Notice of the filing of the petition and of the time and place of the hearing thereof shall be given to such persons, if any, as the court shall designate by its order. Such order shall specify how such notice shall be given and may be by publication, posting, personal service or otherwise as the court shall direct. Upon the hearing of the petition proof shall be submitted to the court that notice has been given as prescribed in such order.
§ 1953.11.Notice and hearing
Title 2. Of the Kinds and Degrees of Evidence · Chapter 3. Writings · Article 4.5. Private Records Destroyed in Disaster or Calamity · Enacted 1961 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1953.11 requires notice of the petition and the hearing to be given to whatever persons the court designates, in whatever form the court's order specifies, whether publication, posting, personal service, or otherwise, with proof of that notice submitted to the court at the hearing.
Full Text of § 1953.11
Plain-English Summary
Since a private record's fate can affect people who never asked to be involved, this section builds notice into the process before any order gets made. The court decides who needs notice of the petition and the hearing date, and it decides how that notice gets delivered, whether through publication, posting, personal service, or some other method the order specifies.
The court isn't left to assume notice happened. At the hearing on the petition, the petitioner has to submit proof to the court that notice was given the way the court's order prescribed, before the court moves on to deciding the petition on its merits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides how notice of the petition is given?
The court, by its own order designating both who must be notified and the method of notice.
What methods of notice does this section allow?
Publication, posting, personal service, or another method the court's order directs.
What must happen at the hearing before the court rules on the petition?
Proof must be submitted showing that notice was given as the court's order prescribed.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.1961, c. 1311, p. 3091, § 1.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: notice requirement private record petitionproof of notice hearing lost document