CHAPTER 6. Offices and Office Hours [24250. - 24262.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 6.
in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24250. Section 24250.

Sheriffs, clerks, recorders, treasurers, and auditors, shall have their offices at the county seat in the courthouse, hall of records, jail, or other buildings. However, these officials may situate their offices outside the county seat, provided that the offices are conveniently located and easily accessible to the public, and notice of their location is prominently displayed in the county administration building and other appropriate county facilities.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24250.1. Section 24250.1.

Sheriffs shall also have offices in each city in which they perform court-related services and a facility of the superior court is located.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24252. Section 24252.

Sheriffs and clerks shall also have offices in any city containing a population of not less than 20,000 as ascertained by the preceding census taken under the authority of the Congress or the Legislature in which the city hall is not less than 30 miles distant from the county courthouse.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24253. Section 24253.

Sheriffs and clerks shall also have offices in any city containing a population of not less than 50,000 as ascertained by the last census taken under the authority of the Congress or the Legislature in which the city hall is not less than six miles distant from the county courthouse.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24254. Section 24254.

Sheriffs and clerks shall also have offices in any city containing a population of not less than 7,000, as ascertained by the preceding census taken under the authority of Congress or the Legislature in which the city hall is not less than 55 miles distant from the site of the county courthouse. Such offices shall be kept open for the transaction of business continuously every day, except Sundays and holidays, in the period during which a superior court is in session in the city.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24254.5. Section 24254.5.

Sheriffs and clerks shall also have offices in each city wherein the city hall is not less than eighteen miles from the site of the county courthouse and which has a population of not less than ten thousand, and within the ten-mile radius from the city hall of which there is a population of not less than fifty thousand, if there are residing in the county at least eighteen miles from the county courthouse not less than fifteen thousand persons, some of whom would be required to travel 50 miles to attend court at said city and at least ten miles farther in order to attend the superior court at the county courthouse, and in each city or town within the county containing a population of not less than two thousand two hundred wherein the city hall of said city or town is not less than sixty miles distant from the site of the county courthouse, or any other place where sessions of the superior court have been established, such populations being ascertained by the latest population determination as made under the authority of the Congress of the United States, or the Legislature of the State of California.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24256. Section 24256.

Whenever the law specifies that an office or building shall be located at the county seat and an incorporated city has been designated as the county seat, the location of that office or building may be either within or in the immediate vicinity of the corporate limits of said city. However, the prescribed offices and buildings may be situated outside the county seat or its immediate vicinity, provided that those offices and buildings are conveniently located and easily accessible to the public, and notice of their location is prominently displayed in the county administration building and other appropriate county facilities.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24257. Section 24257.

In this chapter “transaction of business” means that during the hours named there shall be present in each office at least one person qualified and prepared to transact the business that properly comes into the office.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24258. Section 24258.

If any officer required by this chapter to have an office has no regularly appointed deputy paid by the county at the same time and in the same manner as the principal, he may close his office during the hour from 12 o'clock noon to 1 o'clock p.m.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24259. Section 24259.

If the officer has a branch office to which a single deputy is assigned, he may close the branch office during the hour from 12 o'clock noon to 1 o'clock p.m.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24260. Section 24260.

In all counties county officers shall keep their offices open for the transaction of business during such hours and on such days as are fixed by the board of supervisors by ordinance or resolution.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 24262. Section 24262.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no office of the sheriff or clerk shall be established elsewhere than at the county seat without the approval of the board of supervisors.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

Starting a business in California? California LLC guide: costs and requirements