Rule 10.500 Access to Judicial Administrative Records
Rule 10.500
Effective January 1, 2010, Rule 10.500 of the California Rules of Court set forth comprehensive access provisions applicable to judicial administrative records maintained by a trial court.
Requests for Rule 10.500 Access to Judicial Administrative Records:
To request Rule 10.500 judicial administrative records maintained by the Court, you must submit the request in writing by completing a Request for Judicial Administrative Records form and sending it by U.S. Mail, fax, or e-mail to:
Superior Court of California, County of Orange
Public Information Office
700 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Fax: (714) 647-4849
E-mail: PIO@occourts.org
The Court will make identifiable California Rules of Court, Rule 10.500, records available upon request, unless the records are exempt from disclosure under Rule 10.500. Records may be subject to payment of a fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Only use this form to make requests for copies of judicial administrative records. If you are looking for a copy of a divorce decree, criminal record, complaint, judgment, traffic ticket, order, or information on a case, please ask the clerk of the court where the case was filed or complete and submit a Request for Record Search or Copy Request form, as appropriate. The forms and more information are available online here.
Use this form to request copies of judicial administrative records maintained by Superior Court of California, County of Orange. The request will be reviewed to determine whether and when the requested materials can be produced, or if the records are exempt from disclosure under California Rules of Court, Rule 10.500 .
"Judicial administrative record" means "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the people's business." Examples of judicial administrative records include, but are not limited to, budget and expenditure records, contracts, and written policies and procedures. See subdivisions (c)(2) and (e)(2) of Rule 10.500.
Complete all sections of the request form and send it to the court using the contact information on the form. The information you provide will facilitate the processing of your request. Be as detailed as possible. If you are not specific, there may be difficulty in responding to your request and your response may be delayed.
The court will notify you of its determination within 10 days of receipt of your request. In some circumstances (for example, when a voluminous amount of records are involved), the 10 day period may be extended by an additional 14 days. Once a determination has been made, any responsive, disclosable records will be made promptly available. See Rule 10.500(e)(6)-(8).
You may be charged fees that reflect the direct costs of duplication or production. In addition, you may be charged fees that reflect actual costs of staff search and review time expended on a commercial use request. Payment may be required before records are duplicated or produced. See Rule 10.500(e)(4) and the Public Access to Judicial Administrative Records Fee Guidelines.