Judicial Council of California · United States

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Form FL-165: Request to Enter Default (Family Law—Uniform Parentage)

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JustFill fills the FL-165 PDF for you. It does not enter the default, does not check military status for you and does not give legal advice — the clerk enters the default and you are responsible for the truth of every declaration you sign.JustFill is not affiliated with Judicial Council of California. This is an independent third-party tool to help you complete FL-165. Always download the current blank form from the official source and verify your completed copy before signing or submitting. Official FL-165 from Judicial Council of California

Quick answer

Form FL-165 is the Request to Enter Default (Family Law—Uniform Parentage) adopted for mandatory use by the Judicial Council of California. You file it when the respondent has not filed a response within 30 days of being served with the summons and petition: it asks the clerk to enter their default, records whether the financial and property declarations are attached, states how a copy was mailed to the respondent, lists any costs claimed, and carries the declaration of nonmilitary status that federal and California law require before a default judgment can be entered. JustFill fills the official two-page PDF in your browser; the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge.

Form
FL-165
Issued by
Judicial Council of California
Country
United States
Free allowance
First clean download
Official edition
FL-165 [Rev. July 1, 2025] (Judicial Council of California, form adopted for mandatory use; self-help page shows Effective: July 1, 2025)
Source checked

What is FL-165?

When nobody responded to your California petition, FL-165 is the next step, and JustFill turns the official two-page Judicial Council PDF into a fillable form in your browser. It rests on Code of Civil Procedure sections 585 and 587 and Family Code sections 2330.5 and 2335.5. Item 1 is the request itself. Item 2 records whether an Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150) or Financial Statement (Simplified) (form FL-155) is attached. Item 3 does the same for the Property Declaration (form FL-160), with six reasons you may check if it is not. Item 4 is your declaration about mailing. Item 5 is the memorandum of costs. Item 6 is the nonmilitary declaration, the one item that sends you outside the form: the Department of Defense SCRA website check that the form itself points to.

Download the FL-165 form PDF — free

The current FL-165 is the revision of July 1, 2025: a free two-page fillable PDF from the Judicial Council, also available in Spanish, at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/FL-165. There is no separate official instruction sheet for FL-165; the notes printed on the form and the court's default guide are the official guidance. Open the same blank in JustFill to type every item on screen; the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge. Print it, sign each of the four declaration blocks by hand, and file the original with two copies and a stamped envelope addressed to the respondent.

Get the official FL-165 PDF from Judicial Council of California

Who fills out FL-165?

  • A petitioner whose spouse or domestic partner did not file a response in time
  • A petitioner in a parentage case where the respondent did not answer
  • Self-represented filers moving an uncontested case toward judgment
  • Anyone who must document that the respondent is not on active military service

Field-by-field breakdown

What each section of FL-165 asks for. JustFill’s AI will detect these fields automatically when you upload the PDF — review the breakdown below so you know what to enter.

Item 1 — the request

A direct request to the clerk to enter the default of the respondent who has failed to respond to the petition.

Item 2 — financial declaration

Whether a completed Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150) or Financial Statement (Simplified) (form FL-155) is attached or is not attached.

Item 3 — property declaration

Whether a completed Property Declaration (form FL-160) is attached. If it is not, you check at least one of six stated reasons: no changes since the previous filing; the issues are covered by a written agreement; there are no support or fee issues for the court to decide; the petition does not request money, property, costs or fees; there are no community property division issues; or the action is to establish a parental relationship.

Item 4 — declaration about mailing

Either that no mailing is required because service was by publication or posting and the respondent’s address remains unknown, or that a copy of this request with attachments and a stamped envelope was given to the clerk, addressed to the respondent’s attorney or last known address.

Item 5 — memorandum of costs

Costs and disbursements either waived, or itemised: clerk’s fees, process server’s fees and other specified items, with a total. Signed under penalty of perjury by the person claiming them.

Item 6 — declaration of nonmilitary status

Required for a judgment. You state the respondent is not in U.S. military service as defined by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3911(2)) or California Military and Veterans Code sections 400 and 402(f), and check how you know: an official search result, regular communication, a recent conversation, a discharge date, incarceration, or another stated reason.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • 1Skipping item 6. The declaration of nonmilitary status is required for a judgment, and a respondent on active service has protections that must be honoured first.
  • 2Guessing at military status. The form points to an online check and asks you to state the specific basis for your knowledge.
  • 3Leaving item 3 blank when no Property Declaration is attached. The form requires at least one of the six reasons to be checked.
  • 4Forgetting the stamped envelope. Item 4b requires a copy plus an envelope with sufficient postage handed to the clerk.
  • 5Claiming costs without signing the item 5 declaration that the costs were necessarily incurred, or signing only once: FL-165 has four separate signature blocks (after items 3, 4, 5 and 6) and each must be dated and signed.
  • 6Filing before the 30 days the respondent has to respond after service have run, or before the proof of service (form FL-115) and the Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-141) are on file. The clerk cannot enter a default without them.

