Rule 5.94.Order shortening time; other filing requirements; failure to serve request for order
Division 1. Family Rules · Chapter 6. Request for Court Orders · Article 2. Filing and Service · Last amended 2020 · Last verified September 10, 2026
Full Text of Rule 5.94
Plain-English Summary
Three separate protections sit in this short rule. The court may shorten the statutory times for filing and serving papers, on its own motion or on an application supported by a declaration showing good cause. Proof of service of the request and supporting papers should be filed five court days before the hearing.
The filing protection matters to self-represented parties in particular: no papers relating to a request for order or a responsive declaration may be rejected for filing merely because they were submitted late. The court retains discretion to refuse to consider a late paper — but if it does, the minutes or order must say so, which puts the decision on the record. Papers are timely if submitted before the clerk’s office closes to the public on or before the day they are due.
The last subdivision has teeth. If the requesting party neither serves the other party before the hearing nor obtains an order rescheduling it, the request for order or other moving papers — along with any temporary emergency orders — expire at the date and time of the scheduled hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the clerk reject my papers for being late?
No. No papers relating to a request for order or responsive declaration may be rejected for filing on the ground that they were untimely submitted. The court may still decline to consider them, but the minutes or order must indicate that.
When is a filing considered timely?
If it is submitted before the close of the clerk’s office to the public, on or before the day the papers are due.
What happens if I never served my request for order?
It expires at the date and time of the scheduled hearing, along with any temporary emergency orders — unless you obtained a court order rescheduling the hearing under rule 5.95.
Amendment History
Rule 5.94 amended effective July 1, 2020; adopted effective January 1, 2013; previously amended effective July 1, 2016, and September 1, 2017.
(Subd (c) amended and relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (d).) (Subd (d) amended and relettered effective July 1, 2016; adopted as subd (e).) (Subd (e) amended effective July 1, 2020; adopted as subd (c); previously amended and relettered effective July 1, 2016; previously amended effective September 1, 2017.)