Free Legal Information

Online Self-Help Center

• Information about the court system, lawyers, legal aid, and other help from the courts
• Includes forms, and guidance include topics such as divorce, eviction & housing, immigration, debt collection, traffic, small claims, guardianship, wills, estates & probate, name change, abuse & harassment, gender change, and much more
• Available in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese

Self-Help in the Courthouse

• Check what your county's courthouses have available. Each court has has staff and resources available to help you with certain legal matters.
  • Family Law Facilitators: help with child support, parentage and other family law issues.
  • Small Claims Advisors: help with small claims court and consumer problems.
  • Self-Help Centers: help with many kinds of problems, depending on staffing and location.

California County Law Libraries

Free, public law libraries for everyone, including the general public, lawyers, and judges. Every county law library is different, but they generally provide resources and information to access laws, cases, and information on various legal topics. Many libraries have legal research databases, legal practice guides (providing detailed information and guidance on legal matters), legal document templates, and self-help books.

• Check out www.publiclawlibrary.org to locate your county's library and for more information
• Local county law libraries
  • Yolo County Law Library (search for legal items within the public library's catalog)
  • Solano County Law Library 
  • Sacramento County Public Law Library
  • Alameda County Law Library
  • San Francisco County Law Library
  • Butte County Law Library

Legal Information Reference Center (database for NOLO books and forms)

• NOLO publishes legal guides written in plain English to help answer common legal questions and to provide information useful for those handling legal matters on their own. NOLO books are often available at public libraries and public law libraries.
• This database of NOLO books is provided by Yolo County Law Library for people living, working, studying or litigating within the County.
  • Log-in instructions are provided once you click the link.