The following protocol is adopted by the Sonoma County Superior Court:
In the event a Sonoma County clerk determines that a document should not be filed for any reason, he/she shall advise the person attempting to file the document of that reason. If the proffered document is a pleading prepared by a party, the attorney of record or person proceeding in propria persona attempting to file the document may then request the document be "filed on demand," in which case the document shall be accepted for filing and will be stamped "Filed on Demand". This policy does not apply to documents which a party requests the Clerk to issue (e.g. Writs, Summons, Abstracts); in such circumstances, the Clerk will require compliance with applicable statutes.
In the following circumstances, the foregoing protocol shall not apply and the clerk shall refuse to accept the tendered document:
- The document is not signed;
- The caption indicates that the matter relates to a County other than Sonoma;
- The appropriate filing fee does not accompany the document;
- There is no case number, or the case number does not correlate to the parties identified in the pleading;
- The document is unintelligible in format or its purpose and objective cannot be readily determined;
- The condition of the document renders it incapable of being filed (e.g. it is on a napkin or ripped piece of paper, thermal fax paper, oversized or otherwise cannot be readily attached to and maintained in a court file); and
- Name usage shall be consistent in answers, judgments, requests for dismissal, requests for entry of default, and in documents related to enforcement of judgment.