How to Serve the City of Los Angeles

Why the City Clerk

California serves a public entity through its governing body. Code of Civil Procedure section 416.50 says a summons is served on a public entity by delivering the summons and complaint "to the clerk, secretary, president, presiding officer, or other head of its governing body," and it lists a city by name. For the City of Los Angeles that is the City Clerk, whose Council and Public Services Division takes summons naming the City or any of its departments at the Room 395 counter.

Two things are not taken there. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) is a separate public entity with its own process. And the Clerk does not accept papers for an individual: a police officer or other City employee sued in their own name is served personally, like any other person. Nothing is accepted by email or electronic service.

The claim comes first

Most lawsuits for money damages against the City cannot be filed until a written government claim has been presented and the City has acted on it or let it be deemed rejected (Government Code section 945.4). A claim for death or injury to a person or personal property is due within six months of the event; any other claim within one year (section 911.2). The City takes claims through its online claims portal, by mail, or in person at the same Room 395 counter; claims sent by email or fax are not accepted, and the City Attorney's office does not take them.

For attorneys and law firms, we hand-deliver a completed, signed claim to Room 395 for the same $79 and send back a copy date-stamped by the Clerk the same day. We deliver the claim exactly as you give it to us.

What Angel City Legal does

We are ten minutes from City Hall in Eagle Rock. Send the papers through the intake form, pay $79, and we deliver them to the City Clerk within two business days, during the 8:00am to 4:30pm window. You get the name and title of the person who accepted, the date and time, a GPS- and time-stamped photo of the delivery, and a signed proof of service as a PDF. Add $35 at checkout and we e-file that proof with your California court in your name. Serving LA County, LAUSD or Metro too? The same $79 covers each agency; see all downtown government serves.

Questions people ask about serving the City

Where do I serve a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles?

At the Office of the City Clerk, 200 N. Spring Street, Room 395, in City Hall (enter on Main Street), Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm except City holidays. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 416.50 a city is served by delivering the summons and complaint to the clerk of its governing body, and the City Clerk's office accepts summons naming the City or any City department. Angel City Legal makes the delivery for $79 and returns a signed proof of service.

Can I serve the City of Los Angeles at the City Attorney's office?

The City Clerk, not the City Attorney, is where the City accepts service of a summons. The Clerk's published service-of-process page names the Room 395 counter as where it accepts summons naming the City or any City department, and the City Attorney's own claims page says new claims can only be accepted by the City Clerk's office.

How do I serve LAPD, LADOT or another City department?

A summons naming a City department is accepted at the same City Clerk counter, Room 395. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) is a separate entity and is not served there. A City employee sued as an individual is served personally, not through the Clerk.

Do I have to file a claim before suing the City?

For most money-damages lawsuits against a public entity, yes: no suit may be brought until a written claim has been presented and acted on or deemed rejected (Government Code section 945.4). Claims for death, injury to a person or personal property are due within six months of the event; other claims within one year (Government Code section 911.2). The City takes claims through its online portal, by mail, or in person at Room 395; it does not accept claims by email or fax. Angel City Legal hand-delivers completed claims for attorneys and law firms and returns a date-stamped copy.

How much does it cost to have the City of Los Angeles served?

Angel City Legal charges $79 flat for a delivery at the City Clerk's counter, made within two business days of having the papers, with a GPS- and time-stamped photo and a signed proof of service. Add $35 and we e-file the proof with your California court for you.

Angel City Legal is an independent registered process server (Los Angeles County #2026063663), not a law firm and not affiliated with the City of Los Angeles. Office locations and hours are from the City Clerk's published pages as read on October 9, 2026, and can change. This page is general information about service procedure, not legal advice about your case, your deadlines or what to file.