(a) No appeal or petition filed in the superior court shall be dismissed solely because the appeal or petition was not filed in the proper state court.
§ 396.Appeal Or Petition Not Filed In Proper State Court; Appeal Or Petition Transferred to Court Having Jurisdiction
Title 4. Of the Place of Trial, Reclassification, and Coordination of Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Place of Trial · Enacted 2008 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 396 prevents dismissal of an appeal or petition solely because it was filed in the wrong state court, instead requiring it to be transferred to whichever court -- superior court, court of appeal, or Supreme Court -- has jurisdiction over it.
Full Text of § 396
(b) If the superior court lacks jurisdiction of an appeal or petition, and a court of appeal or the Supreme Court would have jurisdiction, the appeal or petition shall be transferred to the court having jurisdiction upon terms as to costs or otherwise as may be just, and proceeded with as if regularly filed in the court having jurisdiction.
Plain-English Summary
§ 396 addresses a mistake about jurisdiction, not venue. If an appeal or petition ends up in the superior court when a court of appeal or the Supreme Court is the one with jurisdiction, the case is not thrown out for that reason alone; it is transferred to the court with jurisdiction, on terms as to costs the transferring court finds just, and proceeds there as though it had been properly filed from the start.
This is worth keeping separate from the venue rules elsewhere in this title. Venue asks which county is the proper place to try a case; jurisdiction asks which level of court has the power to hear it at all, a question this project's build treats under Title 5 (beginning at § 410.10). § 396 is a narrow safety valve limited to misdirected appeals and petitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I file an appeal in the wrong court in California?
It is not dismissed solely for that reason -- it is transferred to the court with jurisdiction, on terms as to costs the court finds just.
Is this the same thing as filing in the wrong venue?
No. § 396 fixes a jurisdiction problem (which level of court may act), a different question from venue (which county is the proper place for trial).
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2008 ch 56 (SB 1182),s 2, eff. 1/1/2009.
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: appeal filed in wrong court californiapetition filed wrong court transfer jurisdiction