(a) Electronic filing All pleadings and other documents filed in actions or proceedings governed by this chapter must be filed electronically, unless the action or proceeding is in a court that does not provide for electronic filing of documents.
Rule 3.2222.Filing and service
Division 22. Petitions Under the California Environmental Quality Act · Chapter 2. California Environmental Quality Act Proceedings Involving Streamlined CEQA Projects · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceRule 3.2222 requires electronic filing and sets the service rules for streamlined CEQA cases, including a briefing-schedule penalty when a petitioner delays personally serving the respondent agency, real party in interest, and Attorney General.
Full Text of Rule 3.2222
(b) Service Other than the petition, which must be served personally, all documents that the rules in this chapter require be served on the parties must be served personally or electronically. All parties represented by counsel are deemed to have agreed to accept electronic service. All self-represented parties may agree to such service.
(c) Service of petition in action regarding Sacramento arena project Service of the petition or complaint in an action governed by these rules and relating to a Sacramento arena project must be made according to the rules in article 2.
(d) Service of petition in action regarding streamlined CEQA project other than the Sacramento arena project If the petition or complaint in an action governed by these rules and relating to a streamlined CEQA project other than the Sacramento arena project is not personally served on any respondent public agency, any real party in interest, and the Attorney General within three court days following filing of the petition, the time for filing petitioner’s briefs on the merits provided in rule 3.2227(a) and rule 8.702(f) will be decreased by one day for every additional two court days in which service is not completed, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause shown. (Subd (d) amended effective March 11, 2022; previously amended effective January 1, 2017.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 3.2222 sets the filing and service ground rules for cases brought under the streamlined CEQA fast-track. Filing defaults to electronic filing unless the court itself lacks the capability. Service works differently depending on the document: the petition itself must reach every party by personal service, while everything filed afterward can go out personally or electronically. Parties with lawyers are treated as having agreed to electronic service automatically; self-represented litigants have to opt in.
Where a party serves the petition depends on which kind of streamlined project the case involves. Actions touching the Sacramento arena project follow the separate service rules in Article 2. For every other streamlined project, the rule leans on a deadline with teeth: if the petitioner does not personally serve the respondent agency, the real party in interest, and the Attorney General within three court days of filing, the petitioner’s own merits-brief deadline starts shrinking, losing a day for every two additional court days the service slips, unless the court finds good cause to excuse the delay.
The rule closes with a pointed exception. Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 normally gives a party extra time to act after being served electronically. That extension does not apply here, which keeps the compressed schedule from stretching back out through electronic service.
Advisory Committee Comment
The following comment is published by the Judicial Council of California alongside the rule itself — not commentary from this site.
Parties should note that, while Public Resources Code section 21167 provides the statute of limitations for filing petitions under the California Environment Quality Act, these rules provide an incentive for parties to file actions governed by these rules more quickly, in the form of extra briefing time for petitioners who file within 10 days of the issuance of a Notice of Determination. See rule 3.2227(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the petition in a streamlined CEQA case have to be served in person?
Yes. Rule 3.2222(b) requires personal service of the petition itself, even though later documents in the case may be served personally or electronically.
What happens if a petitioner is slow to serve a streamlined CEQA petition?
Under Rule 3.2222(d), if the respondent agency, real party in interest, and Attorney General are not personally served within three court days of filing, the petitioner’s deadline for its merits brief shrinks by a day for every two extra court days of delay, absent a court order excusing it for good cause.
Does electronic service give a party extra time to respond in these cases?
No. Rule 3.2222(e) exempts these actions from the additional time Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 normally allows after electronic service.
Amendment History
Rule 3.2222 amended effective March 11, 2022; adopted effective July 1, 2014; previously amended effective January 1, 2017.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from
the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: streamlined CEQA petition service ruleselectronic filing CEQA fast track Californiapenalty for late service CEQA petition