Service by mail may be made where the person on whom it is to be made resides or has his office at a place where there is a delivery service by mail, or where the person making the service and the person on whom it is to be made reside or have their offices in different places between which there is a regular communication by mail.
§ 1012.Mail Service
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 5. Notices, and Filing and Service of Papers · Last amended 1931 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1012 allows service by mail whenever the person to be served resides or has an office where mail delivery exists, or whenever the person serving and the person being served have offices or residences in different places connected by regular mail service.
Full Text of § 1012
Plain-English Summary
This is a short threshold rule that opens the door to mail service generally, with the details filled in by § 1013. Service by mail is available wherever the person being served resides or has an office reachable by mail delivery, or wherever the person doing the serving and the person being served live or work in different places that have regular mail communication between them.
In practice, because mail delivery and regular postal communication are close to universal today, this section rarely limits mail service in the way it might once have when some locations lacked reliable mail routes. It remains the gateway provision that § 1013's timing and extension rules build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is service by mail available under California law?
Where the person to be served resides or has an office with mail delivery, or where the party serving and the party being served are in different places connected by regular mail communication.
Does § 1012 set the deadlines and procedures for mail service?
No, those details come from § 1013; this section only establishes when mail service is available in the first place.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1931, Ch. 739.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: mail service availability california