San Francisco County trial binder and trial document requirements

All general civil cases on the trial calendar (jury and non-jury) will be assigned for trial by the Presiding Judge, Monday through Friday. The calendar for limited and unlimited jurisdiction cases is called at 9:30 a.m. The Presiding Judge supervises the civil trial calendar and assigns and disposes of such cases in the manner best designed to accomplish the business of the Court.

Printed page 27, July 1, 2026 edition. LRSF 6.0(A) keeps unlawful detainers, asbestos cases and cases assigned to a single judge for all purposes off this calendar. LRSF 6.0(D) puts any case called and not assigned on standby with all attorneys and principals required to remain available. In-person appearance at trial call has been mandatory for all general civil cases since January 3, 2023 (court notice, APPEARANCES FOR TRIAL). Verified against both the rules PDF and the Master Calendar page.

Settlement conferences are mandatory in unlawful detainers where there is a jury demand. In all other cases, Mandatory Settlement Conferences may be ordered by the Presiding Judge under the appropriate circumstances within the Court's discretion. LRSF 5.0 applies to any settlement conference so ordered.

Printed page 24. LRSF 5.0(C) carries the ex parte route, a two court day window for a response, submission on the papers with no appearance, and the ADR Coordinator address adrcoordinator@sftc.org. LRSF 5.0(D) makes in-person attendance mandatory for the trial attorney, each party, and any insurer representative with settlement authority unless excused. LRSF 5.0(E) requires counsel to identify liens, meet and confer with lien holders, request in writing that they attend, and attach that request to the settlement conference statement. Nothing in Rule 5 or Rule 6 keys any trial document to the MSC date.

The parties must undertake good faith settlement discussions. Except in limited jurisdiction unlawful detainer actions, not less than five (5) court days prior to the date of the conference, plaintiff must communicate a demand for settlement to defendant, and defendant must within two (2) court days thereafter convey to plaintiff an offer of settlement. Not less than five (5) court days prior to the scheduled conference, the parties must exchange and deliver to the settlement conference judge the following items, which are not filed with the clerk's office:

Printed pages 24 and 25 of the July 1, 2026 edition. I compared both current editions. January 1, 2026 letters this paragraph (F) and the continuance paragraph (G); July 1, 2026 prints both unlettered. Rule 5 carries the same revision date, July 1, 2025, in both, so the letters were lost in typesetting. Cite it with the caveat. Subparagraph 5) directs that at the close of the conference the settlement statement and other material furnished to the court must not become part of the clerk's file.

MSC is set no later than two (2) weeks prior to said case's trial date. Parties may request setting the MSC in advance of said time frame. For cases where preference is granted under CCP § 36, the MSC may be either set at the time of granting preference or at least one week prior to the trial date.

Printed page 226. The subdivision is headed MSC for Non-Preference Cases. Asbestos Department, Department 502, Judge Victor Hwang, only. This is the only civil MSC in San Francisco tied to a fixed interval before trial. LRSF 20.2 requires settlement statements in compliance with CRC 3.1380 and LRSF 5.0, and makes the MSC and all settlement statements confidential under Evid. Code 1119. The subdivision also lets the parties notify the Assigned Settlement Judge and the ADR Coordinator by email if the scheduled date comes before the case is ready, and the court will reset.

No later than ten (10) days prior to the date set for the MSC, or as otherwise ordered by the Judge, Plaintiff's counsel must provide to each remaining defendant a demand and identify all previously undisclosed, remaining defendants.

Printed page 225. Applies where the MSC is with the Asbestos Judge. LRSF 20.2(B) covers an MSC with an Assigned Settlement Judge and carries lighter requirements, including a two court day disclosure of who holds final settlement authority. Under both, every party, including each defendant's principal with final decision-making authority, must attend in person.

Within five (5) days prior to the date set for the MSC, or as otherwise ordered by the Judge, each party must lodge with the Judge a Settlement Statement that discloses the essential facts supporting claimed liability and defenses thereto.

