(a) When any ground for objection to a complaint, cross-complaint, or answer appears on the face thereof, or from any matter of which the court is required to or may take judicial notice, the objection on that ground may be taken by a demurrer to the pleading.
§ 430.30.Objection Taken By Demurrer; By Answer
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Objections to Pleadings; Denials and Defenses · Article 1. Objections to Pleadings · Enacted 1971 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 430.30 explains how an objection under § 430.10 or § 430.20 gets raised: by demurrer when the ground appears on the pleading's face or from judicially noticeable matter, by answer when it does not, and a party may demur and answer at the same time.
Full Text of § 430.30
(b) When any ground for objection to a complaint or cross-complaint does not appear on the face of the pleading, the objection may be taken by answer.
(c) A party objecting to a complaint or cross-complaint may demur and answer at the same time.
Plain-English Summary
Section 430.30 sorts objections into two procedural tracks. When a defect appears on the face of the complaint, cross-complaint, or answer — or from a matter the court is required or permitted to judicially notice — the objecting party raises it by demurrer. When the defect does not appear on the face of a complaint or cross-complaint, the objecting party raises it instead in the answer itself.
Subdivision (c) makes clear these two tracks are not mutually exclusive: a party may demur to a complaint or cross-complaint and answer it at the same time, raising face-of-the-pleading defects by demurrer while preserving other defenses in the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a party file a demurrer and an answer at the same time in California?
Yes. Section 430.30(c) expressly allows a party to demur and answer a complaint or cross-complaint at the same time.
When must an objection be raised by answer instead of demurrer?
When the ground for objection to a complaint or cross-complaint does not appear on the face of the pleading, § 430.30(b) requires raising it by answer rather than demurrer.
What counts as a defect appearing "on the face" of a pleading?
It means the defect is apparent from the pleading's own allegations or from matter the court must or may judicially notice, without looking at outside evidence.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1971, Ch. 244.
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
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