Civil Office
Location/Office Hours: The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Department’s Civil Office is located at 650 Fifth Street, Crescent City, CA 95531. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (we are closed for lunch from 12-1). The office is closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays.The Civil Office serves process in all of Del Norte County. The public telephone number is (707) 464-4191 x1531. The email address is dnso-civil@co.del-norte.ca.us
Mission Statement: The mission of the Civil Office is to serve all process in a reasonable and timely manner, while maintaining an impartial position between all parties involved.
Instructions Information: All documents must be accompanied by a letter of instruction, signed and dated by the attorney of record or the requestor if there is no attorney. The instructions must include the name of the person to be served and the physical address where service is to be made.
A wage levy requires an application for earnings withholding order instead of a letter of instruction. The applications & forms are available in our office or online.
Service Requirement: For all services, we require a copy of the document, front and back, for each person to be served. For levies and evictions, we require the original writ of execution plus two copies, front and back. Please include more copies if you have more than one levy. All fees will be collected in advance. The appropriate fee or a fee waiver must accompany all documents.
All fees are per service. Two defendants’ equal two services, even if they are at the same address, therefore, you would be charged for two separate services.
Disbursement of Funds: Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedures Section 706.026, levy monies received by the Sheriff are disbursed at least once every 15 days.
Eviction Procedure: To complete an eviction, we require the original writ of possession plus two copies per person, and a letter of instruction. The attorney of record or plaintiff must sign the letter of instructions if there is no attorney. No one else may sign the instructions. A fee of $180.00 is required. The requestor will be notified the date (evictions are only preformed on WEDNESDAY) and time the eviction will take place when paper work is turned in. The Requestor or their designated agent must meet the Deputy at the location at the date and time of the scheduled lockout. The landlord is required to provide access to the premises by either key or locksmith. This must be arranged by the requestor prior to the lockout date.
Sheriff’s Fees: The Sheriff’s Office is entitled to its fees whether or not the service is complete. We cannot guarantee that our service will always be successful (CA Govt. Code § 26736 & § 26738). All fees will be paid prior to performing any service (CA Govt. Code § 6103.2). In addition, CA Govt. Code § 26746 provides for the Sheriff a $12.00 assessment to be collected from the judgment debtor on each disbursement of money paid to a judgment creditor.
Legal Advice: The Sheriff cannot give out personal or legal advice or answer any questions, which are legal in nature. If you have a legal question, please contact an attorney.
LINK TO CALIFORNIA JUDICIAL COUNCIL FORMS