Printed pages 225 and 226. Plaintiff's statement must also state total settlements obtained or negotiated including bankruptcy trust payments, and all factors bearing on likelihood to settle excluding trial related factors. Defendant's statement must also state the name, title, phone and email of each person who must approve an offer and has final settlement authority, plus the same likelihood-to-settle factors.

No later than two (2) weeks prior to the trial date, plaintiff's counsel must provide a list of remaining defendants and the current demands and/or settlement status to the Assigned Settlement Judge and the Court's ADR Coordinator.

Printed pages 226 and 227. A confidential disclosure to the court, not a filing. LRSF 20.2(D)(2) adds that plaintiff's counsel will also confidentially provide current total settlements including bankruptcy trust payments, broken out by category on request.

Settlement conferences are mandatory in unlawful detainers where there a jury demand. A Mandatory Settlement Conference will be set prior to the date set for trial.

Printed page 51. The missing word in "where there a jury demand" is in the published text of both the July 1, 2026 and January 1, 2026 editions. LRSF 8.10(F)(3) lets a party apply ex parte to the Real Property Court for a specially set conference, and LRSF 5.0 then governs it. LRSF 8.10(F)(4) makes attendance by the trial attorney and each party mandatory, with any request to excuse made at least two court days before. Note that LRSF 5.0(F) excepts limited jurisdiction unlawful detainers from the demand and offer exchange. The unlawful detainer trial calendar is called by the Real Property Court at 9:00 a.m. Mondays under LRSF 8.10(G)(1).

Plaintiffs or their counsel must bring copies of the operative Complaint and Answer(s) to the Settlement Conference.

Printed page 51. The only place in the civil rules that tells a party what paper to physically carry into a proceeding, and it is not a trial binder.

Courtesy copies are required for any filed document requiring court review, action, or signature. Provide courtesy copies in paper format, properly tabbed and bound, to the appropriate department. Determine the correct department by checking the court's website.

Printed page 5. I read the whole 2026 rule set on this point. The words trial binder, trial notebook, notebook, three-ring and 3-ring return zero hits. Binder returns hits only at LRSF 11.13(C)(9) (Family Law, recommended for judicial notice documents) and LRSF 20.3(A) (Asbestos, motions in limine). LRSF 2.7(B)(2) sets the location: deliver to the department where the matter will be heard, unless a rule for a specific court, department or division says otherwise. Practical read: build a tabbed and bound paper set, deliver it to the assigned trial department once the case is assigned at trial call, and expect the assigned judge to state what that department actually wants.

For all papers filed by Conventional filing, courtesy copies required by a court division must be lodged at the time of filing. For all papers filed fewer than 7 court days before the hearing, parties must lodge courtesy copies on the day of filing. For papers filed by E-filing 7 or more court days before the hearing, courtesy copies required by a court division must be lodged no later than 2 court days after the date of E-filing.

Printed page 11. The subdivision opens with a lead-in the quote above does not carry: "Unless a different deadline is required in the local rules pertaining to a specific court, department or division, or in an order shortening time, parties must lodge courtesy copies of any papers as follows." So a department procedure controls over this default. Practical effect on a motion in limine personally served five days out under LRSF 6.2: the courtesy copy goes in the same day it is filed.

Courtesy copies must be in paper format, unless specifically permitted otherwise by the judge hearing the matter.

Printed page 11. This is the default for courtesy copies of filed papers. It is not a format rule for the LRSF 6.3 and 6.4 lodgings, which prescribe no format either way, so whether the assigned trial department will take those electronically is a question for that department.

With prior court approval, parties may provide copies of voluminous exhibits on electronic media (e.g., a USB device).

Printed pages 11 and 12. This is the only electronic option published anywhere in the civil rules for trial materials, and it is limited to exhibits and conditioned on approval obtained in advance. The first part of the requirement is the subdivision's Contents paragraph, quoted here only in the operative USB sentence because that is the part that bears on the binder question.

