(a) Except as otherwise provided by law and subject to the power of the court to transfer actions or proceedings as provided in this title, the superior court in the county where the defendants or some of them reside at the commencement of the action is the proper court for the trial of the action. If the action is for injury to person or personal property or for death from wrongful act or negligence, the superior court in either the county where the injury occurs or the injury causing death occurs or the county where the defendants, or some of them reside at the commencement of the action, is a proper court for the trial of the action. In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the superior court in the county where either the petitioner or respondent has been a resident for three months next preceding the commencement of the proceeding is the proper court for the trial of the proceeding. In a proceeding for nullity of marriage or legal separation of the parties, the superior court in the county where either the petitioner or the respondent resides at the commencement of the proceeding is the proper court for the trial of the proceeding. In a proceeding to enforce an obligation of support under Section 3900 of the Family Code, the superior court in the county where the child resides is the proper court for the trial of the action. In a proceeding to establish and enforce a foreign judgment or court order for the support of a minor child, the superior court in the county where the child resides is the proper court for the trial of the action. Subject to subdivision (b), if a defendant has contracted to perform an obligation in a particular county, the superior court in the county where the obligation is to be performed, where the contract in fact was entered into, or where the defendant or any defendant resides at the commencement of the action is a proper court for the trial of an action founded on that obligation, and the county where the obligation is incurred is the county where it is to be performed, unless there is a special contract in writing to the contrary. If none of the defendants reside in the state or if they reside in the state and the county where they reside is unknown to the plaintiff, the action may be tried in the superior court in any county that the plaintiff may designate in his or her complaint, and, if the defendant is about to depart from the state, the action may be tried in the superior court in any county where either of the parties reside or service is made. If any person is improperly joined as a defendant or has been made a defendant solely for the purpose of having the action tried in the superior court in the county where he or she resides, his or her residence shall not be considered in determining the proper place for the trial of the action.
§ 395.Action For Injury to Person Or Personal Property Or Death From Wrongful Act Or Negligence; Offer Or Provision of Goods, Services, Loans Or Extension of Credit For Family Or Household Use
Title 4. Of the Place of Trial, Reclassification, and Coordination of Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Place of Trial · Last amended 2003 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 395 is California's core venue statute, sending most civil lawsuits to the defendant's county of residence while setting distinct venue rules for personal injury and wrongful-death claims, marital dissolution and related family-law proceedings, contract disputes, and consumer credit transactions.
Full Text of § 395
(b) Subject to the power of the court to transfer actions or proceedings as provided in this title, in an action arising from an offer or provision of goods, services, loans or extensions of credit intended primarily for personal, family or household use, other than an obligation described in Section 1812.10 or Section 2984.4 of the Civil Code, or an action arising from a transaction consummated as a proximate result of either an unsolicited telephone call made by a seller engaged in the business of consummating transactions of that kind or a telephone call or electronic transmission made by the buyer or lessee in response to a solicitation by the seller, the superior court in the county where the buyer or lessee in fact signed the contract, where the buyer or lessee resided at the time the contract was entered into, or where the buyer or lessee resides at the commencement of the action is the proper court for the trial of the action. In the superior court designated in this subdivision as the proper court, the proper court location for trial of a case is the location where the court tries that type of case that is nearest or most accessible to where the buyer or lessee resides, where the buyer or lessee in fact signed the contract, where the buyer or lessee resided at the time the contract was entered into, or where the buyer or lessee resides at the commencement of the action. Otherwise, any location of the superior court designated as the proper court in this subdivision is a proper court location for the trial. The court may specify by local rule the nearest or most accessible court location where the court tries that type of case.
(c) Any provision of an obligation described in subdivision (b) waiving that subdivision is void and unenforceable.
Plain-English Summary
§ 395(a) opens with the default rule: a lawsuit belongs in the superior court of the county where the defendant, or one of the defendants, resides when the case is filed. Two big exceptions ride along with it. First, for injury to a person or personal property, or for death from a wrongful act or negligence, the plaintiff may choose either the county where the injury occurred or a defendant's county of residence. Second, several family-law proceedings get their own rule: a dissolution of marriage belongs in the county where either the petitioner or the respondent has lived for the three months before filing, while a nullity or legal-separation proceeding belongs wherever either party resides at the time of filing, with no waiting period. Actions to enforce a child-support obligation, or to establish and enforce a foreign child-support order, both go to the county where the child resides.
Contract cases get a third track. If a defendant contracted to perform an obligation in a particular county, venue may rest on where the obligation is to be performed, where the contract was made, or where the defendant resides -- and, absent a contrary written agreement, the county where an obligation is incurred is treated as the county where it is to be performed. If no defendant lives in California, or the plaintiff does not know which county a defendant lives in, the plaintiff may pick any county in the complaint; if a defendant is about to leave the state, either party's residence or the place of service will do. A defendant joined improperly, or joined only to manipulate venue, does not get to have that residence count toward the proper county.
Subdivision (b) protects consumers. For a sale, lease, loan, or extension of credit meant mainly for personal, family, or household use -- including transactions arising from an unsolicited sales call, or from a buyer's own call or electronic response to a seller's solicitation -- venue turns on the buyer or lessee's own connection to the case: where the contract was signed, where the buyer or lessee lived when it was signed, or where the buyer or lessee lives when the suit is filed. Subdivision (c) then makes any contract clause that tries to waive those consumer protections void and unenforceable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I file a personal injury lawsuit in California?
Either the county where the injury occurred, or a county where one of the defendants resides at the time the case is filed.
How long do I have to have lived in a county before filing for divorce there?
§ 395 requires the petitioner or respondent to have resided in that county for the three months immediately before filing the dissolution proceeding; a nullity or legal-separation filing has no such waiting period.
Can I sue over a contract in any county I want?
No -- § 395(a) ties contract venue to where the obligation is to be performed, where the contract was made, or a defendant's residence, unless no defendant lives in California, in which case the plaintiff may choose the county.
What protects me if I signed a payment plan in a different county than where I now live?
Under § 395(b), venue for a personal, family, or household credit transaction follows the buyer or lessee -- where they signed, where they lived at signing, or where they live now -- and subdivision (c) voids any contract clause trying to waive that protection.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2002 ch 806 (AB 3027),s 8, eff. 1/1/2003.
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: california venue rules civil lawsuitwhere to file a lawsuit in californiapersonal injury venue californiadivorce venue california residency requirementconsumer contract venue californiamotion to change venue california civil