Rule 5.7.Use of forms

Division 1. Family Rules · Chapter 1. General Provisions · Article 2. Use of Forms · Last amended 2026 · Last verified September 10, 2026

In one sentenceRule 5.7 adopts the Judicial Council’s family law and domestic violence forms as rules of court, permits their use in some nonfamily matters, and adopts the uniform interstate support forms for use in California.

Full Text of Rule 5.7

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c)

(a) Status of family law and domestic violence forms

All forms adopted or approved by the Judicial Council for use in any proceeding under the Family Code—including any form in the FL, ADOPT, DV, EJ, and SUR series—are adopted as rules of court under the authority of Family Code section 211; article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution; and other applicable law.

(b) Forms in nonfamily law proceedings

The forms specified by this division may be used, at the option of the party, in any proceeding involving a financial obligation growing out of the relationship of parent and child or husband and wife or domestic partners, to the extent they are appropriate to that proceeding.

Notwithstanding any other provision of these rules, all Uniform Interstate Family Support Act forms approved by either the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are adopted for use in family law and other support actions in California.

End

Plain-English Summary

The forms are not suggestions. Every form the Judicial Council adopts or approves for a Family Code proceeding — the FL, ADOPT, DV, EJ, and SUR series — is adopted as a rule of court. That is what gives a mandatory form its force: filling it out properly is complying with a rule, not observing a convention.

Subdivision (b) lets a party choose to use these forms outside family court, in any proceeding involving a financial obligation arising from the parent-child relationship or from marriage or domestic partnership, to the extent they fit. Subdivision (c) reaches further still: the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act forms approved by the Uniform Law Commissioners or by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are adopted for use in California support actions, whatever else these rules say.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Judicial Council family law forms mandatory?

The forms adopted for Family Code proceedings are adopted as rules of court under rule 5.7(a), which is what makes using them a matter of rule compliance. Whether a particular form is mandatory or optional is stated on the form itself.

Can I use a family law form in a case that is not a family law case?

Sometimes. Subdivision (b) allows it, at the party’s option, in any proceeding involving a financial obligation growing out of the parent-child relationship or out of marriage or domestic partnership, to the extent the form fits that proceeding.

Which forms govern an interstate support case?

The UIFSA forms approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws or by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rule 5.7(c) adopts them for California support actions notwithstanding any other provision of these rules.

Amendment History

Rule 5.7 amended effective January 1, 2026; adopted effective January 1, 2013.

(Subd (a) amended effective July 1, 2026)

Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California. Last verified September 10, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: Judicial Council family law formsFL forms rules of courtare family law forms mandatory CaliforniaUIFSA forms California