Failure to lodge courtesy copies of moving Papers as required by statute, rule or court order may, in the discretion of the judicial officer presiding over the hearing, result in denial of the motion, continuance of the hearing, or taking the motion off calendar.

Printed pages 11 and 12. The subdivision continues with parallel sentences for opposition papers (the motion granted or the hearing continued) and reply papers (the reply not considered). It reaches motions in limine through the courtesy copy sentence in LRSF 6.2.

Counsel are directed to deliver two hard copies of all e-filed documents to Department 304, which includes proposed orders.

Read the document in full. It covers communications and hearing reservations, continuances, appearances, discovery and informal discovery conferences, e-filing, courtesy copies, confidentiality designations, sealing, tentative rulings, court reporters and case management statements. It publishes no trial document schedule and no trial binder requirement. The two hard copy rule is a standing count that reaches trial papers filed in a Department 304 case, and there is no comparable count in the local rules.

Unless otherwise specified, counsel must deliver two paper courtesy copies of all e-filed documents (e.g., joint case management statements, motions, oppositions, replies, etc.) to Department 613.

Read the document in full. The exhibit tab sentence reads: "All courtesy copies which attach exhibits must include tabs for each exhibit." The bookmarking sentence reads: "Evidence filed electronically, including (for example) PDF compendiums of evidence for summary judgment and class certification motions, shall be bookmarked and hyperlinked." The department publishes no trial document schedule and no trial binder requirement. It also directs that no courtesy copies be delivered for notices of remote appearance, matters set before a discovery referee except proposed orders needing signature, and CIV-110 dismissal requests.

Defendants must provide the trial department with courtesy copies of the initial joint defense MILs in a single submission containing all of the initial joint defense MILs accompanied by the respective Oppositions in an indexed, tabbed binder.

Printed pages 227 and 228. The parallel plaintiff sentence reads: "Plaintiffs must provide the trial department with courtesy copies of plaintiffs' MILs in a single submission containing all of the plaintiffs' MILs accompanied by the respective Oppositions in an indexed, tabbed binder." A third sentence imposes the same requirement on additional motions filed with leave. Per side, not joint across sides. No copy count and no tab scheme beyond indexed and tabbed. Asbestos cases only, and it is a motions in limine binder, not a trial binder.

The witness list must include for each witness a brief statement of the expected area of testimony and time estimate for direct. A separate witness list need not be filed under this subsection if the parties file a Joint Statement Regarding Trial Time Limits under LRSF 6.8.

Printed page 28. Watch the gap the substitution creates. The witness list is due ten days before trial under 6.4, but the Joint Statement that can replace it is due only five days before trial under LRSF 6.8(C)(1), or 45 days before trial in a single-assigned case under 6.8(C)(2). And the substitution is available only where LRSF 6.8(B)(1) reaches, which is long cause unlimited jurisdiction cases, plus short cause and limited jurisdiction cases that stipulate in under 6.8(B)(4). In any other case file the witness list at ten days. Does not apply to expedited jury trials, LRSF 6.1.

No later than two (2) court days after the date on which the case was assigned to a trial department, all parties must submit witness lists and exhibit lists to the trial department.

Printed page 228, headed Witness and Exhibit Lists. The same sentence covers the exhibit list. Runs off the date of assignment, not off the trial date, which is the opposite of the general civil rule at LRSF 6.4.

At least ten days prior to trial, or as soon as the trial judge is known, the parties must lodge with the trial judge a list of proposed exhibits and a list of witnesses expected to be called (except for rebuttal witnesses).

Printed page 28. The rule writes ten days here without the numeral where 6.2 and 6.3 write ten (10) days; same period, calendar days under LRSF 1.2(3). Nothing in Rule 6 addresses lodging the exhibits themselves, marking them, or how many sets to bring. LRSF 6.7(C) touches exhibit marking only in temporary judge proceedings. Does not apply to expedited jury trials, LRSF 6.1.

