You do not need to memorize every login the first week you practice in LA. You do need to know which portal does what, when an online step replaces a phone call or window trip, and where the hidden fees live. This walkthrough explains the main portals attorneys actually touch in Los Angeles County, how they connect, and what to expect in real-world use.
Think of the Attorney Portal as the court’s gated front door for licensed counsel. It is a free account for California-barred attorneys that lets you authenticate once and then reach attorney-only tools tied to your cases. Creating the account takes two parts: you set up a Court ID and then validate your State Bar number by receiving a verification code at the email on file with the State Bar of California. The bar-number check is built into registration so the system can confirm that you are an attorney in good standing before exposing attorney-only views.
Registration is straightforward and there is no enrollment fee. The password rules require 8–16 characters and a mix of three out of four categories (uppercase, lowercase, digits, and approved symbols). If the verification email does not arrive at the firm address you are using day to day, check the address your State Bar profile lists. The system will only send the code to the State Bar email for that bar number.
Once validated, you sign in with the same Court ID each time you use attorney-facing tools. If something breaks during setup, the court’s service desk will ask for your Court ID and your bar number, so save those. If you later change your State Bar email, run the validation step again so the court’s records line up.
If you are juggling a deadline and the site is down, remember that clerk’s counters in Downtown LA still exist. At the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in the Civic Center, the building typically opens to the public at 7:30 a.m. and the civil Clerk’s Office window hours run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except court holidays. That window schedule is still what controls in‑person filings and in‑person copy requests.
LA Superior Court recently consolidated public case lookups into a single Court Access Portal known as CAP. CAP presents calendars, case summaries, and (when allowed) downloadable document images across divisions like civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, and mental health. If you represent clients in different practice areas, this unification matters because you no longer jump between different legacy search pages to find calendars or basic case data.
CAP is public-facing, not attorney-only. That distinction controls what you will see and what it costs to pull records. For document images purchased online, the court’s current fee schedule charges $1.00 per page for pages 1–5 of a document, $0.40 per page for page 6 and up, with a $40.00 maximum per document. The system counts every page in the imaged document, including occasional blanks. CAP also charges for name searches. Guest users pay $4.75 per search. Registered users pay on a sliding scale that starts at $1.00 per search for the first ten searches in a month and then steps up for higher volumes. Those fees apply per search, regardless of how many results appear.
If you need certified paper copies rather than online images, the copy desk follows a different schedule. In-person or mail-order copies cost $0.50 per page and a certification costs $40.00 per document. For old or boxed files, expect the Archive and Records Center to apply the same per‑page copy rate. Plan your errands around the window hours mentioned above if you need to pick up certified copies the same day.
So where does the Attorney Portal fit in? You will still use your attorney login to authenticate when a tool is restricted to counsel of record, but you will use CAP for most search, calendar, and purchase tasks that do not require attorney‑only access. A quick rule of thumb: if a paralegal or client can look it up without you, that task likely lives in CAP. If a feature is limited to counsel of record, it will prompt for your validated attorney account.
For Los Angeles civil, electronic filing is mandatory for most documents submitted by attorneys, and the court permits self‑represented litigants to eFile. You pick an approved Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) and submit your PDFs through that provider. The court does not set the EFSP’s service fee. Providers set their own pricing and options, so compare turnaround times and add‑ons like courtesy copies or electronic service before you settle on one for the firm.
Timing is where eFiling changes your day. The court deems a document filed on the court day it is electronically received, up to 11:59 p.m. local time, as long as it is accepted. A 7:30 p.m. upload on a Tuesday will carry Tuesday’s file date if the filing meets requirements. That online cutoff replaces the 4:30 p.m. window reality but it does not change any rule that sets a specific time of day for a particular filing. If your department or the rules require a filing by 10:00 a.m. for a next‑day ex parte, the 11:59 p.m. rule will not save you.
Scheduling civil motion dates is now its own online step. Many civil departments require you to reserve hearing dates through the Court Reservation System, known as CRS, before you file the moving papers. As of March 21, 2025, CRS requires a one‑time user registration with identity information, including whether you are a law firm, an attorney service, or self‑represented. Departments that use CRS expect you to book and manage continuances in CRS rather than calling the clerk, and the system will enforce each department’s reservation parameters. If your case sits in a non‑CRS courtroom, follow that department’s posted procedure instead.
A few practical filing tips from the rejection lists: upload supporting items as their own PDFs under the correct document names, watch for the court’s size limits per document, and verify that your electronic bookmarks are present where required. Remember that a document is not filed until the court stamps it. If a defective envelope is rejected after your 11:59 p.m. push, you will likely need to seek relief in the case. Build enough margin to fix a rejection the same night when the deadline is tight.
