How to File Civil Harassment Charges in California

To file civil harassment charges in California, you have two tracks that can run in parallel. The civil track is a Civil Harassment Restraining Order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6, which you file yourself at your county superior court to order the harasser to stay away.¹ The criminal track is a report to your local police or sheriff, after which the district attorney decides whether to prosecute. Serious cases involving violence or threats often use both at once.

Who This Process Is For

The Civil Harassment Restraining Order is designed for harassment by someone who is not a close relative and not a current or former romantic partner. If the person is a spouse, ex, cohabitant, or close family member, the right filing is a Domestic Violence Restraining Order through family court. If the harassment is happening at work and comes from a coworker or customer, the employer files a Workplace Violence Restraining Order on the employee’s behalf through a separate process.

What Counts as Civil Harassment

Section 527.6 covers three categories: unlawful violence, credible threats of violence, or a course of conduct directed at you that serves no legitimate purpose and would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress.¹ Mild annoyance is not enough. Repeated unwanted contact, following, physical confrontations, and floods of threatening messages are the sort of conduct courts see in these petitions.

When to Also Report to Police

A restraining order is a civil remedy. It does not, by itself, give the harasser a criminal record. If the conduct violates California criminal law, a police report starts a separate process that the district attorney controls.

Stalking, which is repeatedly following or harassing someone while making a credible threat, carries up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000, or a state prison term. If a restraining order is already in place, stalking becomes a felony with two to four years in state prison.²
Criminal threats, meaning threats to kill or seriously injure someone that are specific enough to cause sustained fear, can be charged as a misdemeanor with up to a year in jail or as a felony with state prison time.³
Harassing communications by phone, email, or other electronic device, including obscene or threatening contact or repeated contact intended to harass, are a misdemeanor.⁴

A police report does not guarantee charges. The DA must be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a much higher standard than the civil “more likely than not” you need for a restraining order. Filing for the civil order while a criminal investigation is pending gives you legal protection regardless of what the DA ultimately decides.

Gather Your Evidence First

Before you touch a form, build a written timeline. For each incident, write the date, time, location, exactly what the person did or said, and how it affected you. Vague descriptions are the most common reason judges decline temporary orders. Save every piece of supporting proof you have: screenshots of texts and social media posts, emails, voicemails, photos, and any police reports already on file.

You also need the harasser’s full legal name and, ideally, an address. You can file without an address, but serving the papers later becomes much harder.

The Court Forms

Four forms make up the initial packet:

CH-100, Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders, is the main petition where you describe the harassment and list the orders you want.⁵
CLETS-001, Confidential CLETS Information, provides identifying details for law enforcement databases.⁶
CH-109, Notice of Court Hearing, carries the hearing date the court assigns.
CH-110, Temporary Restraining Order, is partly completed by you and finished by the judge if a temporary order is granted.

All forms are free at courts.ca.gov/forms. Most courthouse self-help centers will help you fill them out.

Filing and Fees

Bring the completed originals and at least two copies to the clerk’s office at the superior court in the county where you live or where the harassment occurred. The clerk assigns a case number.

The filing fee is $435 to $450, with two exceptions. If your petition alleges violence, stalking, or credible threats of violence, filing is free and sheriff service is also free.⁷¹ If the petition rests on non-violent harassment and you can’t afford the fee, submit a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) with your paperwork.⁸

What Happens After You File

A judge reviews the petition the same day, or by the next business day if you filed late. Two decisions come out of that review: whether to grant a Temporary Restraining Order protecting you immediately, and what date to set for the full hearing. That hearing must be held within 21 days, or 25 days if the court finds good cause.¹

A denied temporary order does not end your case. The hearing still goes forward on the same schedule, and you can present evidence and testimony in person.¹ You just won’t have interim protection. If you are in immediate danger during that gap, call law enforcement.

Serving the Papers

The other party has to be personally handed the court papers. You cannot do it yourself. The server must be at least 18 and not named in the case. Options are a friend or relative who isn’t a party, a professional process server (roughly $40 to $250), or your county sheriff or marshal. Sheriff service is free when the case involves stalking, violence, or credible threats, or when you have a fee waiver.⁹

Delivery has to happen at least five days before the hearing unless the court sets a different deadline.¹ After service, your server signs Form CH-200, Proof of Personal Service, with the date, time, and place of delivery.¹⁰ File that form with the court promptly. Without it, the judge may push your hearing back.

The Hearing

The hearing is where a long-term order is decided. Organize your evidence in the order you plan to walk through it: printed messages, photos, police reports, medical records if any apply. For audio or video, check with the self-help center in advance, because some judges require a written transcript.

Prepare a short outline of your testimony. Move chronologically, focus on the most serious incidents, and describe how the harassment has affected your daily life. Calm, specific testimony carries more weight than emotional generalities. You can refer to notes on the stand and bring a support person, though the support person can’t speak for you.

If someone witnessed the harassment, bring them. A witness who won’t come voluntarily can be subpoenaed.

The respondent also gets to present their side. The judge weighs both accounts and decides on the preponderance of the evidence. If the order is granted, it can last up to five years. If no expiration is written on the order, it defaults to three years.¹

What the Order Does

A granted order can require the other party to stay a set distance from you, your home, workplace, and vehicle, to have no contact directly or through third parties, and in some situations to move out of a shared residence. The specific terms depend on what you request and what the judge finds appropriate.

One consequence people often don’t expect: anyone subject to a civil harassment restraining order is barred from owning, possessing, or buying firearms or ammunition for the full duration of the order, and must surrender any firearms they have. That applies to every civil harassment order, not only those involving violence, and violating it is a separate crime.¹

If the Order Is Violated

Intentionally violating a civil harassment restraining order is a misdemeanor. Penalties reach up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. If the violation causes physical injury, the minimum jail time is 30 days and the fine ceiling doubles to $2,000.¹¹

Repeat violations escalate. A second conviction within seven years that involves violence or a credible threat can be filed as a felony carrying state prison time. A second conviction within one year that causes physical injury carries a minimum of six months in jail.¹¹ If someone violates your order, call 911. That is exactly what the order exists for.

Renewing Before It Expires

You can ask the court to renew the order for up to five more years. You do not have to show that new harassment has occurred; the existing order is enough basis.¹ File the renewal no earlier than three months before expiration and no later than the expiration date. Once the order lapses, renewal is no longer available and you would need to start a new petition from scratch.¹²

1
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 527-6
2
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 646-9
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 422
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 653m
5
California Courts. Request For Civil Harassment Restraining Orders CH-100
6
Judicial Branch of California. Confidential Information for Law Enforcement CLETS-001
7
California Courts. File Your Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders
8
California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver
9
Judicial Council of California. What Is Proof of Personal Service
10
Judicial Council of California. CH-200 Proof of Personal Service
11
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273-6
12
California Courts. Ask to Renew a Civil Harassment Restraining Order