Filing fee check returned unpaid: pay filing fee and administrative charge within 20 days of clerk's mailing of notice, or filing is voided

20 days after date the clerk mailed the notice that the filing-fee check was returned without payment, under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 411.20(a), (b), (e).

Rule text

(b) The clerk shall void the filing if the party who tendered a returned check or on whose behalf a returned check was tendered has not paid the full amount of the fee and the administrative charge by a means specified in subdivision (a) within 20 days of the date on which the notice required by subdivision (a) was mailed. Any filing voided by this section can be disposed of immediately after the 20 days have elapsed without preserving a copy in the court records, notwithstanding Section 68152 of the Government Code. ... (e) If any trial or other hearing is scheduled to be heard prior to the expiration of the 20-day period provided for in subdivision (a), the fee shall be paid prior to the trial or hearing.

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 411.20(a), (b), (e), official source

Calculate this deadline

Deadline
Monday, November 30, 2026
  1. Trigger (Date the clerk mailed the notice that the filing-fee check was returned without payment): Friday, November 6, 2026.
  2. Exclude the trigger day and count 20 calendar days: Thursday, November 26, 2026.
  3. That day is a Thanksgiving Day, so the deadline moves to the next court day: Monday, November 30, 2026 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10).
Rules applied
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 411.20(a), (b), (e)
(b) The clerk shall void the filing if the party who tendered a returned check or on whose behalf a returned check was tendered has not paid the full amount of the fee and the administrative charge by a means specified in subdivision (a) within 20 days of the date on which the notice required by subdivision (a) was mailed. Any filing voided by this section can be disposed of immediately after the 20 days have elapsed without preserving a copy in the court records, notwithstanding Section 68152 of the Government Code. ... (e) If any trial or other hearing is scheduled to be heard prior to the expiration of the 20-day period provided for in subdivision (a), the fee shall be paid prior to the trial or hearing.
Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10
CCP 12: "The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded." CCP 12a(a): "If the last day for the performance of any act provided or required by law to be performed within a specified period of time is a holiday, then that period is hereby extended to and including the next day that is not a holiday. For purposes of this section, “holiday” means all day on Saturdays, all holidays specified in Section 135 and, to the extent provided in Section 12b, all days that by terms of Section 12b are required to be considered as holidays." CCP 12b: "If any city, county, state, or public office, other than a branch office, is closed for the whole of any day, insofar as the business of that office is concerned, that day shall be considered as a holiday for the purposes of computing time under Sections 12 and 12a." CCP 10: "Holidays within the meaning of this code are every Sunday and any other days that are specified or provided for as judicial holidays in Section 135."
Official source
  • Runs from the clerk's MAILING; no CCP 1013 add-on (the statute fixes the 20 days from mailing). If a trial or hearing is set earlier, pay before it (411.20(e)). Payment by cash, certified check, or court-specified means, not personal or traveler's check. Responding party's refund request: 20 days after notice that both filings were voided (411.20(c); not modeled separately). Section amended by Stats. 2005, ch. 75, operative Jan. 1, 2006.
  • If the clerk's office is closed or inaccessible on the last day (weather, emergency or local closure orders), the deadline may be extended. Check local orders.

This calculator applies the cited rules to the dates you enter. It is not legal advice. Court orders, local rules, and case-specific facts can change a deadline; verify before relying on it. Rule set pending attorney review.

Worked example

Date the clerk mailed the notice that the filing-fee check was returned without payment on Monday, March 15, 2027, personal service: due Monday, April 5, 2027.

  1. Trigger (Date the clerk mailed the notice that the filing-fee check was returned without payment): Monday, March 15, 2027.
  2. Exclude the trigger day and count 20 calendar days: Sunday, April 4, 2027.
  3. That day is a Sunday, so the deadline moves to the next court day: Monday, April 5, 2027 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10).

Notes

Runs from the clerk's MAILING; no CCP 1013 add-on (the statute fixes the 20 days from mailing). If a trial or hearing is set earlier, pay before it (411.20(e)). Payment by cash, certified check, or court-specified means, not personal or traveler's check. Responding party's refund request: 20 days after notice that both filings were voided (411.20(c); not modeled separately). Section amended by Stats. 2005, ch. 75, operative Jan. 1, 2006.

Related deadlines

All California civil deadlines

Local rules by county

County local rules and courtroom procedures can add to or change this deadline. Pick a county to calculate with them applied.

Rules current as of 2026-10-25. Confirm against the official source and any local rule or court order before relying on a date. Rules changelog.