If you are a party to the case and wish to serve documents by mail or personal delivery, you must therefore have someone else who is
over 18 and who is not a party to the case serve any documents in your case. You will need to give the person doing the serving (the
server) the names and addresses of all those who must be served. You will also need to give the server one copy of each document
that needs to be served for each person or entity that is being served.
Rule 8.25 also requires the party filing a document in the court to attach to the document presented for filing a proof of service showing
the required service. Proof of Service (Court of Appeal) (form APP-009) or Proof of Electronic Service (Court of Appeal) (form
APP-009E) may be used to provide this required proof of service in any proceeding in the Court of Appeal. The server should follow the
instructions below for completing the Proof of Service (Court of Appeal) (form APP-009) or Proof of Electronic Service (Court of Appeal)
(form APP-009E). If another person is serving the documents for you—as is required if the document will be served by mail or personal
delivery—tell the server to give you the original form when it is completed. You will need to attach this original proof of service to the
document you are filing.
INFORMATION SHEET FOR PROOF OF SERVICE
(COURT OF APPEAL)
APP-009-INFO
Form Approved for Optional Use
Judicial Council of California
APP-009-INFO [Rev. January 1, 2017]
INFORMATION SHEET FOR PROOF OF SERVICE
(Court of Appeal)
www.courts.ca.gov
Page 1 of 3
If you are serving a document for a party in a court case, it is your responsibility to prepare the proof of service. You can use Proof of
Service (Court of Appeal) (form APP-009) to prepare this proof of service in any case in the Court of Appeal. The proof of service
should be printed or typed. If you have Internet access, a fillable version of form APP-009 is available at www.courts.ca.gov/forms. You
can fill out most of the form before you serve the document, but you should sign and date the form only after you have finished serving
the document.
Third box, left side: Print the name of the case in which the document is being filed, the Court of Appeal case number, and the
superior court case number. Use the same case name and numbers as are on the top of the document that you are serving.
First box, left side: Check whether the document is being served by mail or by personal delivery.
2.
1.
Box, top of form, right side: Leave this box blank for the court's use.
3.
1.
2.
You are stating that you are over the age of 18 and that you are not a party to this action.
Check one of the boxes and provide your home or business address.
Complete items 1–3 as follows:
Complete the top section of Proof of Service (Court of Appeal) (form APP-009) as follows:
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICE AND PROOF OF SERVICE
This information sheet provides instructions for completing Proof of Service (Court of Appeal) (form APP-009) or Proof of Electronic
Service (Court of Appeal) (form APP-009E). This information sheet is not part of the proof of service and does not need to be copied,
served, or filed.
Rule 8.25 of the California Rules of Court provides that before filing any document in court in a case in the Court of Appeal, a party
must serve, by any method permitted by the Code of Civil Procedure, one copy of the document on the attorney for each party
separately represented, on each unrepresented party, and on any other person or entity when required by statute or rule. Other rules
specifically require that certain documents be served, including the notice of appeal and notice designating the record on appeal in civil
appeals and briefs in both civil and criminal appeals.
To “serve” a document on a person means to have that document delivered to the person. The general requirements concerning
service are set out in Code of Civil Procedure sections 1010.6–1013a. There are three main ways to serve documents: (1) by mail,
(2) by personal delivery, or (3) by electronic service. Regardless of what method of service is used, the Code of Civil Procedure
provides that a document in a court case can only be served by a person who is over 18 years of age. Service by mail or personal
delivery must be by someone who is not a party in the case; electronic service may be performed directly by a party. Electronic service
may be by electronic transmission, transmitting a document to the electronic service address of a person, or by electronic notification,
sending a message to the electronic service address specifying the exact name of the document served and providing a hyperlink at
which the served document may be viewed and downloaded.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SERVER (THE PERSON WHO IS SERVING THE DOCUMENTS) IF SERVING BY MAIL OR PERSONAL
DELIVERY
If you are serving documents electronically, you can do this yourself or have another person over 18 do it for you. The person doing the
serving (the server) will need the names and electronic service addresses of all those who must be served, and the document to be
served in a form that allows it to be electronically transmitted or made available by hyperlink.