The FL-110 California Summons is the one-page court form that starts a divorce, legal separation, or nullity case and notifies the other spouse that a family court now has authority over the marriage, the property, and any children. Filing it does three things at once: it opens the case with the court, it triggers automatic restraining orders that bind both spouses, and it starts the 30-day clock for the responding spouse to file an answer. In a dissolution, filing and serving the FL-110 also begins California’s mandatory six-month waiting period before the marriage can legally end.
What Filing the FL-110 Actually Triggers
California law requires every summons to identify the court, name the parties, direct the respondent to file a written response within 30 days, and warn that failing to respond can lead to a default judgment giving the petitioner everything requested.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 412.20 That warning is printed at the top of the form in English and Spanish.
Until the respondent is properly served with the FL-110, the court has no power to enforce orders against them. Accurate completion and lawful service are the gate to everything else in the case.
The Automatic Restraining Orders on Page Two
Page two of the FL-110 lists four automatic temporary restraining orders, usually called ATROs. They apply to the petitioner the moment the case is filed and to the respondent the moment the papers are served. Their job is to freeze the financial and custodial status quo so neither spouse can move assets, cancel coverage, or relocate the children while the case is pending.2California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2040
Children and Passports
Neither parent may take the minor children out of California, or apply for a new or replacement passport for them, without the other parent’s written consent or a court order. The passport piece catches people off guard; a renewal application filed without the other parent’s sign-off can lead to contempt.
Property and Finances
Both spouses are barred from transferring, hiding, selling, or borrowing against any property, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without written consent or a court order. Two exceptions apply: transactions in the usual course of business, and spending on the necessities of life such as rent, groceries, and utilities.
Anything beyond that counts as an extraordinary expenditure, and the spouse making it must give the other spouse at least five business days’ written notice and later account to the court. The statute does not define extraordinary, so a practical rule is that anything outside your normal monthly pattern deserves notice first. Either spouse may still use community or separate funds to pay attorney fees and costs for the case, though community funds spent this way must be accounted for.
Insurance
Neither spouse may cash out, borrow against, cancel, or change beneficiaries on any insurance policy held for the benefit of either spouse or the children. Life, health, auto, and disability policies are all covered. Letting a policy lapse by not paying the premium counts as a violation, so premiums that were being paid when the case was filed need to keep being paid.
Nonprobate Transfers
The fourth ATRO blocks either spouse from creating or modifying nonprobate transfers that affect how property passes at death, such as revocable living trusts. A spouse may revoke a nonprobate transfer, but only after filing and serving notice on the other party before the change takes effect.
Violating an ATRO can lead to contempt findings or monetary sanctions.
Filling Out the Form
The current FL-110 is on the California Judicial Council’s website.3Judicial Council of California. FL-110 Summons (Family Law) The header takes the petitioner’s full legal name, mailing address, and phone number. If an attorney is representing the petitioner, that attorney’s name, address, and State Bar number go there instead.
The form also asks for the full name and address of the courthouse, including the branch, and the respondent’s full legal name exactly as it appears on legal documents. A mismatch in the respondent’s name can create service problems later. The petitioner checks the box for the case type: dissolution of marriage, legal separation, nullity, or a domestic partnership proceeding.
The FL-110 itself does not require Social Security numbers.
Filing With the Clerk
The FL-110 is filed with the court clerk alongside the Petition (FL-100) and any other required opening papers. The filing fee runs from $435 to $450 depending on the county.4California Courts | Self Help Guide. File Divorce Papers A petitioner who cannot afford the fee can apply for a waiver using Form FW-001. Eligibility runs through three routes: receipt of certain public benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or SSI; household income below the threshold on the form; or a showing that paying the fee would prevent covering basic housing and food.5California Courts | Self Help Guide. Ask for a Fee Waiver
The clerk assigns a case number and stamps the summons. Only the stamped copy has legal effect, and that stamped copy is what must reach the respondent.
Serving the Respondent
The petitioner cannot hand the papers to the respondent personally. Service must be done by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case — a professional process server, the county sheriff, or any uninvolved adult will do.6Judicial Council of California. Proof of Service of Summons After delivery, the server completes Form FL-115, the Proof of Service of Summons, which gets filed to confirm receipt and start the response clock.7California Courts | Self Help Guide. Proof of Service of Summons (Family Law-Uniform Parentage-Custody and Support)
Substituted Service
If direct handoff is not working, California allows substituted service after the server shows reasonable diligence, generally at least three attempts on different days at different times. The server can then leave the papers with a competent adult at the respondent’s home, workplace, or usual mailing address and mail a second copy by first-class or certified mail. Service is complete 10 days after the mailing.8California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 415.20
Service by Publication
When the respondent genuinely cannot be found, the petitioner can ask for service by publication using Form FL-980, describing the search efforts. If the judge signs the order (FL-982), the summons is published in a specified newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 415.50 The petitioner pays the newspaper directly; a fee waiver does not cover publication costs. After the four weeks of publication, the respondent has an additional 30 days to respond, so the total wait before a default becomes possible is 59 days.10California Courts | Self Help Guide. Serve by Publication in a Family Law Case
Serving a Spouse Outside the United States
If the respondent lives abroad, service has to comply with that country’s law and any applicable treaties. For countries in the Hague Service Convention, documents generally go through that country’s designated Central Authority. Some signatory countries allow service by mail and some do not. Getting the international procedure wrong can invalidate the service.
The 30-Day Response Deadline
Once served, the respondent has 30 days to file a Response on Form FL-120.11California Courts | Self Help Guide. Learn Your Options If nothing is filed, the petitioner can submit a Request to Enter Default (Form FL-165), which cuts off the respondent’s ability to participate.12California Courts | Self Help Guide. Request to Enter Default (FL-165) After default is entered, the court can act on the petitioner’s requests for property, custody, and support without input from the other side.
Default does not finalize the divorce on its own. The court still reviews the proposed judgment and the required financial disclosures. But the respondent has lost the leverage to negotiate any of it.
The Six-Month Waiting Period
California requires a six-month cooling-off period before a dissolution becomes final. The clock starts on whichever comes first: the date the respondent is served with the summons and petition, or the date the respondent first appears in the case. Courts can extend this period for good cause but cannot shorten it.13California Legislative Information. California Family Code 2339
Even if the spouses settle everything the week after filing, the marriage cannot legally end until those six months run. Legal separation and nullity cases are not subject to this waiting period. During the six months, the ATROs stay in effect and both spouses remain married for purposes of taxes, health insurance, and inheritance.
If the Respondent Is on Active Military Duty
When the respondent is an active-duty servicemember who does not appear, federal law adds a step before any default judgment. The petitioner has to file an affidavit stating whether the respondent is in military service. If the respondent is on active duty, the court cannot enter default until it appoints an attorney to represent the absent servicemember, whose job is to protect their rights and, when appropriate, ask for a delay until the servicemember can take part.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
Filing a false affidavit about military status is a federal crime punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both. Free verification is available through the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center.