An appeal may be taken in a civil action or proceeding as provided in Sections 904.1, 904.2, 904.3, and 904.5.
§ 904.How Appeal Taken
Title 13. Appeals In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Appeals in General · Last amended 2008 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 904 is a routing statute stating that an appeal in a civil action or proceeding may be taken only as provided in §§ 904.1, 904.2, 904.3, and 904.5, pointing readers to the sections that define what is appealable and where.
Full Text of § 904
Plain-English Summary
Section 904 doesn't create appellate rights on its own — it directs practitioners to the sections that do. An appeal in a civil action or proceeding is taken as § 904.1, § 904.2, § 904.3, or § 904.5 provides, depending on the type of case and court involved.
Each of those sections covers different territory: § 904.1 governs ordinary civil appeals to the Court of Appeal, § 904.2 governs appeals in limited civil cases to the appellate division of the superior court, § 904.3 addresses appellate-division rulings on writ petitions in limited civil and misdemeanor or infraction cases, and § 904.5 sends small claims appeals to the Small Claims Act instead of this title. This section is the map; the sections it lists are the terrain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does § 904 itself say what judgments or orders can be appealed?
No. It directs readers to §§ 904.1, 904.2, 904.3, and 904.5, which contain the actual lists of appealable judgments and orders.
Why does California split appealability across four different sections?
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2007 ch 263 (AB 310),s 9.5, eff. 1/1/2008.
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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