2024 California Rules of Court
Rule 2.306. Service of papers by fax transmission
(a) Service by fax
(1) Agreement of parties required
Service by fax transmission is permitted only if the parties agree and a written confirmation of that agreement is made.
(2) Service on last-given fax number
Any notice or other document to be served must be transmitted to a fax machine maintained by the person on whom it is served at the fax machine telephone number as last given by that person on any document that the party has filed in the case and served on the party making service.
(Subd (a) amended and lettered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as part of subd (b) effective March 1, 1992.)
(b) Service lists
(1) Duties of first-named plaintiff or petitioner
In a case in which the parties have agreed to service by fax, the plaintiff or petitioner named first in the complaint or petition, in addition to its responsibilities under rule 3.254, must:
(A) Maintain a current list of the parties that includes their fax numbers for service of notice on each party; and
(B) Furnish a copy of the list on request to any party or the court.
(2) Duties of each party
In a case in which the parties have agreed to service by fax, each party, in addition to its responsibilities under rule 3.254, must:
(A) Furnish the first-named plaintiff or petitioner with the party's current fax number for service of notice when it first appears in the action; and
(B) If the party serves an order, notice, or pleading on a party that has not yet appeared in the action, serve a copy of the service list under (1) at the same time that the order, notice, or pleading is served.
(Subd (b) adopted effective January 1, 2008.)
(c) Transmission of papers by court
A court may serve any notice by fax in the same manner that parties may serve papers by fax.
(Subd (c) relettered effective January 1, 2008; adopted as subd (b) effective January 1, 2007.)
(d) Notice period extended
Except as provided in (e), any prescribed period of notice and any right or duty to do any act or make any response within any prescribed period or on a date certain after the service of a document served by fax transmission is extended by two court days.
(Subd (d) amended effective July 1, 2008; adopted as part of subd (b) effective March 1, 1992; previously amended and lettered as subd (c) effective January 1, 2007; previously relettered as subd (d) effective January 1, 2008.)
(e) Extension inapplicable to certain motions
The extension provided in (d) does not apply to extend the time for the filing of:
(1) A notice of intent to move for new trial;
(2) A notice of intent to move to vacate a judgment under Code of Civil Procedure section 663; or
(3) A notice of appeal.
(Subd (e) amended effective July 1, 2008; adopted as part of subd (b) effective March 1, 1992; previously amended and lettered as subd (d) effective January 1, 2007; previously relettered as subd (e) effective January 1, 2007.)
(f) Availability of fax
A party or attorney agreeing to accept service by fax must make his or her fax machine generally available for receipt of served documents between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on days that are not court holidays under Code of Civil Procedure section 136. This provision does not prevent the party or attorney from sending other documents by means of the fax machine or providing for normal repair and maintenance of the fax machine during these hours.
(Subd (f) relettered effective January 1, 2008; adopted as subd (c) effective March 1, 1992; previously amended and relettered as subd (e) effective January 1, 2007.)
(g) When service complete
Service by fax is complete on transmission of the entire document to the receiving party's fax machine. Service that is completed after 5 p.m. is deemed to have occurred on the next court day. Time is extended as provided by this rule.
(Subd (g) relettered effective January 1, 2008; adopted as subd (d) effective March 1, 1992; previously amended effective July 1, 1997; previously amended and relettered as subd (f) effective January 1, 2007.)
(h) Proof of service by fax
Proof of service by fax may be made by any of the methods provided in Code of Civil Procedure section 1013(a), except that:
(1) The date and sending fax machine telephone number must be used instead of the date and place of deposit in the mail;
(2) The name and fax machine telephone number of the person served must be used instead of the name and address of the person served as shown on the envelope;
(3) A statement that the document was sent by fax transmission and that the transmission was reported as complete and without error must be used instead of the statement that the envelope was sealed and deposited in the mail with the postage thereon fully prepaid;
(4) A copy of the transmission report must be attached to the proof of service and the proof of service must declare that the transmission report was properly issued by the sending fax machine; and
(5) Service of papers by fax is ineffective if the transmission does not fully conform to these provisions.
(Subd (h) amended effective January 1, 2017; adopted as subd (e) effective March 1, 1992; previously amended effective July 1, 1997, and May 1, 1998; previously amended and relettered as subd (g) effective January 1, 2007; previously relettered as subd (h) effective January 1, 2008.)
Rule 2.306 amended effective January 1, 2017; adopted as rule 2008 effective March 1, 1992; previously amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective July 1, 1997, May 1, 1998, January 1, 2008, and July 1, 2008.