How to get excused from jury duty in San Bernardino County, California
The excusal routes San Bernardino County, California actually recognizes — what each one needs, who decides, and where it goes.
San Bernardino wants three things, and it rejects requests that arrive with two. Jury Administration set them out by email on 28 August 2026: a written request “prior to the prospective juror’s service date” that includes “facts specifying the hardship” and “a statement of why the circumstances constituting the hardship cannot be avoided by deferring jury service to another date”; household income information in writing, for which the court supplies a free Juror Hardship Affidavit; and, if your employer does not pay, “a letter from your employer confirming that you would lose wages, salary or commission during jury service.” The court’s own warning: “Failure to include all information required will result in an automatic denial of your request.”
Your routes in San Bernardino County, California
Age 70 or olderUsually automatic
The county’s own questionnaire lists a permanent medical excusal at 70 or older with no health care provider’s note required — you tick the box and give your date of birth.
See the full detail →Financial hardshipWritten request — three parts, all required
A written request before your service date, the court’s free income affidavit, and — if your employer does not pay — a letter from them. Missing any part is an automatic denial.
California Rules of Court 2.1008 and 2.1009; Code of Civil Procedure §§ 203 and 204 — as San Bernardino applies them. The county states the requirement in its own words: a request to be excused “must be submitted in writing to the Jury Administration Office prior to the prospective juror’s service date. The request must include facts specifying the hardship and a statement of why the circumstances constituting the hardship cannot be avoided by deferring jury service to another date.” That second half is the part almost everyone leaves out, and it is not optional — “failure to include all information required will result in an automatic denial.” Alongside the letter the court wants household income information in writing, and where the employer does not pay, a letter from that employer confirming you would lose wages, salary or commission.
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Prepare your Hardship Letter →Transportation hardshipFree — tick a box on the questionnaire
A separate named ground on the county’s own forms: no reasonable access to transport, or a one-way commute over 90 minutes. Nothing to write, and the court may send you a bus pass instead.
Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino — Juror Hardship Affidavit and Jury Questionnaire. Both of the county’s forms carry Transportation Hardship as a ground in its own right, separate from financial hardship, and both reduce it to two questions: “Do you have reasonable access to private or public transportation?” and “Is the total one way commute time from your home to the courthouse more than 90 minutes?” San Bernardino is a very large county and that second question catches more people than they expect. There is nothing to argue and no letter to write. Note what the court offers before it excuses you: the questionnaire asks whether you plan to use public transport and, if so, “do you want the court to provide you with a bus pass?” — so a transport problem may be solved rather than excused.
See the full detail →Medical condition or caregivingHigh — three tiers, provider’s note for two
The questionnaire splits medical into temporary, permanent, and permanent at 70+. The first two need a health care provider’s note; the third needs nothing.
California Rules of Court 2.1008 and 2.1009 — as San Bernardino applies them. The county’s questionnaire asks whether you have “a physical or mental disability or impairment that you believe renders you incapable of performing jury service” and then requires one of three boxes: temporary medical excusal (health care provider’s note required), permanent medical excusal (note required), or permanent medical excusal at 70 or older (no note required). Caregiving is a separate question and a narrow one: a verifiable, non-professional obligation to provide care for another between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, where alternative arrangements are not feasible. The form asks for the person’s age, your relationship to them, the type of care, and whether you are employed — so “not feasible” is the point you have to make, not simply that you are the one who does it.
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Prepare your What Your Doctor Needs to Write →Contact the court
Jury Administration, Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, 247 W. Third Street, San Bernardino CA 92415-0244Jury line: (909) 884-1858
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Excusal requests go in writing to [email protected] or by mail — the office replied by email the same day when this project wrote to it.
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Excusal requests go in writing to [email protected] or by mail — the office replied by email the same day when this project wrote to it.
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].