Entry of judgment, notice of entry, and the clocks they start

What entry is, and the date that matters

Entry is a clerical act with a date, and the date is what every later deadline is measured against.

CCP 664(a) puts it flatly: judgment must be entered by the clerk in conformity to the verdict within 24 hours, or on a court trial immediately upon the filing of the decision, and "[i]n no case is a judgment effectual for any purpose until entered." Rendition and entry are different events. A signed judgment sitting in chambers has no effect. The court trial half of that sentence changes on 1 January 2027, and the second dropdown below says how.

Which entry date applies depends on how the county keeps its records. CCP 668 requires a judgment book. CCP 668.5 excuses the book where the clerk files individual judgments and either microfilms them, enters them in the register of actions, or puts them into the court's electronic data processing system, and in those counties "the date of filing the judgment with the clerk shall constitute the date of its entry."

Rule 8.104(c)(1) says the same thing from the other direction: "The entry date of a judgment is the date the judgment is filed under Code of Civil Procedure section 668.5, or the date it is entered in the judgment book."

Who has to serve notice of entry, and on whom

In a contested case it is the party who submitted the judgment, not the clerk, unless the winner is self represented.

That is CCP 664.5(a), and it does not apply in dissolution, nullity or legal separation proceedings, which are outside this site's scope anyway. Three obligations sit in that sentence: prepare, serve on everyone who has appeared, and file the original with the proof of service.

CCP 664.5(b) covers the other case. Where the prevailing party is not represented, "[p]romptly upon entry of judgment" the clerk serves notice on all parties who have appeared and executes a certificate of service. CCP 664.5(c) defines "judgment" for the section as "any judgment, decree, or signed order from which an appeal lies," and CCP 664.5(d) lets the court order the clerk to serve notice of entry of any judgment or ruling, "whether or not appealable."

So in an ordinary contested case with counsel on both sides, nothing requires the clerk to send anything. The Supreme Court put the point plainly in Alan v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 894: "In most cases, the rule does not apply because the Code of Civil Procedure requires not the clerk but 'the party submitting an order or judgment for entry' to mail notice of entry," and "[t]he clerk is required to give notice only in designated family law matters ... , in cases in which a prevailing party is not represented by counsel (Code Civ. Proc., § 664.5, subd. (b)), and upon specific order of the court (id., § 664.5, subd. (d))." If you are waiting for the clerk, you are usually waiting for nothing.

Which document actually starts the 60 day appellate clock

Two of the three triggers are formal, and the formality is the point. A document that misses it leaves the 180 day period running instead.

Rule 8.104(a)(1). Read the two short clauses at the end of (A) and (B). Clerk service has to show the date of service on its face. Party service has to be accompanied by a proof of service. The Advisory Committee Comment says why the second requirement is restated even though rule 8.25(a) already requires proof of service generally: "because of the serious consequence of a failure to file a timely notice of appeal."

So a minute order, a conformed copy emailed without a proof of service, a letter enclosing the judgment, and a document called "Notice of Ruling" are all capable of telling the other side that judgment was entered without starting the 60 day clock. Under rule 8.104(a)(1)(C) the 180 day period runs from entry regardless, so the question is never whether there is a deadline. It is which one.

Alan v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (2007) 40 Cal.4th 894 decided that the qualifying document has to stand on its own: "rule 8.104(a)(1) does indeed require a single document ... that is sufficient in itself to satisfy all of the rule's conditions, including the requirement that the document itself show the date on which it was mailed." A cover letter supplying what the enclosure lacks does not add up to one qualifying document.

Rule 8.104(a)(2) confirms that service under (A) and (B) "may be by any method permitted by the Code of Civil Procedure, including electronic service when permitted under Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.6 and rules 2.250-2.261," and rule 8.104(e) extends the whole scheme to an appealable order where the appeal is taken from one.

The post-trial motion clocks

One event starts all of them, the windows are short, and the court's own power to rule expires on a schedule of its own.

New trial. CCP 659(a) gives two windows: "(1) After the decision is rendered and before the entry of judgment," or "(2) Within 15 days of the date of serving notice of entry of judgment by the clerk of the court pursuant to Section 664.5, or service upon them by any party of written notice of entry of judgment, or within 180 days after the entry of judgment, whichever is earliest." The notice of intention is itself the motion. CCP 659(b): "That notice of intention to move for a new trial shall be deemed to be a motion for a new trial on all the grounds stated in the notice."

Note the second half of paragraph (2), which is easy to miss: once the first party files a notice of intention, every other party gets 15 days after service of that notice to file its own.

JNOV. CCP 629(b) ties the JNOV motion to the same window, "within the period specified by Section 659 for the filing and service of a notice of intention to move for a new trial," and says in terms that "[t]he making of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict shall not extend the time within which a party may file and serve notice of intention to move for a new trial." Where both are pending the court rules on both at the same time.

Vacatur. CCP 663 allows a judgment based on a court decision or a special verdict to be set aside and a different judgment entered, on two grounds. The notice of intention runs on the same 15 day and 180 day structure, CCP 663a(a)(2).

A motion is not determined until an order ruling on it is entered in the permanent minutes or signed by the judge and filed with the clerk, CCP 660(c). A minute order granting a new trial counts even if it directs that a written order be prepared.

Whether mail or electronic service extends any of it

For the three deadlines that matter most, the answer is no, and both extension statutes say so by name.

CCP 1013(a) extends a period after service by mail by five calendar days in state, ten outside California but within the United States, twelve to a Secretary of State address confidentiality program address, and twenty outside the United States, "but the extension shall not apply to extend the time for filing notice of intention to move for new trial, notice of intention to move to vacate judgment pursuant to Section 663a, or notice of appeal."

CCP 1010.6(a)(3)(B) extends a period after electronic service by two court days, with the same three carve outs listed at clauses (i) through (iii): a notice of intention to move for new trial, a notice of intention to move to vacate under section 663a, and a notice of appeal.

Two statutes reinforce it from inside the post-trial chapter. CCP 659(b) says the section 659 times "shall not be extended by order or stipulation or by those provisions of Section 1013 that extend the time for exercising a right or doing an act where service is by mail." CCP 663a(c) says section 1013 does not apply to extend the section 663a times.

The costs clock, which behaves differently at each end

The memorandum has no service extension in the rule. The motion to tax expressly does.

Rule 3.1700(a)(1) requires a prevailing party claiming costs to serve and file a memorandum of costs "within 15 days after the date of service of the notice of entry of judgment or dismissal by the clerk under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.5 or the date of service of written notice of entry of judgment or dismissal, or within 180 days after entry of judgment, whichever is first," verified by a statement that the items are correct and were necessarily incurred.

The local layer

Everything above is statewide. What varies locally is how quickly an entered judgment shows up in the register of actions, how a department sets a post-trial motion inside the 75 days, and whether the clerk sends anything at all in a case where both sides have counsel and section 664.5 puts the duty on a party.

In San Diego, expect the department to set a post-trial motion inside the 75 days. That is the working assumption, not a guarantee, and the consequence of being wrong sits entirely on the moving party under CCP 660(c), so ask for a date early and say why when you do.

On the other half of it there is nothing local to learn, because the answer is statutory. In a contested case where the prevailing party has counsel, the clerk has no duty to serve notice of entry, and Alan says so. Do not build a calendar around a document nobody is required to send.

For Riverside and San Bernardino, and for every other county, the rule is the statewide one on this page. This site does not guess at how a department runs.