Fresno Ex Parte Deadlines: 2:00 p.m. or 9:00 a.m., Depending on the Hearing
Not legal advice. Rules attested September 29, 2026; last full pass August 17, 2026. Verify every date yourself. Read the full disclaimer
Each verified rule carries its own date on the methodology page, all of them September 29, 2026: the date the maintaining attorney last attested it. The last full pass, signed off on August 17, 2026, checked the rules against their official sources (the code, the California Rules of Court, or for court holidays the Judicial Council calendar), with the exceptions listed on the about page. Rules still awaiting sign-off are listed on the methodology page as not yet verified. County local rules are paraphrased summaries. Individual department and judge standing orders are included only where the court publishes them and we have read the document, so assume your own department has requirements beyond what you see here. Verify every date against the operative code sections, your court's rules and your department's own order before relying on it. Using this site creates no attorney-client relationship.
No other county on this site has two filing deadlines. Fresno has two, and the hearing picks which one you are on. Morning hearing: the application and supporting papers are due not later than 2:00 p.m. the court day before. Afternoon hearing: not later than 9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing itself. Rule 2.7.1(B), effective January 1, 2024. The papers do not change. The date does, and so does the hour, which is why the calculator on this page asks you something no other county page asks.
Read this before researching the county yourself, because the court's own FAQ page publishes only half the rule. It gives the 9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing prong and leaves the 2:00 p.m. prong out. A lawyer with a morning hearing who reads that FAQ and files at 9:00 a.m. that morning is a full day late. Follow Rule 2.7.1(B). And get the hearing date and time from the law and motion clerk before anything else. Rule 2.7.1(A) phrases that step as "should," but you cannot tell which filing deadline applies until you know whether the hearing is set in the morning or the afternoon.
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 Fresno rule, in full
- Filing
- Split by whether the hearing is set in the morning or the afternoon. Not later than 2:00 p.m. on the day preceding the hearing if the hearing is in the morning; not later than 9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing if the hearing is in the afternoon (Rule 2.7.1(B), eff. Jan 1 2024). The rule says "the day preceding"; when a morning hearing follows a weekend or holiday, this calculator uses the preceding court day.
- Reservation
- Rule 2.7.1(A) says parties "should obtain a date and time for the hearing of the application from the law and motion clerk," or may obtain one at the civil filing counter on presentation of the moving papers and payment of fees. Get it first: which filing deadline applies depends on whether the hearing is set in the morning or the afternoon. No lead time is published. The rejection sentence in Rule 4.1.5(C), "E-filed motions or ex parte applications without a calendared hearing date, department, and time will be rejected," is part of the records-under-seal rule and reaches only a motion or application for a sealing order.
- Notice
- Rule 2.7.1(A) states that applications "failing to comply with Rules 3.1200 through 3.1207 of the California Rules of Court will be rejected." CRC 3.1205 separately directs the clerk not to reject an application for filing because it fails rule 3.1203's notice requirement, so how far the local rejection sentence reaches on notice is unsettled. Give notice by the statewide 10:00 a.m. hour either way.
- Opposition
- Nothing recorded. This site holds no finding either way on a county-wide opposition deadline here, which is not the same as a finding that none exists.
- When heard
- Not published as a set time. The rules distinguish only morning from afternoon settings and assign scheduling to the law and motion clerk.
- Decided without a hearing
- Rule 2.7.2 lists nine categories decided without a hearing, among them an application to exceed the page limit, a stipulated order, guardian ad litem, extension of time to serve a pleading, service by publication, trial continuance, and a Doe substitution under CCP § 474.
- Trap
- The court FAQ page states only the "9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing" half of the rule and omits the 2:00 p.m. prong. Follow Rule 2.7.1(B), not the FAQ.
- E-filing
- Represented parties must e-file in all civil, family law and probate (Rule 4.1.2(A)(1)).
