(a) With the consent of the parties who appear at the hearing, the court may order a case to be heard by a temporary judge who is a member of the State Bar, and who has been sworn and empowered to act until final determination of the case.
§ 116.240.Case heard by temporary judge
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 5.5. Small Claims Court · Article 2. Small Claims Court · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 116.240 lets a small claims case be heard by a temporary judge who is a State Bar member, but only with the consent of the parties who appear, and requires every temporary judge to complete a recurring course covering consumer, landlord-tenant, and contract law before serving and at least every three years after.
Full Text of § 116.240
(b) Prior to serving as a temporary judge in small claims court, on and after July 1, 2006, and at least every three years thereafter, each temporary judge shall take the course of study offered by the courts on ethics and substantive law under rules adopted by the Judicial Council. The course shall include, but not be limited to, state and federal consumer laws, landlord-tenant law along with any applicable county specific rent deposit law, the state and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts, the federal Truth in Lending Act, the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act, tort law, and contract law, including defenses to contracts and defenses to debts. On substantive law, the courts may receive assistance from the Department of Consumer Affairs, to the extent that the department is fiscally able to provide that assistance.
Plain-English Summary
Many small claims hearings are heard not by a regular judge but by a temporary judge — an attorney, drawn from the State Bar, sworn in and empowered to decide the case. Section 116.240(a) makes that arrangement conditional on consent: the parties who appear at the hearing must agree before a temporary judge can hear their case.
Because a temporary judge is deciding disputes over consumer debt, landlord-tenant issues, and contracts rather than practicing in those areas as a lawyer, subdivision (b) requires ongoing training. Since July 1, 2006, and at least every three years afterward, each temporary judge must complete a course on ethics and substantive law covering state and federal consumer law, landlord-tenant law (including county-specific rent deposit rules), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts, the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, tort law, and contract law, including defenses to contracts and debts.
The Department of Consumer Affairs can assist courts with the substantive-law portion of that training if it has the resources to do so, tying the temporary-judge program to the same consumer-protection subject matter that dominates small claims dockets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a small claims case in California be heard by someone other than a regular judge?
Yes. Section 116.240(a) allows a temporary judge — a State Bar member sworn in for that purpose — to hear a small claims case, but only with the consent of the parties who appear at the hearing.
What training does a small claims temporary judge have to complete?
Section 116.240(b) requires a course covering ethics, consumer law, landlord-tenant law, the federal debt-collection and credit statutes, tort law, and contract law, completed before serving after July 1, 2006 and at least every three years afterward.
Do I have to agree to let a temporary judge hear my case?
Yes. Section 116.240(a) conditions the use of a temporary judge on the consent of the parties who appear at the hearing.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1990 ch 1305 § 3 (SB 2627). Amended Stats 2005 ch 600 § 4 (SB 422), ch 618 § 4 (AB 1459).
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: temporary judge small claims californiapro tem judge small claims courtsmall claims judge training requirement