Where a petition for writ of mandate is filed in the trial court pursuant to Section 1088.5, and where a record of the proceedings to be reviewed has been filed with the petition or where no record of a proceeding is required, the respondent shall answer or otherwise respond within 30 days after service of the petition. However, where a record of the proceeding to be reviewed has been requested pursuant to Section 11523 of the Government Code, or otherwise, and has not been filed with the petition, the party upon whom the petition has been served, including any real party in interest, shall answer or otherwise respond within 30 days following receipt of a copy of the record.
§ 1089.5.Time to Answer Or Otherwise Respond
Title 1. Of Writs of Review, Mandate, and Prohibition · Chapter 2. Writ of Mandate · Last amended 1983 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1089.5 sets a 30-day deadline for a respondent to answer or otherwise respond to a mandate petition filed under § 1088.5, running from service of the petition when the administrative record is already filed or none is required, or from receipt of the record when one has been requested but not yet filed.
Full Text of § 1089.5
Plain-English Summary
This section fills in the timing left open by § 1088.5's streamlined filing procedure. When a petition is filed that way, and the administrative record has already been filed with it — or no record is needed at all — the respondent has 30 days after service of the petition to answer or otherwise respond.
When the case does involve a record that hasn't been filed yet — because it was requested under Government Code § 11523 or some other provision — the clock instead starts when the respondent receives a copy of that record, again giving 30 days to respond. This ties the respondent's deadline to when the respondent has what's needed to prepare a response, rather than to the bare filing date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a respondent have to answer a mandate petition filed under § 1088.5?
30 days after service of the petition, if the record is already filed or none is required.
What if the administrative record hasn't been filed yet?
The 30-day deadline instead runs from the respondent's receipt of a copy of the record, whether the record was requested under Government Code § 11523 or otherwise.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 818, Sec. 2.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: deadline to respond to writ of mandate petition california