- Department variation
- Fresno centralizes ex parte scheduling in the law and motion clerk and does not direct you to a general civil department standing order. A trial continuance sought by ex parte application goes to the assigned Civil Judge for All Purposes at least 5 court days before trial, and one presented later must carry a detailed factual declaration showing good cause for the delay (Rule 2.1.10(D), (E), eff. Jul 1 2025).
- Rules relied on
- FSC Rule 2.7.1 (format and filing), Rule 2.7.2 (cases in which hearings not required)
- Edition read
- Local rules Jul 1 2026 publication; Rule 2.7.1 eff. Jan 1 2024. Court source
FAQ
What is the Fresno ex parte filing deadline?
There are two, and the hearing decides which one governs. If the ex parte is set in the morning, the application is due not later than 2:00 p.m. the court day before. If it is set in the afternoon, it is due not later than 9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing. Both come from Rule 2.7.1(B), effective January 1, 2024, and this site treats both as hard deadlines.
My hearing is in the afternoon. Do I really file on the morning of the hearing?
Yes. Rule 2.7.1(B) sets the afternoon prong at not later than 9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing. Notice is a separate question and it does not move with the filing deadline. Fresno applies the statewide rule for notice, so notice is still due by 10:00 a.m. the court day before the appearance under California Rules of Court rule 3.1203. On an afternoon setting that means you give notice a full day before the papers are due in.
The Fresno court FAQ says 9:00 a.m. Can I rely on that?
No, and this is the trap the page exists for. The FAQ page states only the 9:00 a.m. on the date of the hearing half of the rule and omits the 2:00 p.m. prong entirely. If your hearing is in the morning and you calendar off the FAQ, you will file at 9:00 a.m. on the hearing date when you were due at 2:00 p.m. the previous court day. Follow Rule 2.7.1(B), not the FAQ.
Do you have to reserve a Fresno ex parte hearing?
Rule 2.7.1(A) says parties should obtain a date and time for the hearing from the law and motion clerk, or they may get one at the civil filing counter on presentation of the moving papers and payment of fees. The rule says "should," not "must," but get the setting first anyway: which of the two filing deadlines you are on depends on whether the hearing is set in the morning or the afternoon. No lead time is published. The rejection rule for e-filed applications without a calendared date, department and time is Rule 4.1.5(C), and it applies only to a motion or application for an order sealing records.
What notice does Fresno require to the other side?
The statewide rule. The notice deadline is rule 3.1203, no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before the ex parte appearance. Rule 2.7.1(A) adds that applications failing to comply with rules 3.1200 through 3.1207 will be rejected, but rule 3.1205 directs the clerk not to reject an application for filing because it fails rule 3.1203's notice requirement, so how far the local sentence reaches on notice is unsettled. Give notice by 10:00 a.m. either way.
Which Fresno ex parte applications are decided without a hearing?
Rule 2.7.2 lists nine categories decided without a hearing. Among them are an application to exceed the page limit, a stipulated order, appointment of a guardian ad litem, an extension of time to serve a pleading, service by publication, a trial continuance, and a Doe substitution under Code of Civil Procedure section 474. No other county on this site publishes a list like it.
When are Fresno ex parte matters heard, and does it vary by department?
No set time is published. The rules distinguish only a morning setting from an afternoon one and assign the scheduling to the law and motion clerk. Fresno centralizes that scheduling and does not send you to a general civil department standing order, which makes it one of the few counties here where no department-by-department variation is recorded. One carve-out sits outside that channel: a trial continuance sought by ex parte application goes to the assigned Civil Judge for All Purposes at least 5 court days before trial under Rule 2.1.10(D), and one presented later needs a detailed factual declaration showing good cause for the delay (Rule 2.1.10(E)).
Preparing for trial in this court? The Fresno County trial binder rules collect what it requires before trial, and the Fresno County trial document templates lay out each document it wants.
Related: Ex parte deadlines, all counties · County ex parte rule sheet · California court holidays · Fresno County trial binder rules · Fresno County trial document templates
Practicing in another county? Compare all 17 county rules.