The goal of the Civil Bureau is to serve all civil process in a reasonable and timely manner while maintaining an impartial position between all parties involved. There are multiple types of civil process with which the Civil Bureau is involved.

The majority of procedures and laws governing the service and execution of civil process are covered in the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP). The law requires that all civil process brought to the Sheriff’s Office for service must be valid on its face, issued by a competent authority and accompanied by adequate legal instructions. The instructions must state the civil process to be served, the person or entity to be served, the location for service and be signed by the attorney of the party or by the party, if he has no attorney. Also, there are generally time restrictions regarding the service and enforcement of various types of civil process that must be adhered to. The fees for service of process are set in accordance with the California Government Code, 26720 et. seq.