§ 2.When this code takes effect

Preliminary Provisions · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 2 fixes the moment the Code of Civil Procedure became law: noon on January 1, 1873.

Full Text of § 2

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This code takes effect at twelve o’clock noon, on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy- three.

Plain-English Summary

Section 2 sets a single fact in stone: the code took effect at twelve o’clock noon on January 1, 1873. That precise hour mattered for sorting out which law — the old statutes or the new code — governed events that fell right around the changeover.

Today the date is a historical marker rather than a live question. But it still anchors related provisions, like Section 3’s rule that the code isn’t retroactive and Section 8’s protection for actions already pending when the code took effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the California Code of Civil Procedure take effect?

At noon on January 1, 1873, per Section 2.

Does Section 2 still matter today?

The effective date itself is settled history, but it still anchors related rules on retroactivity (Section 3) and on actions pending at the time (Section 8).

Amendment History

Enacted 1872.

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: when did the CCP take effecteffective date of California Code of Civil ProcedureCCP section 2