To get a restraining order in Los Angeles, you file a request at the Los Angeles Superior Court, a judge reviews it the same day and can issue a temporary order on the spot, the other person is served with the papers, and both sides appear at a hearing within 21 to 25 days. Domestic violence filings cost nothing. The court’s self-help centers will help you complete the paperwork for free.
Pick the Right Type of Order First
Which form you file depends on your relationship with the person you need protection from. Get this wrong and the clerk will send you back to start over.
File a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) if the person is a spouse or former spouse, a current or former dating partner, someone you live with or used to live with, the other parent of your child, or a close relative (parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws).1California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 6200 – Domestic Violence Prevention Act Abuse here is not only physical: it includes threats, harassment, stalking, sexual assault, and “disturbing the peace,” which California uses to cover coercive control such as isolating you from family, monitoring your communications, or controlling your finances.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320 – Ex Parte Orders
File a Civil Harassment Restraining Order (CHRO) if the person is a neighbor, roommate, coworker, acquaintance, or stranger. Grounds are stalking, credible threats of violence, or a pattern of conduct that would cause a reasonable person serious emotional distress.3California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Civil Harassment
File an Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order if you are 65 or older, or a dependent adult, and you are facing physical abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.4California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 15657.03 – Protective Orders for Elder or Dependent Adults
One boundary worth knowing: workplace violence restraining orders exist, but only your employer or union can file one on your behalf, not you personally.5California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.8 – Workplace Violence
What It Costs
Domestic violence filings are free.6California Courts | Self Help Guide. File Your Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order Civil harassment petitions are also free when they involve violence, threats, or stalking. Other civil harassment petitions cost $435.7Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
If the $435 fee applies and you can’t afford it, submit Form FW-001 to request a waiver. You qualify if you receive Medi-Cal, CalFresh, SSI, or other public benefits; if your household income is below the limits on the form; or if paying would keep you from covering basic needs like rent and food.8California Courts | Self Help Guide. Ask for a Fee Waiver
Gather Your Evidence Before You File
Judges decide temporary orders on paperwork alone, so what you write and attach determines whether protection starts today or after the hearing. Prepare before you sit down with the forms.
Write out each incident with dates, times, and locations. Specifics land: “He came to my apartment at 11 p.m. on March 5 and pounded on the door for 20 minutes” reads very differently to a judge than “he shows up uninvited.” Pull together texts, voicemails, emails, screenshots of social media, photographs of injuries or property damage, police reports, and medical records. Note the names and contact information of anyone who witnessed events. Put everything in chronological order; you’ll be describing this timeline in the forms.
Fill Out the Forms
Use the form that matches your order type:
- Domestic violence: Form DV-100, Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order9Judicial Council of California. Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order DV-100
- Civil harassment: Form CH-100, Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders10Judicial Council of California. Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders CH-100
- Elder or dependent adult abuse: Form EA-100
The description section is the most important part of the whole filing. Write in your own words what the other person did, when they did it, and how it affected you. Stick to facts. If you were afraid for your safety, say so and explain why. Attach extra pages if you run out of room.
You’ll also complete Form CLETS-001, which collects the restrained person’s identifying details (name, date of birth, physical description). That information gets entered into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System so any officer in the state can pull up the order.11Judicial Council of California. Confidential CLETS Information CLETS-001
Los Angeles Superior Court offers a free “File At Home” online interview that asks you questions and produces the completed forms. You can e-file directly or print them and bring them in.12Superior Court of Los Angeles County. File At Home Walk-in self-help centers can also review your paperwork at no cost. Locations include Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, Van Nuys, Pasadena, Pomona, Santa Monica, Inglewood, Torrance, and Compton.13Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Family Law Self-Help Centers Locations
File and Get a Temporary Order
Turn in your completed forms at the clerk’s office. You can file in person, through the court’s e-filing system, or in a courthouse drop box. If you use a drop box, include the original plus two copies, held together with a rubber band or in an envelope.
A judge usually reviews the request the same day. Based on your written filing alone, without hearing from the other side, the judge can issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that protects you starting immediately and runs until your hearing. For a DVRO, that hearing must be set within 21 days, or 25 days if there’s good cause for the short delay.14California Courts. Domestic Violence Restraining Orders Benchguide
If the judge declines the TRO, the hearing still goes forward. Denial of the temporary order doesn’t kill the case, and judges sometimes grant a full order at the hearing after hearing both sides.
