California Civil Harassment Restraining Order: Filing, Hearing, and Enforcement

A California civil harassment restraining order is a court order protecting you from someone who is harassing, threatening, or stalking you when that person is not a close family member or intimate partner. You get one by filing Judicial Council forms with your local superior court, where a judge reviews your petition the same day and can issue a temporary order on the spot. A full hearing follows within 21 days, and if the judge is persuaded, the final order can last up to three years. Filing costs nothing when your case involves violence, threats, or stalking.

Is This the Right Order for Your Situation

This order is for harassment by people outside your close circle: neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, roommates, and strangers. If the person harassing you is a current or former spouse, domestic partner, someone you dated, a parent of your child, or a close blood relative, you need a domestic violence restraining order under the Family Code instead. Filing the wrong type will get your case redirected.

The order can also protect other family or household members who are at risk from the same person, if the judge finds good cause.¹

What Behavior Qualifies as Civil Harassment

Code of Civil Procedure Section 527.6 recognizes three categories: unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a course of conduct directed at you that seriously alarms or harasses you and serves no legitimate purpose.¹ A single violent act or one credible threat is enough. For non-violent behavior, you need a pattern.

A course of conduct means a series of acts over any period of time showing an ongoing purpose. Repeated harassing phone calls, following or surveilling you, and unwanted messages by text, email, social media, or mail are common examples. The behavior does not need to include a direct threat. What matters is that it would cause a reasonable person genuine distress and that the harasser has no legitimate reason for it.

Filing Fees

There is no filing fee if your petition is based on violence, a credible threat of violence, or stalking. For other forms of civil harassment, the filing fee is $435 as of January 2026.² Fees run slightly higher in Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco counties because of local construction surcharges.

If the fee applies and you cannot afford it, file a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001). The court decides based on your household income.³

Forms to Fill Out

Every California superior court uses the same Judicial Council forms. You need three to open the case:

Form CH-100, Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders. This is the main petition where you describe what happened.
Form CH-110, Temporary Restraining Order. You submit this blank so the judge can fill it out if temporary protection is granted.
Form CLETS-001, a confidential sheet giving law enforcement details they need to enforce the order, like the restrained person’s physical description and known addresses.

All three are on the California Courts self-help website.⁴

Writing the Declaration

The written declaration you attach to Form CH-100 is where cases are won or lost. Judges read these quickly, so organize incidents chronologically and be specific. Include exact dates, times, locations, and a plain description of what the person said or did each time. “They kept bothering me” carries almost no weight. “On March 12, 2026, at approximately 8 p.m., the respondent pounded on my front door for 15 minutes while shouting threats” gives the judge something concrete to evaluate.

Attach evidence that backs up your account: text messages, emails, voicemails, social media posts, photos, police reports, and medical records showing injuries. Written statements from witnesses who saw or heard the harassment strengthen your case. Label each exhibit and reference it in the declaration so the judge can follow along.

Same-Day Review and the Temporary Order

Once your paperwork is complete, file it with the clerk at your local superior court. A judge reviews the petition the same day, or the next business day if you file too late in the afternoon.¹ The other person is not present and does not know about the filing yet.

To grant a temporary restraining order, the judge needs reasonable proof that harassment occurred and that you would suffer serious harm without immediate protection. A granted TRO takes effect right away and protects you until the full hearing, which must be scheduled within 21 days. The court can extend that window to 25 days for good cause.¹

If the judge denies the TRO, you still get a hearing within the same 21-to-25-day window. You just do not have temporary protection in the meantime, and a denial does not end your case.

Serving the Other Person

Before the hearing can go forward, the other person has to be formally served with copies of your petition, the TRO if one was granted, and the Notice of Court Hearing (Form CH-109).⁵ You cannot do this yourself. The person who delivers the papers has to be at least 18 and not a party or witness in the case.⁶

You can ask the county sheriff or marshal to hand-deliver the papers, hire a professional process server, or use any adult friend or family member who is not involved in the case. After service, the server fills out a proof of service form, and you file that with the court clerk before the hearing date.

The Court Hearing

At the hearing, both you and the respondent attend, present testimony, introduce evidence, and may question each other. The respondent can file a written response beforehand using Form CH-120.⁷

You carry the burden of proof. The standard is clear and convincing evidence, which is higher than the standard used in most civil cases.¹ In practice, the judge has to be firmly persuaded that the harassment happened and that it is likely to continue. Your declaration and documents do most of the work. Live testimony fills gaps, but a well-organized paper trail is what wins these hearings.

If the judge is satisfied, a restraining order is issued. If not, the petition is denied and any temporary order expires immediately.

What the Final Order Covers

A granted order can last up to three years, at the judge’s discretion. If the order does not state an expiration date, it defaults to three years from the date of issuance.¹

The order can include a mix of protections tailored to your situation. A stay-away requirement keeps the restrained person a specified distance from your home, workplace, vehicle, and anywhere else the judge designates. A no-contact provision bars all contact, whether in person, by phone, text, email, mail, or through a third party. A no-harassment clause bars stalking, threatening, attacking, and destroying your personal property. If you have a pet and the judge finds good cause, the order can grant you exclusive control of the animal and keep the restrained person away from it. The judge can add any other restrictions needed to make the core protections effective.¹

Anyone subject to the order is also prohibited from owning, possessing, purchasing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition while the order is in effect, and the judge is required to order the restrained person to turn in any firearms they currently have.¹

Serving the Long-Term Order

After the judge grants the final order, you typically need to serve the restrained person with a copy of the signed order (Form CH-130). The judge will specify on the form whether service should be in person or by mail. The sheriff will serve the long-term order at no charge. If you use a different server, the same rules apply as before: 18 or older and not involved in the case. File the proof of service with the court afterward. Skip this step and police may not be able to enforce your order.⁸

If the Order Is Violated

Any intentional violation of a civil harassment restraining order is a misdemeanor, with penalties that escalate depending on the circumstances:⁹

Standard violation: up to a $1,000 fine, up to one year in county jail, or both.
Violation causing physical injury: up to a $2,000 fine, 30 days to one year in county jail, or both.
Repeat violation involving violence within seven years: up to one year in county jail or a state prison sentence.
Repeat violation within one year causing injury: up to a $2,000 fine, six months to one year in jail, or both, or a state prison sentence.

Call law enforcement immediately if the restrained person violates the order. Police can arrest the person on the spot. Carry a copy of the order with you or keep one in your car. The order is in law enforcement databases, but a physical copy speeds things up during a real-time encounter.

Renewing Before Expiration

You can request a renewal starting up to three months before the order’s expiration date, and you have to file before the order actually expires. If it lapses, you cannot renew and would have to start over with a new petition.¹⁰ You do not need to prove new acts of harassment to renew. The statute allows renewal for up to three additional years without any showing of further harassment since the original order.¹ Renewal is not automatic, though. You still file a request and attend a hearing where you show that continued protection is warranted.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527.6
2
California Courts. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
3
California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver
4
California Courts. Civil Harassment Restraining Order Forms
5
California Courts. Responding to a Civil Harassment Restraining Order
6
California Courts. Having Someone Other Than the Sheriff Serve Your Restraining Order
7
California Courts. Response to Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders
8
California Courts. Serve Your Long-Term Civil Harassment Restraining Order
9
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6
10
Judicial Branch of California. Ask to Renew a Civil Harassment Restraining Order