Internal prototype — noindexed, not linked from public navigation yet.

Cal. GOV § 960.4

This is the official text of Cal. GOV § 960.4, part of California’s Government Code — covers the structure and operation of state and local government, including public employment and public records.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

Upon receipt of the copies of process pursuant to Section 960.3, the Secretary of State shall give notice of the service of the process to the governing body of the public agency at its principal office in this state, by forwarding to such office, by registered mail with request for return receipt, a copy of the process. If the only address disclosed by the records of the Secretary of State of the principal office of the governing body of the public agency is the county in which it is situated, then the process shall be mailed to the county seat, addressed to the public agency in care of the county clerk, or it may be mailed to any address for the public agency specified in the court order. If the process is mailed in care of the county clerk, the county clerk shall promptly send it to the public agency at its address within the county, if known to him, and if unknown shall cause the process to be posted at the courthouse of the county for 30 days. If the records of the Secretary of State disclose no address for the public agency, then the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of the process to the county clerk of either (a) the county in which the transaction or occurrence took place, or (b) the county where real property of the agency is situated, and the county clerk shall promptly send the process to the public agency at its address within the county, if known to him, or if unknown shall cause the process to be posted at the courthouse of the county for 30 days.

Upon receipt of such copies of process, the Secretary of State shall immediately forward to the Attorney General a copy of all papers served upon him. The Attorney General, upon receipt of any such process, may locate the responsible officers of the public agency involved, and the governing body of such public agency may relieve the Attorney General of any further responsibility hereunder, and may designate any other attorneys to defend said action or take such other action as they may determine.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in California?

Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.