California bankruptcy courts and county map

Which court hears a case from each county

Each county below is assigned to a federal district, and larger districts divide further by division. Every assignment comes from the court’s own published order or local rule.

Bankruptcy venue is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1408, not by county alone. It can rest on domicile, residence, a principal place of business, or principal assets in the United States, measured over the 180 days before filing — so a recent move can change which district is available. Confirm venue before filing.

56 of 58 California counties have a published court assignment. The remaining 2 are not listed here rather than guessed at.

Central District of California

5 counties

Northern Division Division

Riverside Division Division

Santa Ana Division Division

Orange County

28 U.S.C. § 84(c) (Central District Southern Division "comprises Orange County. Court for the Southern Division shall be held at Santa Ana."); U.S. Bankruptcy Court, C.D. Cal. Santa Ana Division serves Orange County

Eastern District of California

34 counties

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Cal. — "Before You Begin" ("Petitions from Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba counties will be assigned to the Sacramento Division")

Northern District of California

15 counties

Oakland Division Division

San Francisco Division Division

San Jose Division Division

Santa Rosa Division Division

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Cal. — "Where do I file my bankruptcy petition and other documents?" (Oakland Division: Alameda and Contra Costa)

Southern District of California

2 counties

San Diego Division

28 U.S.C. § 84(d) ("The Southern District comprises the counties of Imperial and San Diego. Court for the Southern District shall be held at San Diego.")

California in detail

California means test median income
The published median annual income by household size, and what the comparison does and does not decide.
California bankruptcy exemptions
What state law protects, quoted from the statute that states it.

What we publish for California

State exemption system (opt-out vs federal election)
This state has opted out of the federal exemption list for debtors whose applicable exemption law is this state's law. Which state's law applies is set by 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) from where the filer was domiciled before filing, not from where they live today — and § 522(b)(3) still allows the federal list where that domicile rule would otherwise leave a debtor with no exemptions at all.
Exemptions — what state law lists
12 verified categories, each quoted from the statute that states it.
Means test median income
Published medians for 10 household sizes. A comparison, not a decision.
Which federal court hears your case
56 of 58 have a published court assignment.
Local court practice (341 format, plan form, no-look fee)
Verified for 4 of 4 districts.
Tools using California data
10 calculators run on this state's published figures.

Not yet published for California

These are sections this page does not cover for California. Rather than show a summary we cannot source, it says what is missing.

Wage garnishment limitsNot yet published
Participating firmsNot yet published