FL-165 example — what a filled-out form looks like

A self-represented petitioner in Sacramento County filed a divorce petition (form FL-100) with no children, no support request and nothing to divide. The respondent was personally served on 15 May 2026 and the proof of service (form FL-115) is on file. More than 30 days have passed with no response, so the petitioner asks the clerk to enter the default.

Caption (party without attorney, court, petitioner, respondent, case number)

JANE SAMPLE, 100 Sample St, Sacramento, CA 95814; Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento; Petitioner JANE SAMPLE; Respondent JOHN SAMPLE; case number as stamped on the petition

Copy the caption exactly from the filed petition so the clerk matches the request to the right case.

Item 1 — request to enter default

Pre-printed; nothing to fill in

The request itself is the printed sentence. There is no box to check.

Item 2 — Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150) or Financial Statement (FL-155)

is not attached

The petition asks for no support or attorney fees. If it did, a current FL-150 would have to be attached here.

Item 3 — Property Declaration (FL-160)

is not attached; boxes d and e checked

The petition requests no money, property, costs or fees (d) and there is no community property to divide (e). At least one reason must be checked whenever FL-160 is not attached.

Signature block under item 3

Date, JANE SAMPLE, signature

This is the first of four separate signature blocks on the form.

Item 4 — declaration about mailing

Box b checked; envelope addressed to JOHN SAMPLE, 200 Example Ave, Sacramento, CA 95816

The respondent has no attorney, so the last known address is used. Hand the clerk the copy and a stamped envelope; the clerk does the mailing and records the date in the For Court Use Only box.

Item 5 — memorandum of costs

Box a checked: costs and disbursements are waived

Waiving is the simplest route when you are not asking the judgment to award fees. Itemise clerk and process-server fees only if you want them ordered.

Item 6 — declaration of nonmilitary status

Box a checked: the search results received from scra.dmdc.osd.mil say the respondent is not in the U.S. military service

The free Department of Defense search produces a certificate; keep it with your papers. If the status is unknown or the respondent is serving, a default judgment cannot be entered without the protections the form describes.

Signature blocks under items 4, 5 and 6

Each dated 25 June 2026 and signed JANE SAMPLE

Every declaration is made under penalty of perjury and must be signed separately; an unsigned block is a common reason the clerk returns the form.

These values are made up. They are here to show what belongs on each line, not to be copied — every name, number, and address on your own FL-165 has to be your own.

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Related forms

Judicial Council of California

FL-100

Form FL-100: Petition—Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law)

Judicial Council of California

FL-170

Form FL-170: Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation (Family Law)

Judicial Council of California

FL-150

Form FL-150: Income and Expense Declaration

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Frequently asked questions

Once at least 30 days have passed since the respondent was served with the summons and petition and no response has been filed. Your proof of service (form FL-115) must already be on file, and the court's default guide also expects your Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure (form FL-141) to be filed. After the default is entered the respondent cannot file a response without the court's permission.
A respondent in U.S. military service has rights and protections under federal and California law before a default judgment can be entered. Item 6 is the declaration that they are not serving.
Item 4a covers it: no mailing is required where service was by publication or posting and the address remains unknown.
Not always. Item 3 lists six reasons it may be omitted — including that the issues are already covered by a written agreement.
The judgment packet: the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation (form FL-170), the Judgment (form FL-180) and the Notice of Entry of Judgment (form FL-190), with an Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150) if you ask for support or attorney fees and a Property Declaration (form FL-160) if property or debts are divided. File the originals with two copies and stamped envelopes addressed to each party; many courts accept FL-165 and the judgment packet together.
Copy the caption and case number from your petition. Item 1 is pre-printed. In item 2 attach a current Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150) or Financial Statement (Simplified) (FL-155) if your petition asks for support or fees; otherwise check 'is not attached'. In item 3 attach a Property Declaration (FL-160) if there is property or debt to divide; otherwise check 'is not attached' and at least one reason from a to f, then date and sign. In item 4 check b and write the address of the respondent's attorney or the respondent's last known address; the clerk mails the copy in the stamped envelope you hand in (check a only if you served by publication or posting and the address is still unknown). In item 5 either waive costs or list the clerk's and process server's fees, and sign. In item 6 run the free search at scra.dmdc.osd.mil, check the box that describes how you know the respondent is not on active duty, and sign. File the original with two copies and the envelope; the clerk completes the For Court Use Only box and mails a copy to the respondent.
The Judicial Council does not publish a separate instruction sheet for FL-165. The notes printed on the form (the SCRA website and selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/military-defaults) are the only official item-level guidance, and the court's self-help guide 'How to finish your divorce in a default' at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/divorce/finalize-divorce/default explains when to file it, the two copies and stamped envelope, and the judgment forms that follow.

Official source: FL-165 on Judicial Council of California’s website

Edition checked: FL-165 [Rev. July 1, 2025] (Judicial Council of California, form adopted for mandatory use; self-help page shows Effective: July 1, 2025). Verified against the official source on .

Form FL-165 is published by the Judicial Council of California. JustFill is not affiliated with the Judicial Council or any California court.

JustFill is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Judicial Council of California or any government agency. Always verify your completed form on the official version before signing or submitting.