To get an emergency custody order in California, you prepare a specific set of Judicial Council forms, give the other parent notice by 10:00 a.m. the court day before filing, and ask a judge to sign a temporary order on an ex parte basis. Family Code Section 3064 limits these orders to situations involving immediate harm to the child or an immediate risk that a parent will take the child out of California.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code 3064 – Temporary Custody Order During Pendency of Proceeding If the judge grants the order, it takes effect right away and a full hearing is set within 20 days.
What You Have to Prove
A disagreement over schedules or parenting style will not get you an emergency order. Section 3064 requires a showing of “immediate harm” to the child or “immediate risk that the child will be removed from the State of California.”1California Legislative Information. California Family Code 3064 – Temporary Custody Order During Pendency of Proceeding The statute identifies two categories that qualify as immediate harm, and says the list is not exhaustive:
- Recent domestic violence by a parent, or an ongoing pattern of it.
- Recent sexual abuse of the child, or an ongoing pattern of it.
The court must also consider whether a parent has illegal access to firearms or ammunition, including possession that violates a restraining order, a protective order, or a condition of probation or parole.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code 3064 – Temporary Custody Order During Pendency of Proceeding Judges have discretion to find immediate harm in other extreme circumstances, but the closer your facts sit to these statutory categories, the stronger the request.
The second ground, immediate risk of removal from California, requires credible evidence that the other parent plans to leave the state with the child. Plane tickets, statements of intent, or a pattern of hiding the child’s whereabouts are the kinds of facts courts look for.
Forms You Need
California uses standardized Judicial Council forms for emergency custody requests. Prepare all of the following before heading to the courthouse:
- Request for Order (Form FL-300). Check the “Temporary Emergency Orders” box on page 1, and check the emergency orders box in item 2 on page 2 if your request involves custody.2California Courts. Ask for an Emergency Ex Parte Order
- Temporary Emergency Order (Form FL-305). This is the document the judge actually signs. Fill it out with the specific orders you want.3California Courts. Request for Order Form FL-300
- Declaration Under UCCJEA (Form FL-105). This tells the court where the child has lived for the past five years and whether any other custody proceedings exist in any state. File a new or updated FL-105 even if you filed one before, if any information has changed.4California Courts. Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act UCCJEA FL-105
- Declaration Regarding Notice (Form FL-303). This documents how and when you notified the other parent.5California Courts. Declaration Regarding Notice and Service of Request for Temporary Emergency Ex Parte Orders FL-303
Make two copies of everything, including the FL-305. You file the originals with the clerk and keep the copies for service and your own records.2California Courts. Ask for an Emergency Ex Parte Order
Writing the Supporting Declaration
The declaration is where most filings succeed or fail. Write it in item 9 (“Facts to Support”) on page 4 of Form FL-300. If you need more room, check the “Attachment 9” box and continue on an Attachment to Judicial Council Form (Form MC-025).2California Courts. Ask for an Emergency Ex Parte Order
California Rule of Court 5.151 sets out what the declaration must contain. For custody-related emergency requests, include a full description of the most recent incidents showing immediate harm or immediate risk of removal, with the specific date of each incident. Describe the current custody arrangement and explain how the emergency order would change it. If there are existing custody orders, attach a copy.6Judicial Branch of California. Rule 5.151 – Request for Temporary Emergency Ex Parte Orders
The facts must be within your personal knowledge, and you must make an affirmative showing of irreparable harm or immediate danger. You also have a duty to disclose any previous applications on the same issue, even if based on different facts, and to disclose that the emergency order would change the current status quo. Failing to make that disclosure can result in the court awarding attorney’s fees to the other side to undo whatever changed.6Judicial Branch of California. Rule 5.151 – Request for Temporary Emergency Ex Parte Orders
Attach anything that backs up what you say: police reports, medical records, letters from a counselor or doctor, photographs. Black out Social Security numbers, account numbers, and other private information before filing.2California Courts. Ask for an Emergency Ex Parte Order
Giving Notice to the Other Parent
Even in an emergency, you have to tell the other parent you are coming. California Rule of Court 5.165 requires notice to the other party or their attorney by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the court day before you submit your request.7Judicial Branch of California. Rule 5.165 – Requirements for Notice Notice can be given by phone, voicemail, fax, in person, or electronic means if the court permits it. You document what you did on Form FL-303.
