Legal Notices
Fill out the secure form below to submit your legal notice for publication in the Santa Monica Daily Press.
Submit a Legal Notice
If a court or agency has ordered you to publish a notice, it has to run in an adjudicated newspaper of general circulation. Run it somewhere that isn't, and the notice doesn't count — which means republishing, paying twice, and wasting whatever time you had left.
The Santa Monica Daily Press is adjudicated in Los Angeles County under Case No. BS085285. We've been Santa Monica's daily paper since 2001, and courts, agencies, and the attorneys who file here regularly recommend us to publish legal notices because we do it right the first time.
We publish name changes, fictitious business name statements, probate and estate notices, summonses, public hearing and bid notices, lien sales, and any other documents that are required for legal publishing in Los Angeles County. Each type has its own formatting and run-length rules, and we check yours against them before it goes to print — not after.
Deadlines. Standard turnaround is five business days. Rush publishes next day; get it to us by noon the business day before.
Lien sales are priced individually. Email the notice and we'll quote it, usually within the hour.
Questions, or not sure which notice you need? Email legal@smdp.com or call (310) 458-7737.
Standard Publication Schedules
These are the run schedules California law sets for the most common notices. Your court order or the filing agency can require something different — send us the order and we'll build the run dates around it.
| Notice type | How often it runs | Timing | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name change (Order to Show Cause) | Once a week for four successive weeks | Must finish before the hearing, which the court sets 6–12 weeks out from the order | CCP § 1277 |
| Fictitious business name (DBA) | Once a week for four successive weeks | First run within 45 days of filing with the county clerk. Affidavit goes back to the clerk within 45 days of the last run — we file it for you | B&P § 17917 Gov. Code § 6064 |
| Probate (Notice of Petition to Administer Estate, DE-121) | Three times, with at least five days between the first and last run, not counting the run dates themselves | First run at least 15 days before the hearing | Prob. Code § 8121 |
| Summons by publication | Once a week for four successive weeks (28 days) | Starts after the court grants the order for publication; a judge can order a longer run | CCP § 415.50 Gov. Code § 6064 |
| Storage lien sale | Once a week for two consecutive weeks — or once in print plus seven days on an online auction site | All runs complete before the sale date | B&P § 21707 |
| Public hearing and bid notices | Set by the agency or the statute behind the notice — commonly once, or once a week for two weeks | Varies. Send us the requirement and we'll schedule to it | Gov. Code §§ 6061, 6066 |
Schedules above are general information, not legal advice. If your order says something different, the order controls.