California Restraining Orders: Types, Filing, and Enforcement

A California restraining order is a civil court order that tells one person to stop contacting, threatening, or coming near another. You file it at your county superior court, a judge can grant temporary protection the same day, and a hearing is set within a few weeks for a longer-term order that can last up to five years. Which forms you use and what you have to prove depends on your relationship with the person you fear.

Which Type of Restraining Order Fits Your Situation

California has six categories, and picking the wrong one means refiling. The two most common for members of the public are domestic violence and civil harassment.

A domestic violence restraining order is for people with a close relationship to the person they fear: current or former spouses, dating partners, cohabitants, co-parents, and close relatives. It is governed by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, starting at Family Code section 6200.

A civil harassment restraining order is for everyone else, including neighbors, roommates, acquaintances, and strangers. It is filed under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6.{¹}

The other four categories are narrower. Elder or dependent adult abuse orders, under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03, protect adults 65 or older and younger adults with certain disabilities from physical abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and emotional abuse.{²} Workplace violence orders, under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8, are filed by the employer on an employee’s behalf, not by the employee personally. Emergency protective orders are issued by an on-call judge at the request of a police officer at the scene and last only five to seven days as a bridge until you can file your own case.{³} Gun violence restraining orders, available to family members, roommates, dating partners, co-parents, employers, longer-term coworkers, certain school employees, and law enforcement, remove firearms from someone dangerous but do not impose the broader stay-away terms of other orders.{⁴}

What Behavior Qualifies

Under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, “abuse” is broader than most people expect. It covers intentionally or recklessly causing bodily injury, attempting to cause injury, sexual assault, and placing someone in reasonable fear of imminent serious harm.{⁵} It also includes anything that could be stopped under Family Code section 6320, which reaches “disturbing the peace” of the other person.

That last category is where coercive control fits. California defines coercive control as a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with someone’s free will and personal liberty, and the statute gives examples: isolating someone from friends and family, depriving them of basic necessities, monitoring or controlling movements and finances, using immigration-status threats to compel behavior, and reproductive coercion.{⁶} You do not need physical injuries. A documented pattern can support a domestic violence order on its own.

Civil harassment uses a different standard. You have to show unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful pattern of conduct directed at you that seriously alarms or harasses you, serves no legitimate purpose, and would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress.{¹}

The proof required also differs by stage. For a temporary domestic violence order, the court looks for “reasonable proof” of past abuse based on your sworn written statements, and the judge can grant it without hearing from the other side.{⁷} At the full domestic violence hearing, the standard is preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely true than not. Civil harassment orders carry a higher burden at the hearing stage: clear and convincing evidence, meaning a high probability the allegations are true.{¹}

How to File

You file at the clerk’s office of the superior court in the county where you live or where the abuse happened. The forms are mandatory Judicial Council forms, and the wrong set will delay the case.

For a domestic violence order, start with Form DV-100, Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order.{⁸} For civil harassment, the equivalent is Form CH-100.{⁹} Both require the Confidential CLETS Information form (CLETS-001), which feeds the restrained person’s identifying details into a statewide law enforcement database.{¹⁰} Accurate height, weight, and distinguishing features help officers identify the person in the field.

The narrative sections carry your case. Describe the most recent incidents in order, with specific dates, locations, and any mention of weapons, injuries, or witnesses. If you run out of room, attach Form MC-025.{¹¹} Everything is signed under penalty of perjury, so stick to facts you can back up. You will also need the respondent’s current home and work addresses so the papers can be served.

Filing Fees and Waivers

Domestic violence petitions have no filing fee.{¹²} Civil harassment and workplace violence petitions carry a $435 filing fee, but it is waived automatically if your petition alleges violence, stalking, or threats of violence.{¹³}

If no violence is alleged and you can’t afford the fee, apply for a waiver on Form FW-001. You qualify automatically if you receive Medi-Cal, CalWORKS, food assistance, SSI, or unemployment. You also qualify by income: as of March 2026, the thresholds are $2,660 gross monthly for a single person, $3,607 for two, $4,553 for three, and $5,500 for four.{¹⁴} Above those levels, the court can still waive the fee if your expenses leave you unable to pay.