No later than two (2) court days after the date on which the case was assigned to a trial department, all parties must submit witness lists and exhibit lists to the trial department.

Printed page 228. Same sentence as the witness list row; listed separately so the exhibit list lane is complete. The rule says nothing about lodging the exhibits themselves or about marking them.

In all jury trials, parties must deliver all proposed instructions to the trial judge pursuant to CCP § 607a.

Printed page 28. The local rule sets no independent deadline and defers to CCP 607a, which is two-stage: counsel must deliver to the trial judge and serve on opposing counsel all proposed instructions covering the law disclosed by the pleadings before the first witness is sworn, and may thereafter, before the commencement of argument, deliver additional proposed instructions on questions of law developed by the evidence and not disclosed by the pleadings. All proposed instructions must be typewritten, each on a separate sheet. Statutory text read in full at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, CCP 607a, last amended Stats. 1957, Ch. 1698. Does not apply to expedited jury trials, LRSF 6.1.

In unlimited jurisdiction cases, within two (2) court days after the date of assignment, all parties must meet and confer and notify the trial judge in writing which of the proposed instructions are acceptable to all parties.

Printed page 28. Token means two court days running forward from the date the Presiding Judge assigns the case to a trial department at trial call, not from the trial date. This is the only general civil trial document keyed to the assignment date.

In limited jurisdiction cases, prior to the conference to settle jury instructions, all parties must meet and confer and notify the trial judge in writing which of the proposed instructions are acceptable to all parties.

Printed page 28. The conference to settle jury instructions is set by the trial judge. The local rule does not calendar it and gives no lead time.

No proposed instruction may contain unfilled blanks or bracketed portions. Proposed instructions must be complete in all respects. Submission of BAJI, CACI, or CALJIC numbers is not sufficient. See CRC 2.1055, CCP § 607a.

Printed page 28. A content condition on the delivery required by LRSF 6.5(A) and CCP 607a, not a separate deadline, so build the full text instructions before the first witness is sworn. It bites when a party lodges a CACI number list instead of complete instructions.

Parties must provide the Court with one copy of each instruction containing appropriate points and authorities and one copy without such points and authorities or other writing thereon, the latter form appropriate for submission to the jury.

Printed page 28. This is the only copy count anywhere in the civil trial rules; no comparable count exists for exhibit lists, witness lists, deposition designations or motions in limine. Timing rides on LRSF 6.5(A) and CCP 607a rather than on a date of its own, so both sets have to exist before the first witness is sworn.

No later than two (2) court days after the date on which the case was assigned to a trial department, the parties must submit joint standard jury instructions (without prejudice to submitting further instructions at a later date) to the trial department.

Printed page 228. Joint, unlike the general civil rule at LRSF 6.5, which is per party with a meet and confer notification. LRSF 20.3(F) leaves jury questionnaires to each trial judge's discretion.

On the day of trial assignment or by the first trial appearance, which ever date is earlier, parties must submit a trial brief. The trial brief must include a succinct summary of the facts of case, Plaintiff(s)' claim(s) against the defendant, and Defendant(s) asserted defenses. Plaintiff's trial brief may not exceed ten (10) pages and no exhibits are permitted. Defendant's trial brief may not exceed five (5) pages, and no exhibits are permitted. The trial brief may not be another form of a MIL.

Printed page 229. The spelling "which ever" and the phrase "facts of case" are in the published text. This is the only trial brief requirement in the San Francisco civil rules and it reaches asbestos cases only. Leave to exceed the page limit is sought by declaration to the trial judge. The same subdivision closes with the delegation: "The Judge has discretion to revise any deadlines set forth above in cases in which expedited trial dates have been ordered pursuant to CCP § 36, or as required to expedite the trial."

