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Free assistance to people who live in, or earned an employer-sponsored retirement benefit in CA, AZ, HI and NV. No age or income restrictions. Help understanding pension rights, tracking down retirement benefits from past employers, assisting with claims and appeals procedures, interpreting spousal and survivor benefits rights, and advise on rights and options in benefit overpayment situations.

WEAVE Legal provides legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking. Services include free workshops about how to start your divorce in Sacramento County, completing financial disclosures, and seeking child support & child custody. WEAVE’s attorneys and legal staff also provide consultation, representation and/or forms assistance on a case by case basis for restraining order and related family law matters special immigration petitions (T/U Visa and VAWA Self Petitions) civil harassment restraining orders (for sexual assault victims) and vacatur petitions for survivors of sex trafficking.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) administers the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program to provide free basic tax return preparation for low- and moderate-income taxpayers.  The California State Controller works with the IRS and other agencies to make these programs available in communities throughout California.

Assistance is generally available from February 1 through April 15^th.  Dates and times vary by location, and some VITA sites require appointments.

Offers crime victims and their families support and information at every stage of the criminal case process.

California Victims Resource Center may be able to offer limited representation to victims of crime. Through this service, victims will be able to receive assistance from attorneys in exercising their rights at various stages in the criminal justice process (pre-trial, trial and post-trial).

Advocates provide crisis counseling, orientation to the criminal justice system, community referrals, assistance with applying for victim compensation, a support group for family members of homicide victims, and many other services. Assistance and information is available in several different languages. Special assistance is available to victims of elder abuse and dependent adult abuse.

Free assistance for both the landlord/plaintiff and tenant/defendant. Walk In only.

Sacramento’s Tenant Protection Program assists residential tenants and landlords with questions about annual rent increase limits and protections for unjustified evictions, facilitating a fair rate of return or pre-eviction hearings, and administering and enforcing City code.

Free assistance is available for both the plaintiff and defendant.

SH@LL provides general information and basic assistance to people without attorneys on a variety of civil legal issues. All assistance is provided by telephone or Zoom videoconference. Visit “What We Help With” for a list of qualifying cases.

Eligibility: Must be a Sacramento County resident or have a qualifying case in the Sacramento County Superior Court.

Free legal advice and assistance to those age 60+ on almost any civil issue. Common issues are tenants’ rights, estate planning, grandparent’s rights, pensions, and public benefits. No criminal law or assistance with conservatorships. Must have legal immigratnt status.

Safe at Home is a confidential address program administered by the California Secretary of State’s office and is most effective when used as a part of an overall safety plan. Safe at Home offers victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, human trafficking & elder and dependent abuse, as well as reproductive health care workers, a substitute mailing address to receive first class, certified, and registered mail. This address is also accepted by California state, county, and city government agencies in lieu of a residential or other mailing address where a victim can be tracked down, keeping the residence address confidential and out of the hands of someone who might want to harm the victim. Those needing this service must apply through an enrolling agency: https://www.sos.ca.gov/registries/safe-home/where-find-enrolling-agency 

The Renters Helpline provides free information to tenants on their rights and responsibilities and offer tenant-landlord dispute resolution

Services Provided: Self-help services in preparing domestic violence and elder abuse restraining orders, court support accompaniment, information to prepare for restraining order hearing and what happens after hearing, information and referral services for safe housing, adult counseling (individual and group), safety planning and danger assessment, and victims compensation advocacy.

Confidential and neutral conciliation and mediation services in neighborhood, landlord/tenant, real estate, family, commercial, organization, consumer/merchant, employer/employee, victim/offender and other disputes. Mediation services are not provided for physical or sexual assault cases. Also provides mediation training.

