county.
The Contra Costa rule, in full
- Filing
- All ex parte papers must be served and submitted to the Clerk no later than 3:00 p.m. the day before the ex parte determination, filed electronically unless self-represented and not participating in e-filing (§ I.D).
- Reservation
- No reservation, and set ex parte hours were abolished. Beginning Oct 1 2025 civil departments no longer hold set ex parte hours. What replaces it is an EMAIL notification to the assigned department no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before the ex parte determination (§ I.C).
- Notice
- Notice to the opposing party no later than 10:00 a.m. the day before the application will be presented, absent exceptional circumstances, per CRC 3.1203. A declaration regarding notice must accompany the papers (§ I.B).
- Opposition
- Opposition by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the ex parte determination, e-filed, served personally or electronically, with proof of service (§ I.E).
- When heard
- No set hours. There is no ex parte hearing unless the court orders one. The court will endeavor to rule within 24 hours of the scheduled determination date, or 24 hours after a hearing if one is scheduled (§ I.G).
- Asking to appear
- § I.F: if either party wants to appear, the application or opposition must say so ON THE FACE PAGE. Hearings occur only if the court orders one.
- Scope
- Applies to unlimited and limited civil and unlimited UD. Does NOT apply to family, probate, limited UD, or restraining order cases (§ I.A.1).
- E-filing
- Effectively mandatory for represented parties (§ I.D; Standing Order 3.2).
- Department variation
- The email notice step goes to the assigned department, but the timing rules are now uniform countywide by standing order.
- Trap
- The court own ex parte web page STILL lists "24 hour notice pursuant to CRC 3.1200-3.1207" for civil, which contradicts Standing Order 3.5. Local Rules 3.40(3)(B) and 3.46(1) also still describe department ex parte hours that no longer exist. Follow the Standing Order.
- Rules relied on
- Standing Order 3.5 (filed Sep 3 2025, eff. Sep 15 2025) controls. Local Rule 3.46 and Rule 3.40(3)(B) survive but are superseded as to civil ex parte timing.
- Edition read
- Standing Order 3.5 filed Sep 3 2025, still unamended in the combined standing orders revised Jul 8 2026. Court source
Two deadlines at 10:00 a.m., and they are not the same one
The email notification to the assigned department under section I.C and the notice to the opposing party under CRC 3.1203 both land at 10:00 a.m. the court day before. They are separate obligations with separate audiences, and doing one does not discharge the other. The papers themselves are not due until 3:00 p.m. that same day, which means the two notice steps come first and the filing comes last, the reverse of the order most counties run in.
FAQ
What is the Contra Costa ex parte filing deadline?
3:00 p.m. the day before the ex parte determination. Standing Order 3.5 section I.D requires the papers to be both served and submitted to the Clerk by that hour, filed electronically unless you are self-represented and not participating in e-filing. That is a later hour than most counties, and it sits behind an earlier step: the 10:00 a.m. email notification described below.
Does Contra Costa still hold ex parte hearings?
No, not as a matter of course. Beginning 1 October 2025 the civil departments no longer hold set ex parte hours, and there is no hearing unless the court orders one. The court will endeavor to rule within 24 hours of the scheduled determination date, or within 24 hours of a hearing if one is scheduled, under section I.G.
How do you ask to appear on a Contra Costa ex parte?
You say so on the face page. Section I.F provides that if either party wants to appear, the application or the opposition must state that on the face page. It is not a call to the department and it is not a request made at the hearing, because there is no hearing to make it at.
What is the 10:00 a.m. email notification in Contra Costa?
It is what replaced the reservation. There is no reservation system. Section I.C requires an email notification to the assigned department no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before the ex parte determination. This is separate from notice to the opposing party, which still runs on the CRC 3.1203 10:00 a.m. deadline and still needs a declaration regarding notice with the papers under section I.B.
When is opposition due on a Contra Costa ex parte?
10:00 a.m. on the day of the ex parte determination, e-filed, served personally or electronically, with proof of service, under section I.E. Most California counties publish no county-wide opposition deadline at all, so this is one to calendar rather than assume.
Why does the Contra Costa court website still say 24 hours notice?
Because it has not been updated. The court's public ex parte page still recites 24 hour notice under CRC 3.1200 to 3.1207 for civil, and Local Rules 3.40(3)(B) and 3.46(1) still describe department ex parte hours that were abolished. Standing Order 3.5 controls and supersedes them on timing. Follow the standing order, not the web page.
Which case types does Standing Order 3.5 cover?
Unlimited and limited civil, and unlimited unlawful detainer, under section I.A.1. It does not apply to family, probate, limited unlawful detainer, or restraining order cases, which keep their own procedures.
Related: Ex parte deadlines, all counties · County ex parte rule sheet · California court holidays
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