Parties must meet and confer in advance of trial on the designation of depositions to be used at trial, other than those used for impeachment. At least ten (10) days prior to trial, or later as soon as the trial judge is known, the parties must lodge with the trial judge the designations and counter-designations of such testimony together with brief notations of all objections and responses thereto sufficient to allow the trial judge to rule on those objections.

Printed page 28. Calendar days under LRSF 1.2(3). The rule prescribes no format, no copy count and no delivery location beyond the trial judge, who in a master calendar case is usually not known ten days out. Does not apply to expedited jury trials, LRSF 6.1.

No later than seven (7) calendar days before the actual trial date, the parties must serve on all parties a list of all former testimony that will be used at trial, except transcripts to be used for cross-examination.

Printed page 228. A party who in good faith does not possess a transcript may request it from the designating party, who must produce it within two calendar days.

No later than two (2) court days after the date of the assignment of a case to a trial judge, page: line designations of the former testimony must be served on all parties. Absent leave of court for good cause shown, designations for any witness must not be made from more than five (5) former cases.

Printed pages 228 and 229. No party may use former testimony at trial without at least 48 hours advance notice to all parties. A party facing especially voluminous designations may request relief from these deadlines on a good cause showing to the trial judge.

All motions in limine (except for unlawful detainer cases) must be filed and served by mail at least ten (10) days before the date set for trial or filed and personally served at least five (5) days before the date set for trial.

Printed page 27. Token means ten calendar days when served by mail, five calendar days when personally served. LRSF 1.2(3) defines Day as a calendar day unless otherwise indicated, so both are calendar days. LRSF 6.2 has no lettered subdivisions. Under LRSF 6.1 the rule does not apply to expedited jury trials. The consequence sentence at the end of 6.2 reads, in the published text of both the July 1, 2026 and January 1, 2026 editions, "Failure to comply with rule 6.1 may preclude the bringing of motions in limine at the time of trial, subject to the Court's discretion." Rule 6.1 is the expedited jury trial exemption, so the reference looks like a drafting error, but do not treat that as a defense to a late motion.

Any written opposition to in limine motions must be filed and personally served no later than the date set for trial.

Printed page 27. Personal service is required on the face of the rule, which is a trap for anyone who mails an opposition on the theory that mail service was good enough for the motion.

Courtesy copies of all in limine motions and oppositions thereto must be provided to the trial judge as soon as the judge is known to parties.

Printed pages 27 and 28. The trigger is the Presiding Judge's assignment of the case to a trial department at trial call, which is when the trial judge becomes known in a master calendar case. Because motions in limine are filed papers, the format comes from LRSF 2.7(B): paper, properly tabbed and bound. A motion in limine personally served five days out is filed fewer than seven court days before its hearing, so under LRSF 2.7(B)(1) the courtesy copy has to be lodged the same day it is filed.

All initial joint defense MILs and plaintiff MILs must be filed and served on all parties on the date the case is assigned to a trial department and a courtesy copy delivered to the trial judge.

Printed page 227. The anchor is the date of assignment to a trial department, not the trial date. Additional motions in limine need leave, sought by declaration of three pages or less showing good cause and describing the evidence. All joint defense motions are deemed joined by every defendant unless a defendant says otherwise. If leave for additional motions is denied, a party may still make a trial objection.

All parties are ordered to call (415) 551-3685 or email the court at Department206@sftc.org seven to 14 days before the trial date and provide the following information: Party Name and Attorney Name (if represented) Case Name and Number Trial date and estimate of total trial time (including motions in limine and jury selection) Are you interested in a settlement conference on the day of trial? Provide a brief description of the case, including damages. If calling, description is limited to three minutes or less. If the case has settled, is this a global settlement as to all parties and all causes of action, and is the settlement conditional or unconditional?

A published standing order of the Presiding Judge, not a local rule, and it appears nowhere in the Uniform Local Rules. The offset token means a window: no earlier than 14 days and no later than seven days before the trial date. Confirmed verbatim off the live page. This is the functional substitute for a trial readiness conference in San Francisco and the easiest San Francisco trial deadline to miss.