Remote appearances are handled by the court’s LACourtConnect platform, which is open to litigants, attorneys, and other participants with a role in the hearing. Not every hearing type in every division is eligible, but when it is available you will see the option when you look up the case. For traffic, for example, you can typically schedule a remote appearance up to 30 days before the hearing and no later than 30 minutes before the start time, but traffic trials are not eligible for remote appearances.
LACourtConnect is a pay‑per‑hearing system. The current published cost‑recovery fees are $15 for an audio appearance and $23 for a video appearance. If you or your client has an approved court fee waiver on file, LACourtConnect will present a fee‑waiver option during scheduling and the court waives the LACourtConnect fee once the waiver is confirmed. Statewide remote‑appearance rules also recognize fee waivers. Confirm that the waiver is in the case file at least a week before the hearing so the system recognizes it when you check out.
Plan the basics. LACourtConnect requires a Court ID for scheduling. Hearing links typically open shortly before the calendar starts. The court prohibits recording, photographing, or broadcasting remote proceedings, and local rules on decorum still apply. If your network is shaky, switch to the audio dial‑in number as a fallback so you are present when the courtroom calls your case.
Even in an eFiling world, some tasks are easier in person or are not available online. Examples include same‑day certified copies, getting certain minute orders or loose filings stamped for court reporters, and resolving issues that require face‑to‑face ID or payment. At the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, public doors typically open at 7:30 a.m. and the civil Clerk’s Office window hours run 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Expect similar clerk‑counter hours at most branches, with building‑entry hours sometimes starting earlier for security screening.
Costs differ between online and in‑person copy routes. When you buy images online through CAP, you pay the per‑page online rates described above with a per‑document cap. When you order paper copies at the counter or by mail, copies cost $0.50 per page and a certification costs $40.00 per document. If you do not have a case number, in‑person index searches can involve a per‑name search fee after a set amount of clerk time, so arrive with as much detail as you can. If a file is in off‑site storage, you may need to place the order and return when it is retrieved.
For calendars, the court posts limited forward‑looking courtroom calendars online, generally enough to confirm upcoming dates and department assignments. If you cannot find a hearing in CAP and you are due in court the same morning, head to the building early so you can clear security and ask at the information desk without being late to call.
| System | Who can use it | Primary use | Key cost | Timing/limits |
| Attorney Portal | California‑barred attorneys with validated bar number | Attorney‑only access to tools tied to cases; identity‑verified login | $0 to register | One‑time bar verification via State Bar email; reusable Court ID for future logins |
| Court Access Portal (CAP) | Public | Case summaries, calendars, and purchase of document images | Images: $1.00/page for pages 1–5, then $0.40/page, $40 cap per document; Name searches: guest $4.75 each, registered sliding scale from $1.00 | Counts every page in the imaged document; fees apply per search regardless of results |
| Court Reservation System (CRS) | Parties in departments that require reservations | Reserve motion dates and manage continuances per department parameters | $0 to register | One‑time CRS registration required since Mar. 21, 2025; not all departments use CRS |
| LACourtConnect | Attorneys, litigants, and other participants on eligible calendars | Remote appearances by audio or video | $15 audio, $23 video per hearing; fee waiver applies if granted | Traffic scheduling opens up to 30 days ahead and closes 30 minutes before; recording is prohibited |
Yes. You first create a Court ID, then validate your bar number. The system emails a one‑time verification code to the email address listed in your State Bar of California profile. There is no fee to register, and once the validation is done you use the same Court ID for future sign‑ins.
Any eFiling received by the court between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on a court day is deemed filed that court day if it is accepted. This extends your practical filing window beyond the 4:30 p.m. clerk’s counter time, but it does not override any rule that sets a specific time for a particular filing.
Through CAP, document images cost $1.00 per page for pages 1–5 and $0.40 per additional page, capped at $40.00 per document. Guest name searches cost $4.75 each, while registered users start at $1.00 per search and move to higher per‑search fees as monthly volume increases.
If you need a certified copy the same day or you are addressing something that the online systems do not support, the clerk’s counter is faster. At Stanley Mosk, public entry is typically from 7:30 a.m. and the civil Clerk’s Office window hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Counter copies cost $0.50 per page with $40.00 per certification.
There are many places to click, but the logic is simple. Use your bar‑validated Court ID when a tool is limited to counsel. Use CAP to search and buy documents. Book motion dates through CRS where required. And if a deadline is tight or a certified copy is the point, the clerk’s window is still the shortest line between you and what the case needs.
Published: September 8, 2026