The California FL-340, Findings and Order After Hearing, is the one-page cover sheet that converts a judge’s spoken ruling at a Request for Order hearing into a written, enforceable order. On its own it decides nothing. The substance lives in the Judicial Council attachment forms you staple behind it, and the whole package only becomes an order once the judge signs it and the clerk files it.
Who Drafts the Order
Before the hearing ends, the judge decides who will prepare the written order. Sometimes the court drafts it. More often, the judge assigns the task to one party or their attorney. California Rule of Court 5.125 does not automatically hand the job to the prevailing side, so listen for the assignment on the record.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 5.125 – Preparation, Service, and Submission of Order After Hearing
If you were assigned and you’re self-represented, your county’s family law self-help center can walk you through the forms. The blank FL-340 is available on the California Courts website in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.2California Courts | Self Help Guide. Findings and Order After Hearing (FL-340)
What Goes on the Cover Sheet
The top of the FL-340 takes the standard case caption: petitioner, respondent, court name and address, and case number. Below that, record the hearing details: the date of the hearing, the department or courtroom number, and the judicial officer who presided.
The form then asks you to list who appeared. Note which parties were present, whether they had attorneys, and the attorneys’ names. If one party didn’t show up, say so. That fact matters later, because a non-appearance changes how the proposed order is served and submitted.
The lower half of the page is a checklist. For each type of order the judge made, you check the matching box and attach the corresponding Judicial Council form filled out with the specifics. Any attorney fee award can be written directly on the FL-340 itself or included in the property attachment.
The Attachments You May Need
Include only the attachments that correspond to orders the judge actually made.
Custody and Visitation (FL-341)
FL-341 records legal custody (decision-making authority over the child’s health, education, and welfare), physical custody (where the child lives), and the visitation schedule, including holidays.3Judicial Council of California. Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Order Attachment If the judge ordered supervised visitation, Form FL-341(A) is attached to the FL-341 with the supervision terms.
Child Abduction Prevention (FL-341(B))
When the judge finds a flight risk, FL-341(B) sets travel restrictions. The order can prohibit a parent from leaving the county, state, or country with the child, and it is enforceable in any country that has signed the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.4Judicial Council of California. Child Abduction Prevention Order Attachment (FL-341(B))
Child Support (FL-342)
FL-342 captures the base child support amount and mandatory add-ons: employment-related childcare, uninsured health care costs for the children, and health insurance premiums. It also covers discretionary add-ons such as educational expenses and visitation travel.5Judicial Council of California. Child Support Information and Order Attachment
Spousal, Domestic Partner, or Family Support (FL-343)
FL-343 records the monthly support amount, whether support is temporary or permanent, and the payment terms. It applies to spousal support, domestic partner support, and family support (a single combined payment that takes the place of separate child and spousal amounts for tax purposes).6California Courts | Self Help Guide. Spousal, Domestic Partner, or Family Support Order Attachment (FL-343)
Property Orders (FL-344)
FL-344 covers decisions about assets and debts: property restraining orders that prevent either party from selling, hiding, or borrowing against property; exclusive possession of a residence or vehicle; and responsibility for debts coming due while the order is in effect.7California Courts | Self Help Guide. Property Order Attachment to Findings and Order After Hearing (FL-344)
Every attachment has to match what the judge said. Adding terms the judge didn’t order, or misstating the numbers, is the single fastest way to lose weeks to objections. The opposing party reviews the draft precisely for this, and the court can reject a proposed order that doesn’t line up with the record.
Serving the Proposed Order and the Deadlines
Rule 5.125 gives you 10 calendar days from the hearing to serve the completed FL-340 and attachments on the other party or their attorney. The other party then has until 20 calendar days after the hearing to approve by signing or state objections.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 5.125 – Preparation, Service, and Submission of Order After Hearing
There is one shortcut. If the other party didn’t appear at the hearing, or the matter was uncontested, you can submit the proposed order to the court without waiting for the other side’s approval.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 5.125 – Preparation, Service, and Submission of Order After Hearing
If the 20-day window closes and the other party has neither signed nor objected, submit the unsigned order to the court with your proof of service.8Superior Court of California, County of Amador. Findings and Order After Hearing Self-Help Guide Before signing it, the court will compare the proposed order against the minute order, transcript, or other hearing record to confirm it is accurate.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 5.125 – Preparation, Service, and Submission of Order After Hearing
If the Other Party Objects
An objecting party must state the objections and prepare an alternate proposed order that lists the findings and orders in the same sequence as yours. Once objections are served, both sides have 10 calendar days to meet and confer, by phone or in person, to try to resolve the disputed language.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 5.125 – Preparation, Service, and Submission of Order After Hearing
If you reach agreement, submit the agreed order to the court within 10 calendar days. If you don’t, each side has 10 calendar days after the meeting to separately submit their own proposed FL-340 package, a copy of the minute order or hearing transcript, and a cover letter identifying the specific disagreements and the relevant portions of the transcript.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 5.125 – Preparation, Service, and Submission of Order After Hearing The judge then chooses which version, or which combination, reflects the ruling.
An uncontested draft can be signed within a few weeks of the hearing. A contested one that runs through the full meet-and-confer and competing-submission sequence can take two months or longer before a judge resolves it.
After the Judge Signs
Once the judge signs and the clerk files the package, the order is in effect. A few housekeeping items follow.
A Notice of Entry of Judgment or Order (Form CIV-130) tells all parties that the signed order is in the court record, and service of that notice starts certain post-order deadlines.9California Courts. Notice of Entry of Judgment or Order Code of Civil Procedure section 664.5, which governs the notice requirement, specifically exempts proceedings for dissolution, nullity, or legal separation, so check your local rules for how entry is handled in those case types.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 664.5
If you’re considering an appeal, a family law notice of appeal generally must be filed within 60 days after the order is made.11Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court 8.406 – Time to Appeal That clock runs whether or not a Notice of Entry has been served, so don’t wait on the notice to start counting.
Get at least one certified copy of the signed order. Schools, employers, and law enforcement will typically require a certified copy before acting on the order. California courts charge $40 per certified copy, waived if you have a court-approved fee waiver.12California Courts | Self Help Guide. How to Get a Copy of a Court Record
Mistakes That Slow the Process
The most common problem is missing the 10-day service deadline. If you don’t serve the proposed order on the other party within 10 calendar days of the hearing, you’ve already stepped outside the rule, and some courts will require an explanation before accepting the filing.
The next most common is drafting in terms the judge didn’t actually use. If your proposed order gives you sole legal custody but the judge only awarded sole physical custody, the other side will object, and the meet-and-confer process starts. Take detailed notes at the hearing, order a transcript or recording if your court offers one, and draft conservatively where the ruling was ambiguous. It’s easier to get agreement on narrower language than to defend an overreach.
Last, check the attachments. Submitting the FL-340 cover sheet without the matching Judicial Council forms for each type of order the judge made (FL-341, FL-342, FL-343, FL-344, and any sub-attachments) will get the filing rejected at the clerk’s window. Match every checked box on the cover sheet to a form in the package before you submit.