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Bankruptcy is a federal matter, so your case is filed with a U.S. Bankruptcy Court, not the county superior court where traffic or family cases are heard. Which courthouse gets your case depends on where you live. This guide explains how the courts in Southern California are organized and links to a page for each division.
The five Southern California divisions
Two districts cover Southern California
Two federal districts matter for Southern California. The Central District of California covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. Within it, the court operates five divisions: Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, San Fernando Valley, and Northern. The Southern District of California covers San Diego and Imperial Counties from one courthouse in San Diego.
Each court page we publish covers one place you might file: Santa Ana for Orange County, Riverside for Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley for parts of Los Angeles County, and San Diego for the Southern District.
Your address picks the courthouse, not your preference
The Central District's local rules direct a petition to the "applicable division," which turns on where the debtor lives, where a business has its principal offices, or where most assets are. The court's guide asks for the ZIP code of your street address, not a P.O. box. You cannot pick the courthouse that is most convenient. A case filed in the wrong division may be transferred or kept by the judge, which is why checking first saves time.
Los Angeles County is the one place with a split. The Los Angeles Division takes the county except the ZIP codes assigned to the San Fernando Valley and Northern Divisions. The Valley division takes Valley communities plus Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Palmdale, while Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, and Malibu go to the Northern Division, which sits in Santa Barbara at 1415 State Street. Orange County is entirely in Santa Ana, and Riverside and San Bernardino are both in Riverside. Our coverage pages for Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County show where we serve.
What happens online and what still happens in person
The U.S. Trustee Program says almost all meetings of creditors are held on Zoom, and there is no standing requirement to appear in person. That meeting, often called the 341 meeting, is the main step where you answer a trustee's questions under oath. Our article on the 341 meeting of creditors covers it in detail. The program may approve an in-person meeting for extenuating circumstances, but expect that to be rare.
Filing itself is mostly electronic. Attorneys file through the court's electronic system, and both districts offer an online tool called eSR for self-represented Chapter 7 and 13 filers. Face-to-face visits are for narrower tasks, such as intake appointments in the Central District or an installment request, which the Central District's rule says involves a personal appearance. The federal fee for a Chapter 7 petition is $338 under the schedule effective December 1, 2023. Before filing you need a credit counseling course, and afterward a debtor education course.
Start with the Chapter 7 overview, then the guides and the means test article if you are checking eligibility.
Bankruptcy Court FAQ
Can I choose which bankruptcy courthouse to use?
Do I have to go to court for a Chapter 7 case?
Why do Palmdale and Lancaster residents file in Woodland Hills?
What is the Chapter 7 court filing fee?
Ron has practiced bankruptcy law from his Irvine office since 2009 and has helped hundreds of Southern California families get a fresh start. You work directly with him — not a paralegal or a call center.
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