If an electronic filing is made to the clerk by an electronic filing service provider acting as the agent of the court for purposes of collecting and remitting filing fees, and fees owed to the electronic filing service provider remain unpaid for a period of five days after notice to the attorney of record, and the filing was made by the attorney of record and not a self-represented party, the electronic filing service provider may notify the clerk that fees remain unpaid despite notice to the attorney of record. The clerk may then notify the attorney of record that the attorney of record may be sanctioned by the court for nonpayment of fees. The court may sanction the attorney of record if the fees to the electronic filing service provider remain unsatisfied 20 days after notice by the clerk.
§ 411.20.5.Unpaid Fees; Sanctions
Title 5. Jurisdiction and Service of Process · Chapter 2. Commencing Civil Actions · Enacted 2018 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 411.20.5 lets an electronic filing service provider that collects court fees as the court’s agent report an attorney of record’s unpaid fees to the clerk after five days’ notice, lets the clerk warn the attorney of possible sanctions, and allows the court to sanction the attorney if the fees remain unpaid twenty days after the clerk’s notice.
Full Text of § 411.20.5
Plain-English Summary
Many California courts route electronic filings through private service providers that submit documents to the clerk and collect the associated filing fees on the court’s behalf. Section 411.20.5 addresses what happens when an attorney’s electronic filing goes through, but the fee owed to that provider doesn’t get paid.
The process runs in stages, each giving the attorney a chance to fix the problem before real consequences hit. First, the provider itself has to give the attorney of record notice that a fee is unpaid, and wait five days. If the fee still isn’t paid, the provider can tell the clerk. The clerk then sends its own notice, warning the attorney that the court may impose sanctions for nonpayment. Only if the fee remains unpaid twenty days after that clerk notice can the court impose a sanction.
The section applies only when an attorney of record made the filing, not a self-represented litigant, and it targets fees owed to the filing service provider itself rather than court filing fees generally. It gives providers a structured way to flag persistent nonpayment to the court, without cutting off electronic filing access or leaving the dispute to informal collection efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don’t pay my electronic filing service provider’s fees?
The provider must first give you five days’ notice. If the fee stays unpaid, it can notify the clerk, who sends its own warning notice. The court can only impose sanctions if the fee remains unpaid twenty days after that clerk notice.
Does Section 411.20.5 apply to self-represented litigants?
No. It applies only when the electronic filing was made by an attorney of record, not by a party representing themselves.
Can a court sanction me immediately for an unpaid electronic filing fee?
No. The statute requires the provider’s five-day notice, then a clerk notice, then a further twenty-day period, before the court may impose any sanction.
Who has to notify me before I can be sanctioned for an unpaid e-filing fee?
Both the electronic filing service provider and the court clerk provide notice, at different stages, before the court may consider sanctions.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2018 ch 248 (AB 1531),s 1, eff. 1/1/2019.
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: unpaid e-filing fee sanctions californiaelectronic filing service provider fee californiaefiling fee nonpayment attorney sanction