Civil Section

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Instructions and Information
All documents must be accompanied by a letter of instruction, signed and dated by the attorney of record or the plaintiff, if there is no attorney. The instructions must include the name of the person to be served and the address where service is to be made. A wage levy requires an Application for Earnings Withholding Order instead of a letter of instruction. The applications and forms are available at the front counter of our office.

THE SHERIFF OF ALAMEDA COUNTY WILL SERVE THE FOLLOWING LEVIES AND DOCUMENTS
Levies followed by an * must be served by the Sheriff.
All others may be served by the Sheriff or a Registered Process Server.

Attachment Lien Notice (AT-1) - filed with the Secretary of State via U.S. Mail (must be signed by Sheriff)
Attachment Lien Notice filed with DMV (must be signed by Sheriff)
Automobile seizure and sale *
Bench Warrant - Civil *
Boat Seizure and Sale *
Book Levy on Funds Held by Sheriff *
Business Levy (Keeper levy) *
Claim and Delivery *
Earnings Withholding Order only on Federal or U.S. Postal Employees
Equipment Seizure and Sale *
Eviction (Writ of Possession of Real Property) *
Keeper Levy *
Levy on Securities *
Order of Appearance or Examination (to obtain arrest warrant for failure to appear, Sheriff must serve)
Order to Show Cause
Personal Property Seizure and Sale *
Real Property Levy
Restraining Order
Seizures of Personal Property *
Subpoena - Criminal
Temporary Restraining Order
Till tap *
Warrant of Attachment (see bench warrant) *

THE SHERIFF OF ALAMEDA COUNTY WILL NOT SERVE THE FOLLOWING LEVIES AND DOCUMENTS unless you are incarcerated or have a certified fee waiver from the court. The following levies must be served by a Registered Process Server. Non levy civil process can be legally served by anyone over the age of eighteen who is not a party to the action or by a Registered Process Server. Click on "Process Server" Help below.

Affidavit and Order
Bank Levy
Citations/Petition (Probate and Juvenile Court)
Claim of Defendant (Cross Complaint)
Claim of Plaintiff (Small Claims)
Complaint without Summons
Counter Claim or Counter Affidavit
Cross Complaint - Small Claims
Default Judgment (Judge's Order)
Dissolution (Divorce and Annulment)
Earnings Withholding Order (except federal and U.S. Postal Services employees)
Judgment (Order of Court)
Notice of Court Action
Order to Show Cause
Rent Levy (money collected from tenants)
Safe Deposit Box Levy
Statement (foreign support order)
Subpoena (Civil, or Juvenile)
Summons and Complaint
Summons and Petition
Third Party Levy
Wage Assignment
Wage Garnishment

Forms and Worksheets

Levy and Sales Help

County Websites
The Official Website for the County of Alameda is: http://www.acgov.org
Search the Alameda County Recorder's database at http://rechart1.acgov.org

State Websites
State Judicial Council Forms can be filled out and printed at https://www.courts.ca.gov/forms.htm
All California Law Codes are available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml
Writ of Attachment AT-1 Attachment Lien Notice: https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/forms/ucc

Services Requirements
For all services, we require a copy of the document, front and back, for each person to be served plus an additional copy for our file. For levies and evictions, we require the original writ of execution. Please include more copies if you have more than one levy. All documents must be accompanied by the appropriate fee or a certified court-ordered fee waiver. All fees are per service. Two defendants equal two services, even if they are at the same address.

Sheriff’s Sale
Current Sale Notices can be viewed by clicking HERE

Disbursement of Funds
Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedures Section 706.026, levy monies received by the Sheriff are disbursed at least once every 30 days, unless the monies were paid with cash. It is our policy to disburse monies every 21 days. CA Govt. Code § 26746 provides for the Sheriff a $15.00 assessment to be collected from the judgment debtor on each disbursement of money paid to a judgment creditor.

Sheriff's Fees
Any document(s) if the recipient is incarcerated in Alameda County	$50.00
Any document(s) with a Certified Copy of a Fee Waiver	Waived
Any seizure of personal property pursuant to writ of attachment, execution, or sale	$125.00 and up
Automobile levy	$125.00 and up
Bench Warrants (must come directly from the court)	$175.00
Writ of Possession ~ Claim and Delivery	$125.00 and up
Criminal Subpoena or Duces Tecum	No fee
Evictions (Writ of Possession - Real Property	$180.00
Evictions - Reposting of Eviction Notice	$50.00
Keeper Levy - 8 hour to seize cash of a going business	$300.00
Keeper Levy - 48 hour to seize personal property of a going business	$2,500.00 (plus added costs)
Real Property Levy ~ $300 initial deposit. Approximately, $600 to $1,000 or more, additional will be required after four months to publish and notice real property sale	$360.00 (initial deposit)
Safe Deposit Box	$320.00 and up
Temporary Restraining Orders (harassment, domestic violence, elder abuse)	No fee with fee waiver
Till Tap	$125.00
Wage Garnishment	$45.00
Writ of Possession of Personal Property after judgment	$125.00 and up
Writ of Sale (Personal Property)	$125.00 and up

The Sheriff is entitled to fees whether or not the service is completed. We cannot guarantee that our service will always be successful (CA Govt. Code § 26736 & 26738). All fees will be paid prior to performing any service (CA Govt. Code § 6103.2).

Legal Advice
The Sheriff cannot give out personal or legal advice or answer any questions which are legal in nature. If you have a legal question, please contact an attorney.

Status Requests
Status inquiries are not given over the phone. Status inquiries may be made via fax at (510) 272-6811. Status inquiries include all questions regarding any monies or answers received from garnishments or levies.