How to get excused from jury duty in Los Angeles County, California
The excusal routes Los Angeles County, California actually recognizes — what each one needs, who decides, and where it goes.
Nothing happens in Los Angeles until you register — and you have five days. The summons requires everyone to register by phone or on the portal “within 5 days of receiving the Summons, even if you cannot serve”, and says plainly: “you must register or you cannot request a Postponement, Transfer, or Excuse.” Every request is then made on the court’s own summons form, section by section, and only the sections the Phone Center tells you to complete. Two things on that form catch people out: financial hardship is decided from yearly income before tax and MONTHLY household expenses — not annual expenses — and item 17 states in terms that “full-time student status, occupation as a teacher, and age do not qualify for excuse.”
Your routes in Los Angeles County, California
Register. Before anything else.Do this first — within five days
Everyone must register within five days of receiving the summons, even if they cannot serve. Until you do, you cannot request a postponement, transfer or excuse at all.
Los Angeles jury summons — read directly, 9 September 2026. “Everyone summoned for jury service is Required to Register Using the Telephone or the Internet within 5 days of receiving the Summons, even if you cannot serve. Requests for Postponement, Transfer, and Excuse are handled during Registration.” And, in the registration step itself: “You must register or you cannot request a Postponement, Transfer, or Excuse from Jury Service.” This is the step people skip, and skipping it closes every other door on this page.
See the full detail →PostponementIncluded — the answer for most people
Handled during registration, on the phone prompts or the portal’s Reschedule tab. The summons says service can be scheduled to a more convenient time, and breast feeding a child qualifies.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section B item 17 — read directly. The summons says of the reasons people most often give: “Service can be scheduled to a more convenient time.” It also states that breast feeding a child will qualify for postponement of service. Los Angeles publishes no cap on the page — the phone system and the portal offer the next available dates. If a different date solves your problem, this is the whole answer, and it is the only request here that does not need the paper form back.
See the full detail →Financial hardship — the figures the summons asks forThe figures the summons asks for
Section C. Household size, total yearly income before tax for everyone in the household, and MONTHLY household expenses. The court decides from those numbers, not from an account of your situation.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section C, with California Rule of Court 2.1008. Section C is headed “Extreme financial burden or serious economic injury” and asks exactly three things: number of persons in your household (adults and minors, including yourself); total yearly income of all individuals in the household, before taxes — including Social Security, alimony, child support and retirement benefits; and monthly household expenses.
Note the units. Income is yearly, expenses are monthly. Writing a year’s expenses into the monthly box is the commonest way this form goes wrong, and the form warns that failing to explain properly “may cause automatic qualification for jury service.” Rule 2.1008 sets the standard; Los Angeles applies it through these figures rather than a written argument.
Note the units. Income is yearly, expenses are monthly. Writing a year’s expenses into the monthly box is the commonest way this form goes wrong, and the form warns that failing to explain properly “may cause automatic qualification for jury service.” Rule 2.1008 sets the standard; Los Angeles applies it through these figures rather than a written argument.
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Prepare your Income & Expense Worksheet →Medical conditionIncluded — your physician completes Section E
Section B item 13. Under 70 your physician completes Section E of the summons. At 70 or over no physician is needed — you explain the medical reason yourself in Section D.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section B item 13 and Section E. Item 13: “I have a physical or mental incapacity that prevents me from serving. If under 70 years of age, a physician must complete Section E. If over 70, explain the medical reason in Section D.” There is nothing here for us to write, so this path is included at no further cost. Section E asks the physician for a diagnosis without codes, a prognosis, whether you are homebound, whether you are employed, how many months until you could serve, their specialty and medical license number — signed under penalty of perjury. A separate item (15) covers being 65 or over and at high risk from COVID-19; under 65 that one also needs Section E completed.
See the full detail →Caring for someone elseIncluded — item 14, its own ground
Section B item 14. Full-time care for another between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, with the relationship, ages and type of care stated in Section D.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section B item 14. “I have a personal obligation to provide full-time care for another from the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mon.–Fri. State relationship to dependent, age(s) and type of care provided in Section D.” This is its own numbered ground, separate from medical incapacity, and it is answered in Section D’s four lines rather than argued. The load-bearing words are full-time and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday: care that does not fall in those hours is not what item 14 describes.
See the full detail →Recent jury serviceIncluded — item 16, twelve months
Section B item 16. Trial or grand juror in the past 12 months. You give the month and the location, and that is the whole request.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section B item 16. “I have served as a trial juror or grand juror in the past 12 months.” Two blanks follow it: Month and Location. Nothing else is asked. It is the shortest route out on the entire form, and it is the one people forget they qualify for.
See the full detail →Age 70 or olderIncluded — but age is not a ground here
The summons states that age does not qualify for excuse in Los Angeles. Being over 70 changes one thing: you explain the medical reason yourself in Section D instead of a physician completing Section E.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section B item 17. Los Angeles says it outright: “Full-time student status, occupation as a teacher, and age do not qualify for excuse. Service can be scheduled to a more convenient time.” Age on its own is not a ground in this county. What being 70 or over does is remove the physician: item 13 says “if under 70 years of age, a physician must complete Section E. If over 70, explain the medical reason in Section D.” So you still need a medical reason — you simply write it yourself.
See the full detail →Transfer to another courthouseIncluded — a different courthouse, not an excuse
Section B, marked TRANSFERRED. Los Angeles treats a change of location as its own request type, alongside postponement and excuse.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section B. Section B offers two boxes: EXCUSED and TRANSFERRED (location change). The form is explicit that “excuse and transfer requests must be in writing” and must be signed in Section G. Los Angeles is geographically enormous and runs many courthouses; a transfer asks to serve somewhere reachable rather than not to serve. It is the request most people never think to make.
See the full detail →You no longer live in Los Angeles CountyIncluded — Section F, with proof
Section F. Return the summons with a copy of a utility bill, voter registration, driver’s license or property tax bill showing your new address.
Los Angeles jury summons, Section F. “If you are not a Los Angeles County resident, complete SECTIONS A, D, F, and G of your summons. You must provide us with proof that you have moved.” Four documents are named: a personal utility bill, proof of voter registration, a driver’s license, or a property tax bill — any one, showing the new address. Although non-residents are not qualified to serve, the court still requires the registration step, which is the part people skip and then hear from the court again.
See the full detail →Contact the court
Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Jury ServicesJury line: (213) 972-0970
Have your Juror ID (JID) and PIN from the summons ready — the office will not discuss a summons without them. Portal: lacourt.org/jury. Term of service is One Trial: on call for up to five days, and if you are placed on a panel you serve until the case ends.
Have your Juror ID (JID) and PIN from the summons ready — the office will not discuss a summons without them. Portal: lacourt.org/jury. Term of service is One Trial: on call for up to five days, and if you are placed on a panel you serve until the case ends.
Other counties
JuryFree prepares documents and guidance from the facts you provide. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice or guarantee any outcome. Court rules and deadlines vary by county and change over time — confirm with the court before you rely on anything here. Questions: [email protected].