What Happens After You File

A judge reviews your request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) the same day you file or the next business day. If granted, the TRO takes effect immediately and lasts until the hearing, which is set within 21 to 25 days.{¹}

Before the hearing, the respondent must be formally served with copies of everything you filed. You cannot deliver the papers yourself. Someone 18 or older who is not involved in the case has to do it, whether a friend, a professional process server, or the county sheriff or marshal.{¹⁵} The server then completes a Proof of Service: Form DV-200 for domestic violence cases,{¹⁶} Form CH-200 for civil harassment.{¹⁷} File the completed Proof of Service with the clerk before the hearing. Without it, the judge cannot issue a final order.

At the hearing, a judge decides the case without a jury. Both sides can speak, present evidence, and bring witnesses, and the petitioner usually goes first.{¹⁸} Bring three copies of any document you want considered: one for the judge, one for the other side, one for the court file. Photos of injuries, screenshots of threats, medical records, and police reports all carry weight. The respondent can file a written response in advance using Form CH-120 for civil harassment or Form DV-120 for domestic violence, though filing is not required to show up and argue.{¹⁹}

The judge typically rules the same day. If the respondent was properly served but doesn’t appear, the judge can still issue the order based on your evidence alone.

How Long the Order Lasts and How to Renew It

An order issued after a hearing can last up to five years, for both domestic violence and civil harassment cases.{²⁰} If the judge does not specify an expiration date, it defaults to three years from issuance. Either side can ask the court to modify or terminate the order earlier.

Renewal has to be requested before expiration. You can file up to three months before the end date, and your current order stays in effect until the renewal hearing happens.{²¹} For civil harassment, use Form CH-700 together with Form CH-710 and attach a copy of the current order. For domestic violence, you can ask the court to extend the order another five years or in some situations make it permanent, and you do not have to show that new abuse has occurred since the original order. If the order has already expired, you cannot renew it and have to file an entirely new petition.

Firearm Surrender

When the court issues a protective order, it must order the respondent to surrender all firearms and ammunition in their possession or control, and to refrain from owning, possessing, purchasing, or receiving any for the duration of the order.{²²}

The timeline is tight. If the officer serving the order asks for surrender on the spot, it has to happen then. Otherwise, the respondent has 24 hours to turn the weapons over to local law enforcement or sell or transfer them to a licensed gun dealer, and 48 hours from service to file the receipt proving compliance with both the issuing court and the serving agency. Missing either deadline is itself a violation of the order. Law enforcement can charge a storage fee, capped at the actual cost of receiving and storing the firearms.

Effect on Child Custody

A domestic violence restraining order can set temporary custody and visitation as part of the same case, without a separate family law filing. Where safety is a concern, the court can require supervised visitation, meaning the restrained parent sees the child only while a neutral third party watches, listens, and has authority to end the visit.{²³} These custody terms last only as long as the restraining order itself; when it ends, custody reverts to whatever the family court sets through the regular process.

What Happens If the Order Is Violated

Call 911. Because the order is in the CLETS database, responding officers can verify it without a paper copy. Knowingly and intentionally violating a California protective order is a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 273.6, punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.{²⁴}

Penalties escalate:

Violation causing physical injury: fine up to $2,000, a mandatory minimum of 30 days in county jail (up to one year), or both. A judge can reduce the 30-day minimum if at least 48 hours are served and the record supports it.
Subsequent violation involving violence within seven years: up to one year in county jail or a state prison sentence.
Subsequent violation causing injury within one year of a prior conviction: fine up to $2,000, a mandatory minimum of six months in jail (up to one year), or a state prison sentence.{}²⁴

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Injunction Prohibiting Harassment
2
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15657.03
3
California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 18150
5
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6203 (2025)
6
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6320
7
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6300
8
Judicial Council of California. Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DV-100)
9
Judicial Council of California. Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders (CH-100)
10
Judicial Council of California. Confidential Information for Law Enforcement (CLETS-001)
11
California Courts. Attachment to Judicial Council Form (MC-025)
12
Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
13
California Courts. File Your Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders
14
Judicial Council of California. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001)
15
California Courts. Serving Court Papers
16
Judicial Council of California. Proof of Personal Service (DV-200)
17
Judicial Council of California. Proof of Personal Service – Civil Harassment Prevention (CH-200)
18
California Courts. Prepare for Your Restraining Order Court Date
19
California Courts. Response to Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders (CH-120)
20
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6345
21
California Courts. Ask to Renew a Civil Harassment Restraining Order
22
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6389 (2025)
23
California Courts. Guide to Supervised Visitation
24
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6