Serve the Other Party
Someone has to physically hand the restrained person copies of the papers, including the TRO and hearing notice. This is called personal service, and the hearing cannot go forward without it.
You cannot serve the papers yourself. The person who serves them must be at least 18 and not a party to the case. Use the county sheriff, a professional process server, or a trusted friend or relative.6California Courts | Self Help Guide. File Your Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order In domestic violence cases, the sheriff’s department serves papers at no charge to you.
After service, the server fills out a Proof of Personal Service form and files it with the court. That’s Form DV-200 for domestic violence, Form CH-200 for civil harassment.15California Courts | Self Help Guide. Proof of Personal Service CLETS DV-200 The details from the proof of service also feed into CLETS so law enforcement can confirm the restrained person was notified.
The Hearing
Both sides appear before a judge. You testify under oath and present your evidence. The other side responds and presents theirs. Bring every document you referenced in your petition, anything new that has happened since you filed, and any witnesses.
If the restrained 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 grants your request, the TRO converts into a restraining order after hearing (sometimes called a “permanent” order). If the judge denies it, the TRO expires and the case closes.
What the Order Can Require
Judges have broad discretion to fit the order to your situation. Common provisions include:
- No contact of any kind (calls, texts, email, third parties).
- Stay-away distances from your home, workplace, school, and vehicle.
- A move-out order requiring the restrained person to leave a shared home.
- Temporary child custody and visitation, when a DVRO involves children.
- Exclusive care of pets and a stay-away order covering them.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320 – Ex Parte Orders
Firearm Surrender
The moment the order is granted, the restrained person cannot own, possess, or buy any firearm or ammunition while the order is in effect. They must surrender all firearms within 24 hours of being served, either to law enforcement or to a licensed dealer, and file a receipt with the court within 48 hours. Failing to file that receipt is itself a violation.16California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6389 – Firearms and Ammunition Relinquishment
How Long the Order Lasts and How to Renew
A DVRO issued after a hearing lasts up to five years. If the judge doesn’t write an expiration date on the form, it defaults to three years from the issue date.17California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6345 – Duration of Restraining Order Civil harassment orders follow the same pattern: up to five years, three years by default.
Get a certified copy from the clerk. Keep one with you at all times, one at work, and one at your child’s school or childcare if the order protects them. Photograph every page so you have digital proof if police need to check the order in the field.18California Courts | Self Help Guide. Enforce Your Restraining Order
You can request renewal starting up to three months before the expiration date. Renewal is free, and you don’t have to prove new abuse. File Form DV-700 (Request to Renew Restraining Order) along with Form DV-710 and a copy of the current order. Once filed, the existing order automatically extends until the renewal hearing, where the judge can renew protection for another five years, longer, or permanently.19California Courts | Self Help Guide. Ask to Renew a Restraining Order Miss the expiration date and you can’t renew; you’d have to file a new petition from scratch.
Enforcing the Order
If the restrained person contacts you, comes near you, or violates any other term, call 911.18California Courts | Self Help Guide. Enforce Your Restraining Order Show responding officers your copy of the order. They can arrest on the spot.
Document every violation as it happens: save texts, take screenshots, note dates and times, photograph anything relevant. This record supports criminal prosecution and any future renewal.
Violating a California restraining order is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. If the violation causes physical injury, minimum jail time rises to 30 days and the maximum fine to $2,000. A second violence-based violation within seven years of a prior conviction can be charged as a felony.20California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.6 – Violation of Protective Order
Your California order is enforceable in all 50 states, U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and on tribal lands.18California Courts | Self Help Guide. Enforce Your Restraining Order If the restrained person crosses state lines to violate it, federal law adds up to five years in prison, climbing to 10 or 20 years if serious bodily injury results, and up to life if the victim dies.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2262 – Interstate Violation of Protection Order
If local police say they can’t find your order in their system, it may not have been entered into CLETS. Contact the court’s self-help center, confirm the judge signed and filed the order, and ask the clerk to complete the CLETS entry.