California Judicial Council Forms: Family Law Forms by Category
27 California Judicial Council family law forms, grouped by category, each with the official courts.ca.gov PDF and a plain-language guide.
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What are Judicial Council forms and where do I get them?
The Judicial Council of California is the state body that sets rules of court and adopts the standard forms California's courts use. A Judicial Council form works the same way in every county, so a form filed in Los Angeles County looks and behaves like the same form filed in Sacramento or San Diego County. Most Judicial Council forms are marked either mandatory (the Judicial Council seal appears in the lower left corner and the form must be used) or optional (marked "Form Approved for Optional Use," meaning a court can require or accept its own version instead).
Every current Judicial Council form is published as a free, fillable PDF at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm, where you can search by form number, keyword, or category. Some third-party legal sites and CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar) host copies or annotated versions of the same forms, but courts.ca.gov is the official source and the version your court expects.
This page covers California Judicial Council forms family law cases use most, grouped by category: starting a divorce or legal separation, custody and visitation, child support, spousal support, fee waivers, and restraining orders. A separate section below briefly covers civil and other Judicial Council forms that come up in the same searches but are outside family law.
How do I browse Judicial Council forms by category?
Family law Judicial Council forms
Petitions, summons, proof of service, disclosures, and judgment forms for California divorce, legal separation, custody, support, and restraining order cases.
Divorce and legal separation forms
These forms open, respond to, and finish a California dissolution, legal separation, or nullity case, plus the financial disclosures every case requires.
Custody and visitation forms
Used to ask for, or attach detail to, orders about legal and physical custody and parenting time.
Child support forms
FL-150 above supplies the income figures; these two forms carry a support order into collection.
Spousal support forms
Spousal support requests build on FL-300 and FL-150 with this dedicated attachment.
Fee waiver forms
For a party who cannot afford court filing fees.
Domestic violence restraining order forms
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For the National Domestic Violence Hotline, call 1-800-799-7233.
Civil harassment restraining order forms
For harassment by someone who is not an intimate partner, family member, or co-parent.
Commonly requested civil and other Judicial Council forms
These come up in the same searches as the family law forms above but belong to general civil, small claims, or traffic cases, not family law. Virdix does not prepare these forms; each links to the official courts.ca.gov PDF.
People reach this page through many different search phrasings for the same forms. Common variants include a judicial council form summons, a judicial council form complaint, judicial council forms proof of service, a judicial council form pos 010, judicial council forms form interrogatories, and a judicial council form interrogatories (all pointing to SUM-100, PLD-C-001, POS-010, and DISC-001 above). Settlement and dismissal paperwork gets searched as a judicial council form notice of settlement, notice of settlement judicial council form, and judicial council forms request for dismissal (CM-200 and CIV-110 above). The lower-numbered civil forms above are also searched by number first, ra 010 judicial council form and ud 101 judicial council form, or by name first, judicial council form ra 010, judicial council form tr 205, judicial council form cm 110, and judicial council form cm 010. Whichever way you search, including the full www judicial council forms address, or ca judicial council forms browse by category, they all lead back to the same judicial council court forms library at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm. Some sites, including ceb free judicial council forms pages and other ceb judicial council forms copies from CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar), mirror the same PDFs; courts.ca.gov remains the official, current version.
Probate forms (DE- and GC- prefixes) are a separate Judicial Council category covering estates, conservatorships, and guardianships; they are listed at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm and are outside what Virdix prepares.
Judicial Council forms: frequently asked questions
What are Judicial Council forms?+
Judicial Council forms are the standardized court forms adopted by the Judicial Council of California, the state agency that oversees court rules and procedure. They cover most types of California court cases, family law, civil, probate, small claims, and more, so every county's courts use the same form for the same purpose. The official, current version of every Judicial Council form is published at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm.
Where can I find free, fillable Judicial Council forms?+
Every Judicial Council form is free to download as a fillable PDF directly from courts.ca.gov, no account or payment required. Third-party sites, including CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar), sometimes host copies or annotated versions, but courts.ca.gov is the official source and the version courts expect you to file.
How do I browse California Judicial Council forms by category?+
The official forms search at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm lets you filter by category (family law, civil, probate, small claims, and others) or search by form number or keyword. This page groups the family law forms Virdix works with by case stage: starting a case, custody and support, fee waivers, restraining orders, and judgment.
How do I fill out a civil case cover sheet for a family law case?+
If you searched how to fill out civil case information sheet for divorce, the short answer is that you generally do not file one. The Civil Case Cover Sheet (CM-010, sometimes called the civil case information sheet) is filed with general civil complaints, not family law petitions. A California divorce, legal separation, or custody case is opened with FL-100 (Petition) and FL-110 (Summons) instead, and does not require CM-010 or CM-110 (Case Management Statement).
What is a Judicial Council form for a summons, complaint, or proof of service?+
In family law, the summons is FL-110 and its proof of service is FL-115. In a general civil case, the equivalents are SUM-100 (Summons), a pleading form such as PLD-C-001 (Complaint, Contract), and POS-010 (Proof of Service of Summons). Each pair works together: the summons or petition opens the case, and the proof of service documents that the other party was formally notified.
Is there a Judicial Council form to substitute a defendant's real name for a Doe designation?+
A doe amendment judicial council form, sometimes searched as amendment to complaint judicial council form, does not exist statewide. Amending a complaint to replace a fictitious "Doe" name with a defendant's real name is handled with a local form specific to the county where the case is filed, for example San Francisco's SFCIV-014 or San Bernardino's local amendment form. Check the specific county court's website for its version.
Does the Judicial Council publish probate forms too?+
Yes. Judicial council forms probate (DE- and GC- prefixes) are a separate category from family law (FL-) and civil (CM-, CIV-, SUM-) forms, covering estates, conservatorships, and guardianships. They are listed under their own category at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm and are outside what Virdix prepares.
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This page explains what the official Judicial Council forms generally ask for and is not legal advice. Virdix is a document preparation service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed California family law attorney or visit selfhelp.courts.ca.gov.
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