(a) If a court orders the transfer of an action or proceeding for a cause specified in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of Section 397, the action or proceeding shall be transferred to a court having jurisdiction of the subject matter of the action upon agreement of the parties by stipulation in writing, or in open court and entered in the minutes or docket. If the parties do not so agree, the action or proceeding shall be transferred to the nearest or most accessible court where the like objection or cause for making the order does not exist.
§ 398.Court to Which Action Or Proceeding Transferred
Title 4. Of the Place of Trial, Reclassification, and Coordination of Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Place of Trial · Last amended 2016 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 398 sets the destination court once a case is ordered transferred, defaulting to the parties' stipulation, then to the nearest accessible court free of the original problem, or, when the case was filed in an improper court altogether, to a proper court the defendant designates.
Full Text of § 398
(b) If an action or proceeding is commenced in a court other than one designated as a proper court for the trial thereof by the provisions of this title, and the same is ordered transferred for that reason, the action or proceeding shall be transferred to a proper court upon agreement of the parties by stipulation in writing, or in open court and entered in the minutes or docket. If the parties do not so agree, the action or proceeding shall be transferred to a proper court in the county in which the action or proceeding was commenced which the defendant may designate or, if there is no proper court in that county, to a proper court, in a proper county, designated by the defendant. If the defendant does not designate the court as herein provided, or if the court orders the transfer of an action on its own motion as provided in this title, the action or proceeding shall be transferred to the proper court as determined by the court in which the action or proceeding is pending.
(c) The designation of the court by the defendant as provided for in subdivision (b), may be made in the notice of motion for change of venue or in open court and entered in the minutes or docket at the time the order for transfer is made.
Plain-English Summary
An order transferring a case still needs a destination. § 398 lets the parties stipulate to a court, in writing or in open court. Absent agreement, the destination depends on why the case is moving. For the discretionary grounds in § 397 -- doubt about an impartial trial, convenience of witnesses, or no available judge -- the case goes to the nearest or most accessible court without that same problem.
When the case was filed in a court that was never a proper venue under this title, the defendant gets to designate a proper court in the county where the case was filed, or, if that county has no proper court, a proper court in a proper county. If the defendant does not make that designation, or the court transfers the case on its own motion, the court decides the proper destination itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides which court a transferred case goes to?
The parties may stipulate to a court; failing that, the statute supplies a default -- the nearest available court free of the original problem, or a proper court the defendant designates when the original venue was improper.
Can the defendant designate any county at all?
No -- only a county that is a proper venue under § 395 and related rules, or the current county if it has a proper court there.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2015 ch 303 (AB 731),s 39, eff. 1/1/2016.
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: which court case transferred to california venuedestination court venue transfer california