Parties must appear on the day of trial unless a Notice of Dismissal, Settlement, or Stay is filed with courtesy copies delivered to Department 206 by 4 p.m. on the Thursday before trial. If the trial date is continued, this requirement applies to the new trial date. Failure to comply may result in monetary sanctions, C.C.P. 177.5.

Token means 4 p.m. on the Thursday immediately preceding the trial date. With a Monday trial call that is two court days out. Sanction authority named in the order is CCP 177.5. Both the filing and the courtesy copies have to land by the deadline, not just the filing.

The parties must file a Joint Statement re Trial Time Limits (or separate statements if unable to agree), setting forth: a. The total number of hours needed to try the case; b. A witness list with the name of each witness to be called on direct, a brief description of the general subject matter of the witness' testimony, the number of hours of direct examination that will be required for that witness, and c. The total number of hours of direct examination required by each party.

Printed page 33. Quoted as it reads across the PDF's line breaks. This is the closest thing San Francisco has to a joint pretrial statement, and under LRSF 6.4 it substitutes for the separate witness list. LRSF 6.8(B)(1) limits the duty to long cause unlimited jurisdiction cases; LRSF 6.8(B)(4) lets short cause and limited jurisdiction parties stipulate in. LRSF 6.8(D) says the statement will not be used to exclude witnesses, rebuttal witnesses included, that a party may call on direct. Does not apply to expedited jury trials, LRSF 6.1.

The parties must file the joint statement or separate statements described above no less than five (5) days prior to the trial date. The trial judge may, after a hearing on the appropriate time limits held prior to the commencement of trial, impose time limits.

Printed page 34. Calendar days under LRSF 1.2(3). This is the default track, for cases on the master calendar.

In cases assigned to a single judge, the parties must file the joint statement or separate statements described above no less than forty-five (45) days prior to trial date, or at a time and in a manner prescribed in any case management order. The trial judge may, after a hearing on the appropriate time limits at a status or pretrial conference, impose time limits, if any, at a time and in a manner prescribed in any case management order.

Printed page 34. The earliest published civil trial deadline in San Francisco. It reaches complex, CEQA, asbestos and every other single-assigned case. It is also the rule's clearest delegation: the case management order overrides the 45 day default, and the rule expressly contemplates the assigned judge holding a status or pretrial conference. In a single-assigned case, read the case management order before relying on any date in this table.

The provisions of Rules 6.2 through 6.4 and Rule 6.8 do not apply to expedited jury trials conducted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § 630.01 or § 630.20, except as specified in the consent order or as ordered by the trial judge.

Printed page 27. Check this first, because LRSF 3.2(B)(2) lets the court order a case into a Mandatory Expedited Jury Trial at the case management stage, which wipes out the entire Rule 6 trial document schedule and replaces it with whatever the consent order says. Rule 6.5, jury instructions, is not in the carve-out list.

With the exception of a 6-feet-by-6-feet white screen available in all trial departments, parties must provide ALL other electronic equipment, including extension cords, projectors, laptops, etc.

Published on the court's Master Calendar page, not in the local rules. It bears on the binder question because it confirms there is no courtroom presentation system to load exhibits into. Paper remains the working assumption for the assigned trial department.

Fee waiver recipients who desire a verbatim record of a trial court proceeding must notify the court in writing by filing a notice, a request or other form of written notification. The notice/request must be received within the following time perimeters:

The page sets the civil and probate window at two weeks before the trial court proceeding and the unlawful detainer window at five days. Applies only to fee waiver recipients. Related and worth knowing for every civil case: by a public notice effective May 10, 2022, San Francisco official court reporters are not available within the meaning of CRC 2.956 for civil cases, and specifically for any pretrial proceeding in an unlimited civil case, so parties arrange and pay for their own certified shorthand reporter under CRC 2.956(c). The court publishes local form SFCIV-019, Request for Court Reporting or Electronic Recording.