Where can I go online for government and legal forms?

Q: Where can I find federal forms?
A: The federal government has a website for searching for federal forms: www.forms.gov. This site allows you to select a federal agency and search for forms within the agency. If you don’t know the agency, you can use a keyword to search instead. This site does not have all forms from every agency, but it it’s a good place to start. Specific forms could be accessed from these additional sources:

Federal tax forms: Many federal tax forms can be printed from the Internal Revenue Service website: www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html. The “Forms” link is second from the top of the page. The “publications” link is third. Previous years forms and pubs are sixth from the top.

Financial Aid Forms: The “Free Application for Federal Student Aid [FAFSA]” can be found at: www.fafsa.ed.gov. At this website you can fill out a FAFSA online, and submit it online. Don’t have time to finish? You can save your work and come back later.
We have not been able to locate a website that lets you download and print a copy of a paper FAFSA form if you wish to fill it out manually. Paper copies are available at the library.

Immigration Forms: Immigration forms are at the US Department of Homeland Security website, under the subagency, “Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.” The website is: uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm.

Federal Court Forms: Fresno County is in the jurisdiction of the Eastern District of California. There are two federal trial courts in this District:

• The Federal District Court for the Eastern District handles all civil and criminal matters for the district except bankruptcy. Their forms page is at: http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caed/staticOther/page_713.htm
  If you need information about the Court’s rules of procedure, they are available at: http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caed/staticOther/page_558.htm


• The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District handles all bankruptcy matters. Their forms page is at: www.caeb.uscourts.gov/formpubs/formpubs.asp
  If you don’t know the form name or number, click the “View Forms” button, and a complete list of forms available will appear.
  The rules for the Bankruptcy Court are at: www.caeb.uscourts.gov/formpubs/local_rules.asp

Q: Where can I find California forms?
A: California does not have clearinghouse form website comparable to fedforms.gov.

California Tax Forms: There are two main agencies that handle California taxes:

• The Franchise Tax Board handles the state and corporate income taxes, and the “Renter’s and Homeowner’s Rebate.” Their forms site is at: www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/index.html. This site allows you choose publications or forms, and previous year forms back to 1994.

• The Board of Equalization handles sales and use taxes. Their forms website is at: www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/sptaxforms.htm. Some of these forms are available in Spanish.

State Court Forms: The Judicial Council of California rides herd on the forms you use for the Superior Courts of California. Their forms website is at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/.
You’ll be asked to choose a form group, such as Family Law, Traffic Infractions etc., from a drop down menu. If you don’t know which group to choose, there are two choices at the top of the menu: “View All Forms by Number” and “View All Forms by Name” that will let you see all the forms. Most forms have two versions, a printable version and a fill-out-online version.

Motor Vehicle Forms: The California Department of Motor Vehicles has forms on its website here: www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/forms.htm. The forms range from vehicle registration to accident reporting.

Q: Where can I find Fresno County forms?
A: Many of these forms can also be found on the Judicial Council page. But there’s a local link to them through Fresno County’s Superior Court site: http://www.fresnosuperiorcourt.org/forms/.