Ventura Superior Court: setting a judgment debtor exam date by phone

A call4me customer's assistant called the Ventura Superior Court civil clerk to ask how to get a hearing date for an EJ-125 debtor's exam. The clerk said no reservation is needed. Here is the phone menu, what the clerk said, and the full recording.

Nick Khami / October 16, 2026 / number verified October 13, 2026 / 5 min read

The short answer: the Ventura Superior Court civil clerk's line is 805-289-8525. The court's phone directory lists that number as "Civil" under the Ventura Courthouse, next to the main number, 805-289-8900. The recorded greeting gives the Civil Department's location as 800 South Victoria Avenue, Room 210, Ventura, and its office and telephone hours as 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. The court's civil page lists the same clerk's office hours.

Press 3 to speak with a clerk. On this call a live clerk answered 1 minute 16 seconds into the recording, with no hold message.

What the clerk said about an EJ-125 judgment debtor exam in that civil case:

• No reservation is needed. "There's no reservations for those type of cases."
• Pick a date yourself. "You just need to pick any day Monday through, uh, Thursday at 8:30."
• Write it in the hearing box. Asked whether the filer can put a Monday to Thursday 8:30 date in the hearing box when filing the EJ-125, the clerk said "Correct."
• Same department. Asked whether it would stay in Department 40, the case's department, the clerk said "Correct."
• Nothing else holds the date. Asked whether anything else was needed to hold the date ahead of filing, the clerk said "No."

On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at about 8:02 a.m. Pacific, a call4me customer's assistant made this call for a self-represented judgment creditor. The account owner approved publishing it. This page is what the recording shows. It is not legal advice. Check the form, the court's rules and, if you need it, a lawyer before you file.

What the call established #

What the call did not settle #

• No date was set or confirmed. The clerk described the process. Nothing was reserved, and the EJ-125 was not filed on the call.
• Service timing wasn't discussed. The clerk didn't say how far out to pick the date. The current Judicial Council EJ-125 form (Rev. Oct. 1, 2024) says the order "must be served no less than 30 days before the date set for the examination," or 10 days for an examination of someone other than the judgment debtor. Count that before you choose a Monday to Thursday date.
• One department, one case. The answer was about one civil case assigned to Department 40. The clerk didn't say whether every civil department, small claims or a different courthouse works the same way.
• The 8:30 time is as spoken. The clerk said "Thursday at 8:30" without saying a.m. or p.m.
• Who the clerk needed. Before answering, the clerk asked for the name of the party to be examined, not only the case name. Have that ready.

The Ventura Superior Court civil phone tree #

This is the menu as it played on October 13, 2026, calling 805-289-8525.

1. "You have reached the Ventura Superior Court Civil Department, located at 800 South Victoria Avenue, room 210, Ventura, California, 93009."
2. "For Spanish, please press 9."
3. Hours, then a pointer to the court website for "case inquiries, forms, filing fees, tentative rulings, directions, and other general information," and the county clerk and recorder's office for tax liens, 805-654-3744.
4. "For civil records and case searches, please press 1."
5. "To contact a judicial secretary to schedule a civil or unlawful detainer ex parte hearing, please press 2."
6. "To speak with a clerk, please press 3." That's the one we used. Key presses don't show up in the recording.
7. "Thank you for calling. Please wait while we transfer your call to the next available representative." The clerk picked up about 9 seconds later.

The court's civil page says ex parte hearings and Law and Motion matters are limited per day and must be reserved, and points people to this same number. The clerk's answer was that a debtor's exam is not one of those: there was nothing to reserve.

Listen to the call #

The whole call, 2 minutes 35 seconds, with original voices and timing. Silences cover the customer's name, the clerk's first name, the case number, the party names and the name of the person to be examined. Nothing is cut.

You can also hear it on the examples page.

How the call went #

The customer's brief asked three things: whether the clerk assigns the EJ-125 hearing date at filing or a date has to be reserved first, how to reserve one if so, and what to write in the date box. The first answer made the other two simple.

A few things worth knowing for your own call:

• The clerk asked for the examinee first. Giving the full case caption wasn't enough. The clerk wanted the name of the party to be examined before answering.
• The caller confirmed each point back. It repeated the days, the time, the hearing box and the department, and the clerk said "Correct" to each.
• The call4me summary went one step further than the clerk. Its recap said to pick a date "far enough out for service." That's sensible, but the clerk didn't say it. We left it out of the answers above and put the form's 30 day rule in the limits instead.

Have your agent make this call #

Connect call4me to your agent through the Claude Code guide or the Codex guide. This is a suggested brief, not the one the customer used:

Call the Ventura Superior Court civil clerk at 805-289-8525 and press 3 to speak with a clerk. Say this call may be recorded and ask for the clerk's name. I'm the judgment creditor in case [case number], Department [department]. I want to file an EJ-125 to examine the judgment debtor [name]. Ask: does the hearing date need to be reserved, or do I pick one and write it in the hearing box? Which days and times can I choose? Is there anything I need to do before filing to hold the date? I need the date at least [30] days out so the order can be served. Repeat back every date, time and department, and don't agree to pay anything.

For other calls about legal paperwork, see how a call booked a $300 lawyer consultation and how one got a Wyoming registered agent consent form.

ventura superior court / judgment debtor exam / EJ-125 / civil clerk / court phone numbers / phone trees