Request for Order (RFO) Hearings in Sacramento County, California

In Sacramento County, you file a family law Request for Order (Form FL-300) with the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, 3341 Power Inn Road, Sacramento, CA 95826. This is the courthouse for the Family Law and Probate Divisions. It is not the county's main downtown courthouse. Every Sacramento County RFO is filed, served, and heard there.

Filing a Request for Order in Sacramento County costs $60, or $85 if you ask for orders about child custody or visitation, according to the court's own Request for Order packet. Every filer also needs the local Family Law Case Participant Enrollment Form, FL/E-LP-665. If your request involves custody or visitation, you also need the Family Law Case Demographics Information Sheet, FL/E-ME-811. You can file by mail, by using the courthouse drop box, open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or in person between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. with an appointment or a ticket from Reception.

When you file, the clerk writes your hearing date, time, and department on the Request for Order form. Sacramento family law hearings are held in Departments 120 through 135 on the second and third floors of the Ridgeway courthouse. Your case number decides the department. The statewide notice rules apply here, as they do in every California county. Your Request for Order and attachments must be served on the other party at least sixteen court days before the hearing. A Responsive Declaration on Form FL-320 must generally be served at least nine court days before the hearing.

If your Request for Order involves contested child custody or visitation, Sacramento's Family Court Services schedules a Child Custody Recommending Counseling appointment. This usually happens about two weeks before your hearing date. Sacramento family law departments also allow remote appearance for many hearings through a Zoom line assigned to each department. You generally need to file a Notice of Remote Appearance at least ten court days, and no later than five court days, before your hearing.

Where hearings are held in Sacramento County

Family court hearings in Sacramento County are held at the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, with the county seat in Sacramento. Because courtroom assignments, remote appearance options, and local procedures change over time, use the official California Courts court finder to confirm current details:

Find the Sacramento County Superior Court (official California Courts finder)

How a family court hearing works in California

In California, a party who wants the court to decide something while a case is pending, such as temporary custody, support, or attorney's fees, files a Request for Order (Form FL-300). The core steps are:

1. File the Request for Order (Form FL-300) with a supporting declaration and, if support or fees are at issue, an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150).
2. Serve the other party by the deadline the court sets, generally at least 16 court days before the hearing (California Rules of Court, rule 5.92).
3. The responding party can file a responsive declaration, generally at least 9 court days before the hearing.
4. Attend Family Court Services mediation first if custody or visitation is contested.
5. Attend the hearing; some courts issue tentative rulings in advance, and some allow remote appearance by video or phone.

Local notes for Sacramento County

Self-represented parties can get help with Request for Order paperwork at the Family Law and Probate Self-Help Center. It is in Room 314 on the third floor of the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. Staff can be reached online through an eCorrespondence account or in person Monday through Thursday and Friday mornings. They can explain forms and procedure. They cannot give legal advice about your specific case.

If the filing fee would be a hardship, ask the clerk about a fee waiver on Form FW-001. The court's public pages did not confirm whether Sacramento family law departments have their own meet-and-confer expectations or post tentative rulings before an RFO hearing. Check with the self-help center or your assigned department before you appear.

For a contested custody or visitation Request for Order, the counselor sends the judge a written recommendation if the parents do not reach full agreement at the Child Custody Recommending Counseling appointment. The recommendation is generally available about five days before the hearing through the court's online case access system. The other party can object to a remote appearance for certain hearings, such as contempt or domestic violence matters, by filing an Opposition to Remote Proceeding. The court then rules in writing or at the hearing itself.

Official hearing resources in Sacramento County

William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse handles hearings filings, located at 3341 Power Inn Road, Sacramento 95826. Phone: 916-875-3400.

The filing fee is $60 ($85 for custody or visitation requests). The court's Request for Order packet lists mailing the forms, using the courthouse drop box, or filing in person by appointment as the filing options for self-represented RFO filers; it does not list an e-filing option.

Family Law and Probate Self-Help Center (https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/family/self-help-center.aspx) can help with procedure and paperwork. Room 314, third floor of the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. Staff can be reached through an eCorrespondence account online or in person Monday through Thursday and Friday mornings, and can explain forms and procedure but not give legal advice.

• Request for Order Packet (William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse)
• William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse
• Family Law and Probate Self-Help Center
• Family Court Services: Questions About Scheduled Mediation
• Judicial Council Form FL-300, Request for Order
• California Rules of Court

Local details reviewed August 2026. Offices and locations can change, so confirm with the official sites above before you file.

Sacramento County RFO Hearing FAQs