Sacramento Justice League is a nonprofit corporation in Sacramento offering low cost legal services and occasional free clinics. Topics covered include:

• Direct Family Law Legal Services
• Name Changes/Birth Certificate Changes
• Criminal Expungement Assistance
• Credit and Debt Relief Assistance
• Self-Represented Family Law Workshops
• Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
• Landlord/Tenant Issues
• Bankruptcy

The Work Release Division is Sacramento County’s alternative to incarceration or in lieu of the payment of certain traffic fines for those convicted of a criminal or traffic offense in Sacramento County. Public hours: 7:00 am – 4:00 pm, Monday – Friday

The Sheriff’s Civil Bureau can serve civil process for documents such as summons and complaints, restraining orders, bench warrants, evictions and any other  court documents. The Civil Bureau also handles wage garnishments, bank levies and seizure of judgment debtor assets.

The Office of the Public Defender provides the following legal services to individuals who cannot afford to hire the services of a private attorney. Provides indigent defendants their constitutionally guaranteed right to representation when accused of felonies and misdemeanors. Represents clients in developmentally disabled and conservatorship cases. Represents juveniles in delinquency cases.

Note: address change as of December 4, 2023.

The Clerk-Recorder’s office maintains real property and related records, as well as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses and certificates, and professional registrations.

County Service Center: 8239 E. Stockton Boulevard, Suite A, Sacramento, CA 95828. Note: Same-day document recording not available at County Service Center. Documents are accepted for recording within 2 business days.

The Assessor is responsible for locating taxable property in the County, assessing the value, identifying the owner, and publishing annual and supplemental assessment rolls., Assessor’s Parcel Viewer: Use Parcel Viewer to view property maps, parcel information and recent sales.

Project Sentinel’s Fair Housing Center offers services for tenants/homeseekers who are experiencing housing discrimination.

Opening Doors’ Immigration Legal Services Program provides free legal representation to low income individuals and families throughout the greater Sacramento region, including support with naturalization (citizenship), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and adjustments of status (green cards).

Primary public access window to the Attorney General’s office. Assists in answering questions on a wide variety of issues ranging from consumer fraud to public safety. Serves as a centralized office for consumer complaints and requests for information.

Provides housing counseling for pre-purchasing, post-purchasing, foreclosure prevention, and renting

Serving health consumers in 32 counties, with problems related to obtaining and keeping health coverage, and accessing health care services.

Provides free civil representation to low-income clients on issues related to  housing (landlord-tenant disputes) and government benefits issues (CalWorks, General Assistance, Social Security, Unemployment, etc.), health benefits (Medi-Cal, Medicare, Covered California, private insurance, etc.), and other civil legal matters.

An attorney referral service is a resource that assists people in finding a lawyer who practices in the appropriate legal field for their matter.

Legal Aid at Work provides assistance to low-income Californians on work-related legal issues. Areas of assistance include wage theft, race discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation based on immigration status, unemployment insurance, paid family leave, and workers’ compensation.

Provides opportunities for refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, survivors of torture, and other immigrants to thrive in America.

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services offers low-cost immigration legal services on immigration matters including family-based visa petitions, waivers of inadmissibility, naturalization and citizenship applications, adjustment of status, petition to remove conditions on residence, consular proceedings, visas for victims of crime and domestic violence and refugee/asylee relative petition.

Provides assistance to detained immigrants before the immigration court — challenging conditions of confinement and contesting their confinement in federal court.

Case consultations on housing, predatory and unfair lending, estate planning, foreclosure prevention, reentry, and credit.

Eligibility: low to moderate income

HICAP Services of Northern California offers the following free basic services related to Medicare and Long Term Care Insurance: counseling and advocacy, legal representation and referral services, and community education. Services are available to residents in El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties regardless of income or age.

Assistance with Name and Gender change. Call for an appointment.

Family law self help assistance, including forms assistance, file review, preparation of orders and judgments and other forms of procedural assistance. Also assists with Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, Elder Abuse Restraining Orders,  Probate Guardianship, and Limited Conservatorship cases. Eligibility: Must have family law case in Sacramento County Superior Court.

In-person, phone, or online assistance in filing a claim, as well as mediation services.

