California proof of service: POS-040 explained

California uses Judicial Council form POS-040 for personal service and POS-020 for service by mail. Here is what each form requires and how Servd prepares yours.

California uses Judicial Council standardised forms for proof of service. Filing the wrong form or filling it out incompletely is the most common reason a clerk rejects a proof of service — which then stalls every motion downstream.

Short answer

If the server handed the papers to the defendant in person, file POS-040. If the papers were mailed, file POS-020. If sub-service was used (leave + mail), still POS-040 but with the substituted-service section completed. The server signs under penalty of perjury per CCP §2015.5.

Which form for which method

| Method | Form | |---|---| | Personal service (CCP §415.10) | POS-040 | | Substituted service (CCP §415.20) | POS-040 with sub-service section | | Mail with acknowledgement (CCP §415.30) | POS-015 + signed POS-015-A acknowledgement | | Mail (out of state, CCP §415.40) | POS-020 | | Service by publication (CCP §415.50) | POS-030 |

For family-law cases, the equivalents are FL-115 (proof of service of summons) and FL-117 (notice and acknowledgement).

What goes on POS-040

The form has 5 required parts:

Caption — court, case number, parties — copied verbatim from the summons
Person served — defendant’s name OR the substitute recipient’s name + relationship
Documents served — full title of every document handed over
Address, date, and time — precise to the minute (CCP §2015.5)
Server’s declaration — signed under penalty of perjury; if registered, the BPC §22350 registration number

For substituted service, an additional section captures:

Date and address where the mailed copy was sent
Confirmation that the mailing was first-class postage prepaid
Statement that the leave-and-mail occurred at the defendant’s dwelling or business

When the clerk rejects a POS

The most common rejections:

Time of day missing (must be specific, not "approximately 3pm")
Documents-served list incomplete
Sub-service mail date missing
Server registration number absent or expired
Caption doesn’t match the filed complaint

A rejected POS means you re-file and wait. Default judgments are delayed by weeks.

Filing it

POS-040 can be e-filed via Odyssey eFileCA where supported (most major counties: LA, SF, SD, Alameda, OC, Sacramento). For paper filings, the original goes to the court and a copy to opposing counsel.

What Servd does

AI drafts the POS-040 from the server’s GPS-stamped attempt log. A human reviewer compares the draft against the server’s notes and photos — this catches the time-of-day, mailing-date, and caption mismatches that get POSes rejected. The licensed server signs under CCP §2015.5. Court-ready PDF + original mailed.

Related guides

[California substitute service](/guides/california-substitute-service)
[What is process serving?](/guides/what-is-process-serving)
[Who can serve papers](/guides/who-can-serve-papers)

This is not legal advice; consult an attorney about your case.