After an investigation ends, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) may close a case and send a Notice of Case Closure letter. If a complainant disagrees with the decision to close their investigated case,* they may file an appeal. CRD will not accept appeals for cases that were settled, withdrawn, or closed at CRD’s discretion. Please note this is not an exhaustive list.
How to File an Appeal
You must submit a completed Appeal Request Form (Spanish) within ten (10) calendar days of the date on the Notice of Case Closure letter.
You may submit the Appeal Request Form in one of the following ways:
By email. Send your Appeal Request Form to: appeals@calcivilrights.ca.gov; OR
By postal mail. Send your Appeal Request Form to:
Civil Rights Department
Attention: Appeals Unit
651 Bannon Street, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95811
If you need help completing the form, you may contact CRD:
Phone (voice): 1-800-884-1684
TTY: 1-800-700-2320
California’s Relay Service at 711
*Note: These instructions apply only to cases that CRD investigated and later closed. If you received a Notice of Intake Closure, follow the instructions in that letter to learn how and where to file an appeal.
What to Expect
After submitting your appeal to the Appeals Unit, you can expect the following:
You will receive a letter indicating whether your appeal has been accepted for review or rejected.
If CRD accepts your appeal for review, you do not need to take further action. An appeal reviewer will review your case file and appeal request. The reviewer will contact you if more information is needed.
CRD reviews appeals in the order they are received. The review time may vary depending on available resources.