If no proceedings have been brought by the public agency pursuant to this chapter, any interested person may bring an action within the time and in the court specified by Section 860 to determine the validity of such matter. The public agency shall be a defendant and shall be served with the summons and complaint in the action in the manner provided by law for the service of a summons in a civil action. In any such action the summons shall be in the form prescribed in Section 861.1 except that in addition to being directed to "all persons interested in the matter of [specifying the matter]," it shall also be directed to the public agency. If the interested person bringing such action fails to complete the publication and such other notice as may be prescribed by the court in accordance with Section 861 and to file proof thereof in the action within 60 days from the filing of his complaint, the action shall be forthwith dismissed on the motion of the public agency unless good cause for such failure is shown by the interested person.
§ 863.Interested Person Bringing Action If No Proceedings Brought By Public Agency
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 9. Validating Proceedings · Last amended 1969 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 863 lets any interested person bring a reverse-validation action within § 860's same time and forum if the public agency hasn't sued first, naming the agency as defendant and following § 861.1's summons form, subject to dismissal if the person fails to complete publication and file proof within sixty days absent good cause.
Full Text of § 863
Plain-English Summary
Not every agency moves quickly, or moves at all, to validate a matter that could affect the public. Section 863 gives private citizens and other interested persons a backstop: if the public agency hasn't brought its own validation action under this chapter, an interested person can bring one instead -- a reverse validation action -- within the same time period and in the same court that § 860 gives the agency.
In a reverse validation action, the roles flip. The public agency becomes the defendant, served with the summons and complaint the way any civil defendant would be served. The summons still follows § 861.1's form, still addressed to all interested persons, but it is now also directed to the agency by name.
The interested person bringing this kind of action carries a real deadline. Publication and any other court-ordered notice under § 861 has to be completed, and proof of that filed, within 60 days of filing the complaint. Miss that deadline without good cause, and the public agency can move to have the action dismissed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a reverse validation action?
An action brought by an interested person, rather than the public agency, to test the validity of a matter the agency has not sued to validate itself.
Who is the defendant in a reverse validation action?
The public agency.
How long does the interested person have to complete notice?
Sixty days from filing the complaint, to complete publication and any other required notice under § 861 and file proof of it.
What happens if that sixty-day deadline is missed?
The public agency can move to dismiss the action, unless the interested person shows good cause for the failure.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1969, Ch. 1611.
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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