California law allows it.
Penal Code section 4013 says that papers for a person incarcerated in any institution in California may be served by anyone who may lawfully serve process. Being in custody does not take someone outside the reach of service.
The same section sets a duty for the facility: a warden, sheriff or jailer who is served with a paper in a judicial proceeding directed to a person in their custody must deliver it to that person right away, with a note of the time it was served. The statute makes them liable for damages if they neglect to do so.
First, find where the person is held.
For a state prison, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs a public search, CIRIS, for people in its custody. It shows the facility, which tells you whose procedures apply.
A county jail is run by that county’s sheriff, and each sheriff’s office publishes its own way to look up a person in custody. Federal facilities follow their own procedures, which this guide does not cover.
People are transferred and released. Check the location again shortly before service, and share the booking or CDCR number with the request.
State prisons: the litigation coordinator.
CDCR publishes the email, phone and fax for the litigation coordinator at each of its facilities. Contact the coordinator for the facility before sending a server, and ask how it receives papers in a court case for a person in custody, who will receive them and what the server should bring.
Write down the name of the person you spoke with and what they told you. Your server will follow those arrangements on the day.
County jails: ask the sheriff’s office.
Jails set their own rules for legal papers, visits and identification. Call the jail or the sheriff’s civil or records unit, explain that you need to serve court papers on a person in custody, and ask how they accept them.
Ask whether papers are handed to staff for delivery under section 4013 or whether the server meets the person, what hours apply and what identification the server needs.
What the proof of service should show.
As with any service, the proof of service records how, when and where the papers were served and who received them. When papers are given to facility staff, the record should include the staff member’s name and title and the time, because section 4013 ties the facility’s duty to the time of service.
Keep any receipt or log entry the facility provides with your matter. If the facility will not receive the papers, tell your attorney or the court; the decision about another method is not one a server makes.
Your deadlines still apply.
Custody does not pause the court’s deadlines for serving papers, and arranging service through a facility can take longer than serving at a home. Start early and build in time for the facility’s process.
What to send with the request.
These details help Affid plan service at a facility and keep the record complete.
- Full legal name, any other names used and date of birth if you have it
- CDCR or booking number, and the facility name and county
- The prepared papers and the case caption
- What the facility told you, and who told you
- Your deadline for service and for filing the proof
Official sources.
Follow the instructions for your case and check the relevant court’s current requirements. These links provide the official information referenced in this guide; Affid is not affiliated with the courts.
This guide explains the practical steps around serving a person in custody. It is not legal advice. Each facility sets its own procedures for receiving legal papers, and they can change, so confirm them with the facility before service.
