How to Get a No Contact Order in California: Forms and Hearing

To get a no-contact order in California, you file for a restraining order in the superior court of the county where you live or where the harm happened. Which forms you use depends on your relationship to the other person. A judge can grant a temporary order the same day you file if you’re in immediate danger, and after a hearing set roughly three weeks later, the court can extend protection for up to five years.

Which Order Fits Your Situation

California doesn’t have a single “no-contact order.” It has four categories of restraining orders, and picking the wrong one can get your request denied or delayed.

  • A Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) applies when the other person is a spouse, former spouse, domestic partner, someone you dated, a cohabitant, or a close family member.
  • A Civil Harassment Restraining Order (CHRO) covers people you don’t have that kind of close relationship with: neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, more distant relatives. The conduct must involve unlawful violence, credible threats of violence, or a knowing course of conduct that seriously alarms or distresses you and serves no legitimate purpose.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 527.6 – Harassment Restraining Orders
  • An Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order protects people 65 and older, or dependent adults ages 18 to 64 with certain physical or mental limitations, from physical, emotional, or financial abuse.2California Courts. Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Orders in California
  • A Workplace Violence Restraining Order is filed by an employer for an employee. An individual employee can’t file this type; if you need protection from a coworker on your own, a civil harassment order is the route.

If You Need Protection Right Now

If you’re in a crisis and law enforcement is there, ask the responding officer about an Emergency Protective Order. The officer contacts an on-call judge by phone and can get an order in place immediately. You don’t fill out paperwork for this.

An EPO is short. It typically lasts five to seven court business days, just long enough to bridge you to filing a temporary restraining order through the normal process. Use that window.

Forms You File

Before you touch a form, write down every incident that led you here. Dates, times, locations, and what was said or done. Save screenshots of threatening messages, photos of injuries, and police report numbers. The judge’s first decision, on whether to grant temporary protection, is made almost entirely from what you write on paper.

The starting forms depend on the order type:

You can download everything from the California Courts self-help site or pick up paper forms at the clerk’s office.6California Courts. Domestic Violence Restraining Orders Forms Some counties add local forms; check your court’s website or ask the clerk.

Where to File and What It Costs

File with the clerk of the superior court in the county where the abuse or harassment happened, or where the other person lives. Bring the originals and at least two copies. The clerk stamps everything, assigns a case number, and routes the file to a judge.

Domestic violence restraining orders have no filing fee.7California Courts. File Your Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order Civil harassment orders are also free when the petition involves violence, stalking, or credible threats of violence.8Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule A civil harassment case that doesn’t involve any of those runs roughly $435 to $450 to file.9California Courts. File Your Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders If you can’t pay, ask for a fee waiver when you file.

Getting a Temporary Order

A judge usually reviews your paperwork the same day you file. If the paperwork shows you face immediate danger, the judge issues a Temporary Restraining Order, which stays in effect until your court hearing. The hearing is typically set within about three weeks of filing.10California Courts. The Restraining Order Process for Domestic Violence Cases

Important: the TRO doesn’t bind the other person until they’ve been served. That’s the next step.

Serving the Other Person

Someone has to formally deliver copies of the filed paperwork, including the hearing date, to the person the order is against. You cannot do this yourself. Whoever serves the papers must be at least 18 and not a party to the case.11California Courts. Sheriff Serves Your Request for a Restraining Order

Your options:

  • The sheriff or marshal will serve papers for free in domestic violence cases, and often in civil harassment cases as well.12Judicial Branch of California. How to Have Someone Other Than the Sheriff Serve Your Restraining Order
  • A professional process server usually charges somewhere between $20 and $200 depending on where you are and how hard the person is to find.
  • Any adult who isn’t a protected person or witness in the case, such as a friend or relative.

After the papers are delivered, the server fills out a Proof of Service form (DV-200 for domestic violence, CH-200 for civil harassment) and files it with the clerk.13California Courts. Proof of Personal Service (CLETS) (DV-200) Without that filed proof, the judge has no confirmation that the other person got notice. If service hasn’t happened by the hearing, courts will usually continue the hearing, but your TRO can expire if the delay drags on. Don’t leave service for the last few days.

The Hearing and a Longer-Term Order

At the hearing, both sides can speak, submit evidence, and bring witnesses. Bring copies of everything you referenced in your filing, plus anything new. The judge decides whether to grant a longer order and what terms it should contain. That order can last up to five years.10California Courts. The Restraining Order Process for Domestic Violence Cases

If the other person was properly served and doesn’t show up, the judge can still grant the order based on your testimony and paperwork. If the judge denies the request, the TRO expires, and you’d have to file again if things change.

What the Order Can Require

Terms depend on the facts, but a restraining order commonly includes:

  • No contact by phone, text, email, message, or through anyone else.
  • A stay-away distance, often 100 yards, from you, your home, your car, your workplace, and your children’s schools.
  • In domestic violence cases, an order for the other person to move out of a shared home, even if they’re on the lease or title.
  • Temporary custody and visitation orders in a DVRO.
  • Exclusive use of shared property such as a vehicle.
  • Surrender of all firearms and ammunition, typically within 24 hours. Federal law also bars firearm possession under an active protective order, and failing to turn weapons in is a separate crime.

If you need something specific, like protection for a pet or an order about a shared debt, ask for it in the petition. The judge has discretion to add protections that fit your situation.

If the Order Is Violated

Intentionally violating a protective order is a misdemeanor. It carries up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.14California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6 Two situations raise the stakes:

  • A violation that causes physical injury: fine up to $2,000 and a minimum of 30 days in county jail, up to a year. A judge can reduce the 30-day minimum if the person serves at least 48 hours.
  • A second conviction within seven years involving violence or a credible threat of violence can be charged as a felony, with possible state prison time.

If the other person violates the order, call law enforcement. Don’t try to enforce it yourself. A police report on each incident builds the record you’ll want if you need to renew the order or if criminal charges follow.

Renewing or Changing the Order

Restraining orders don’t renew on their own. If you still need protection as the expiration nears, file a renewal request before the current order lapses. California courts can extend a restraining order for another five years, or in some cases make it permanent, based on a showing that you reasonably fear future abuse.

You can also ask the court to modify an existing order when circumstances change, such as an updated custody schedule or a new address for a stay-away location. Modifications require a written request and a hearing, and the other side gets notice and a chance to respond.

A protected person can ask to end an order early, but the judge has the final call. Courts sometimes decline to lift an order if the request looks coerced.