Academic year only. Typically open for intake during June/July and November/December for one to two weeks., Certified law students provide legal advice and undertake representation of low-income individuals 60 and older in the greater Sacramento area. Priority cases include nursing home residents’ rights, alternatives to conservatorships, Social Security, Medicare, Medi-Cal, SSI, health care access, housing, elder abuse, advance health care directives, and simple estate planning tools.

Advice on rights, some legal representation available for disability-related legal matters.

Monthly workshops on workers’ rights and workers’ compensation procedures, individual advice available.

Department of Child Support Services can assist parents and to legal guardians in establishing parentage, and in establishing, modifying, and collecting  child support orders. Cases may be opened by either parent, or may be referred from the welfare agency for reimbursement.

Assists families with legal prerequisites to adoption, and financial assistance in some cases.

Find your local public law library, events and workshops, and links to legal research resources. Free online classes on many common legal questions.

Consumers can use the CSLB to find licensed contractors, check to see if a contractor is licensed, and get assistance with complaints against contractors.

Students at the McGeorge School of Law can serve low-income clients in the areas of Immigration, Bankruptcy, Elder & Health Law, and Homeless Advocacy.

Civil Self-Help Services (SHS) helps people without lawyers who have questions about simple issues related to a civil case. They can give you general information and help you prepare your own forms in the area of civil law. Common topics include civil harassment restraining orders, petitions for change of name/gender, and expungement of criminal convictions.

Investigates and provides conciliation services in cases of unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Complaints can be filed online or by mail.

Provides a list of State Bar-certified lawyer referral services organized by county in California.

Capital Pro Bono can help you obtain guardianship over a minor child who is not your own. This may be necessary if the child’s parents are deceased or currently unable to care for the child. CPB can also provide advice if you need to get conservatorship over an adult. This may be needed to properly care for a disabled adult. CPB unfortunately cannot provide any help if the child or adult has money that needs to be managed.

Employment Law Clinic appointments are held throughout the week by appointment only, depending on volunteer availability. If you would like more information or are interested in being scheduled for an appointment, please call or fill out the Contact Us form on the Capital Pro Bono website.

By appointment only.

Capital Pro Bono’s Debt Collection Defense Clinic can provide assistance with understanding and cleaning up credit reports, disputing debts and identity theft, and evaluating whether or not you should file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or answer debt collection lawsuits.

Eligibility: Must be low income. Must have legal Immigration status

The Capital Pro Bono is a nonprofit agency that provides free legal assistance with many kinds of civil legal matters to low income people. In addition to referring eligible clients to volunteer attorneys for direct representation, they offer a number of free legal clinics on a variety of common legal matters., Eligibility: Must be low income. Must have legal Immigration status

The Witkin State Law Library offers an extensive collection of primary and secondary sources with a focus on California law. Primary sources from California’s beginnings aid the Legislature and state agencies in tracing legislative or regulatory histories, and practice guides and court briefs aid lawyers and those proceeding pro se. Their collection includes materials for other states, federal legislation, and even historical and international law.  Services not provided: No legal advice or interpretation of information. No document delivery service.

Complaint filing assistance, referrals in non-department issues, licensing professions and businesses. Call, write or go online.

Complaints between buyers and sellers can be submitted by letter or on Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint forms.

Academic year only., Typically open for intake during June/July and November/December for one to two weeks., The Bankruptcy Clinic is located on the campus of Pacific McGeorge School of Law and assists low-income clients in debtor/creditor matters including debt collection disputes, and the representation of debtors in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California.

APS investigates reports of elderly and dependent adults in danger due to abuse, neglect, exploitation, or hazardous or unsafe living conditions, can serve as an advocate for elderly and dependent adults in situations with landlords, doctors, hospitals, and other social services.

A free, comprehensive, multilingual information and referral service with a database of more than 1,600 local community and public services. Information and referral specialists are available by phone 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, and can assist callers by providing appropriate referrals for services needed. Serves as the designated Senior Information and Assistance program in Sacramento County and is a member of the Sacramento Region VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster). Links hundreds of callers to free income tax preparation sites each year.