Shortened or Waived Notice
If you gave notice but missed the 10:00 a.m. deadline, you can ask the court to approve shortened notice by explaining in your declaration what exceptional circumstances justified the delay.7Judicial Branch of California. Rule 5.165 – Requirements for Notice
In rare cases a judge can waive notice entirely. To request a waiver, file a separate declaration under penalty of perjury showing good cause. The rule lists several qualifying situations: giving notice would put the child or you in immediate danger, notice would frustrate the purpose of the order (for example, tipping off a parent who might flee), or you made good-faith efforts to give notice and further attempts would be futile.7Judicial Branch of California. Rule 5.165 – Requirements for Notice Even when notice is waived, you still have to serve the other party with the filed documents afterward.
Where to File and What It Costs
If a family law case involving the child already exists in a California court, file the emergency request in that same case. If no case exists, you generally file in the county where the child lives. The child typically must have lived in California for the past six months for a California court to have jurisdiction, unless the child is younger than six months old.8California Courts. What You Can File to Ask for a Child Custody and Visitation Order If another state already has an open custody case, you will usually have to go through that state’s courts.
Call your court’s family law facilitator or self-help center before filing. Many courts have local forms, specific drop-off procedures, or particular rules for how you receive the judge’s decision. Some courts have you leave the papers with a clerk for the judge to review in chambers; others schedule a brief in-person appearance.2California Courts. Ask for an Emergency Ex Parte Order
The filing fee for a motion or order to show cause in a family law matter is $60, unless this is your first filing in the case and you are paying the initial filing fee instead.9Judicial Branch of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 If you cannot afford it, request a fee waiver using Form FW-001. You qualify if you receive certain public benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or CalWORKs; your household income is below the threshold listed on the form; or you can show that paying would prevent you from covering basic needs like housing and food.10California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver Submit the fee waiver request with your emergency filing.
What Happens After You File
The judge reviews your paperwork and either grants or denies the temporary emergency order. Some courts decide on the papers alone; others hold a brief hearing where each side gives a short statement. If a hearing happens, it focuses only on immediate safety. The judge is not making a final custody decision at this stage.
If the order is granted, it takes effect immediately but is temporary. Under Family Code Section 3062, the court sets a full hearing within 20 days and issues an order to show cause requiring the other parent to appear. That follow-up hearing is where the court takes testimony from both sides and decides whether to continue, modify, or dissolve the temporary order.11Justia Law. California Family Code 3060-3064
Once the judge signs the order, have it served on the other parent as soon as possible. Service must be personal: another adult, not you, hands a copy directly to the other party.2California Courts. Ask for an Emergency Ex Parte Order Check items 4 and 7 on page 1 of your filed Request for Order for the specific service instructions the judge included. Law enforcement may need to see a served copy before they will enforce the order.
If the judge denies the emergency request, the case does not disappear. The court can still set a regular hearing on the custody issues on the standard calendar.
If the Emergency Involves Domestic Violence
When the facts involve domestic violence, a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) may give you faster or broader protection. A DVRO can include temporary custody orders and can also require the abusive parent to stay away from you and the child, move out of a shared home, and surrender firearms.12California Courts. Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in California The DVRO process has its own forms and timelines, and the 10:00 a.m. notice requirement under Rule 5.165 does not apply to requests under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act.7Judicial Branch of California. Rule 5.165 – Requirements for Notice If your situation involves both violence and a custody dispute, ask a family law facilitator whether filing for a DVRO alongside or instead of an emergency custody order fits your circumstances better.