Request for Order (RFO) Hearings in San Francisco County, California

In San Francisco County, a Request for Order hearing is handled by the Unified Family Court at 400 McAllister Street, Room 402, in the Civic Center Courthouse. The next step depends on what you ask for. A Request for Order about child custody or visitation goes on the Readiness Calendar. That calendar is held Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. in Department 403 or 404. The judge then sets a mediation date and a later hearing date. A Request for Order about only financial issues, including support and attorney fees, gets a Law and Motion hearing date when you file it.

San Francisco is one of the few California counties where family law hearings often have a tentative ruling posted before the hearing. Under the court's local rules, tentative rulings for the Law and Motion and Child Custody and Visitation short cause calendars are posted online or available by phone starting at 2:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing. If you want to present oral argument instead of accepting the tentative ruling, you must notify the court and the other party by 4:00 p.m. the day before. If you do not, the tentative ruling automatically becomes the order of the court.

San Francisco is a single consolidated city and county, so there is one courthouse for family law matters. This makes it easier to know where to go than in larger counties with several branches. All Requests for Order, including custody and financial requests, must still follow the statewide notice and response rules. California Rules of Court, rule 5.92 requires service on the other party at least 16 court days before the hearing. A response on Form FL-320 is due by 9 court days before the hearing.

Self-represented parties can get help with forms at the ACCESS Legal Self-Help Center in Room 509 of the same courthouse. The center can explain procedure and paperwork. It cannot tell you what to write on your forms or predict how a judge will rule on your Request for Order.

Where hearings are held in San Francisco County

Family court hearings in San Francisco County are held at the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, with the county seat in San Francisco. 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco County

If your case involves child custody or visitation, San Francisco requires mediation before a judge decides those issues. The first mediation session is confidential. The mediator does not report a recommendation to the court except in narrow situations involving a child's safety or a threat of harm. If the parties do not reach an agreement in mediation, they get a brief written summary of what was resolved and what was not. That summary goes to the court before the hearing date. Before mediation, parties who have not attended orientation within the past two years must attend a Readiness Calendar orientation session right after the Monday morning calendar call.

San Francisco allows remote appearances by video or telephone for most family law hearings in Departments 403, 404, and 405. You do not need to file a separate remote appearance notice. Log-in instructions come with your filing confirmation or by email from the department clerk. The court can still require an in-person appearance in a specific case. Financial matters involving the Department of Child Support Services are heard separately in Department 416. That department sits daily and uses its own child support guideline calculator instead of the DissoMaster program used in the other family law departments.

The filing fee for a standard Request for Order in San Francisco is $60. This matches the statewide fee under Government Code section 70617(a). If you cannot pay, you can ask the court to waive the fee with Form FW-001. If your Request for Order includes a custody request, San Francisco has an optional local declaration form, SFUFC Form 11.7-A. Some parties use it to organize the information a judge needs. You must attach Tentative Ruling Instructions to your paperwork and confirm that they were served with it.

Official hearing resources in San Francisco County

Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Unified Family Court handles hearings filings, located at 400 McAllister Street, Room 402, San Francisco 94102. Phone: (415) 551-3900.

The filing fee is $435. E-filing is available through https://sf.courts.ca.gov/. San Francisco accepts electronic filing for family law cases; check the court's forms and filing pages for current e-filing vendor requirements.

ACCESS (Legal Self-Help) Center (https://sf.courts.ca.gov/access-legal-self-help-center) can help with procedure and paperwork. Located in Room 509, 400 McAllister Street. Helps self-represented parties with family law paperwork and process but cannot give legal advice. Phone (415) 551-0605. Local Rule 11.7 (Law and Motion and Readiness Calendars (Family Law Requests for Order)) applies; see https://sf.courts.ca.gov/system/files/local-rules/local-rules-court-effective-january-1-2024_0.pdf. Local Rule 8.3 (Tentative Rulings) applies; see https://sf.courts.ca.gov/system/files/local-rules/local-rules-court-effective-january-1-2024_0.pdf.

• San Francisco Unified Family Court
• San Francisco Family Court FAQs
• San Francisco Family Court Services Mediation FAQs
• San Francisco Family Law Tentative Rulings
• San Francisco Uniform Local Rules of Court
• San Francisco ACCESS Legal Self-Help Center

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

San Francisco County RFO Hearing FAQs