To get an emergency guardianship in California, you file a petition for temporary guardianship under Probate Code Section 2250 in the probate division of the superior court where the child lives, together with a petition for general guardianship. If your declaration shows good cause for immediate appointment, the judge can sign an order within days. That order lasts no more than 30 days unless the court extends it.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2250
One vocabulary point before anything else. California statutes do not use the phrase “emergency guardianship.” The formal name is temporary guardianship, and that is what you are asking for when the situation cannot wait for a full hearing. The two terms describe the same thing.
Who Can File
Any relative or other person acting on the child’s behalf can petition. A child who is 12 or older can file for themselves. You do not have to be a blood relative, though courts pay attention to whether you already have a relationship with the child.
The important structural rule: a temporary guardianship petition cannot stand alone. A general guardianship petition must be filed at the same time or already be pending. The temporary request rides alongside the longer case.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2250
What Counts as Good Cause
The petition must “state facts that establish good cause” for the temporary appointment.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2250 This is a higher bar than showing a guardianship would generally be good for the child. Good cause means the child needs a guardian now, before the court can hold a full hearing on the general petition. Vague worries about parenting will not clear it.
Situations that typically meet the standard:
- Parental abandonment, where a parent has left the child with no caretaker or plan.
- Severe substance abuse that directly endangers the child’s physical safety.
- A medical emergency where the child needs treatment and no parent is available or able to consent.
- Neglect creating immediate danger, such as lack of food, shelter, or supervision.
- Parental incapacitation or death, including hospitalization or incarceration with no alternative caregiver in place.
Write in concrete facts, not conclusions. “The child is in danger” is a conclusion. “On January 15, the child was found home alone for two days without food after the mother was arrested” is the kind of specific detail judges act on. The more concrete your declaration, the faster the court can move.
Forms You Need to Prepare
Two petitions get filed together, plus supporting documents. The core Judicial Council forms:
- Petition for Appointment of Temporary Guardian, Form GC-110. If you are seeking guardianship of the person only and not the child’s estate, you can use the shorter Form GC-110(P).2California Courts. Petition for Appointment of Temporary Guardian (GC-110)
- Declaration, Form MC-030. This is the sworn statement where you lay out the emergency. The judge looks here first.3California Courts. Declaration (MC-030)
- Declaration Under UCCJEA, Form FL-105/GC-120, disclosing where the child has lived for the past five years and whether any other custody proceedings exist.4Judicial Council of California. Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
- Confidential Guardian Screening Form, Form GC-212. Each proposed guardian completes and signs a separate copy.5Judicial Council of California. Confidential Guardian Screening Form (GC-212)
- Notice of Hearing, Form GC-020, used to notify parents and other parties of the court date.
Gather the child’s full legal name, date of birth, and current address, plus the names and last known addresses of both parents and all living grandparents. Some counties require additional local forms, so check with the clerk in the county where you file.
Filing Fees
You pay two filing fees, one for the underlying general guardianship petition and one for the temporary request, under California’s statewide civil fee schedule effective January 1, 2026:6Judicial Council of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
- Guardianship of the person only: $225.
- Guardianship of the estate, or person and estate: $435, slightly higher in Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco counties due to local surcharges.
- Temporary guardianship petition: $60.
If you cannot afford the fees, file a Request to Waive Court Fees (Form FW-001) at the same time. You qualify if you receive certain public benefits, have very low income, or can show the fees would prevent you from meeting basic living expenses.7California Courts. Ask for a Fee Waiver
Serving the Parents
After filing, someone other than you must personally deliver copies of both petitions, the Notice of Hearing, and the Comparison of Guardians With Other Nonparent Caregivers information sheet (Form GC-207-INFO/JV-352-INFO) to everyone entitled to notice. The server must be at least 18 and cannot be a petitioner or a person entitled to receive notice.8California Courts. Serve a Petition to Become a Temporary Guardian
Personal service is required for:
- The child’s parents.
- The child, if 12 or older.
- Anyone who has legal custody of the child.
- Anyone with a valid visitation order in effect when you filed.
Unless the court orders otherwise, hand delivery must happen at least five court days before the hearing. Court days are Monday through Friday, excluding court holidays, so a Monday hearing means papers delivered no later than the previous Monday if no holiday falls in between. If the recipient refuses to accept the papers, the server can leave them next to the person and explain what they are.8California Courts. Serve a Petition to Become a Temporary Guardian After service, the server signs a Proof of Personal Service of Notice of Hearing (Form GC-020(P)), which you file with the court before the hearing.
The Hearing
Temporary guardianship hearings are typically scheduled within days of filing. The judge’s only question is whether your declaration and testimony show good cause for immediate appointment. Bring the evidence that backs up your account: text messages, police reports, photographs, medical records, anything documenting the danger to the child.
You will testify under oath, and the judge may ask follow-up questions. If the parents appear, they have the right to respond and present their own evidence. Parents hold a constitutionally protected interest in the care and custody of their children, so courts take their objections seriously even in an emergency. A parent who arrives with a credible plan to address the safety concern may convince the judge that a temporary guardianship is not necessary.
Ex Parte Appointments
In some cases the court can grant a temporary guardianship ex parte, without the parents present, when the situation is so urgent that waiting even five court days for service would put the child at risk. If a temporary guardianship is granted ex parte and the full guardianship hearing is not scheduled within 30 days, the court must set a separate reconsideration hearing within 30 days, and it can shorten the normal notice period for that reconsideration hearing if good cause exists.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2250 Ex parte orders are the exception. Judges grant them when waiting would expose the child to serious harm.
What the Order Lets You Do
If the judge finds good cause, they sign an Order Appointing Temporary Guardian (Form GC-140). The clerk then issues Letters of Temporary Guardianship (Form GC-150), your official proof of authority.9California Courts. Letters of Temporary Guardianship or Conservatorship (GC-150) Carry certified copies. Schools, doctors, and government agencies will ask to see them.
With the letters, you can enroll the child in school, consent to routine medical treatment, and make day-to-day decisions about the child’s care. Under federal privacy rules, a court-appointed guardian qualifies as the child’s personal representative for medical records, with the same access a parent would have, subject to narrow exceptions.
The court may limit your authority in the order itself. A temporary guardian generally cannot move the child out of their home or dispose of the child’s property without separate court approval, and that approval requires a showing that the action is necessary to prevent irreparable harm.
How Long It Lasts
A temporary guardianship order automatically expires at the earlier of two events: appointment of a general guardian, or 30 days after the temporary appointment. The court can also set an earlier expiration date in the order.10California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2257
If 30 days is not enough, the court can extend the temporary guardianship for good cause. Extensions are common because general guardianship cases often take several months to resolve. You will need to show the judge why the extension is necessary, and a new termination date will be set. Do not assume extension is automatic. If the order expires without renewal, your legal authority ends immediately.
Following Through on the General Case
The temporary order buys time. It is not a solution on its own. If you do not follow through on the general guardianship petition, the temporary orders expire and you lose all legal authority. The general case involves broader notice to relatives, a court investigation (handled by a court investigator if you are a relative, or by the county child welfare agency if you are not),11California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 1513 and a full hearing on the child’s best interest.
Prepare for that case while the temporary order is still active. Gather school records, medical history, and documentation showing the child is stable in your care. A child who is enrolled in school, attending medical appointments, and doing well under your care is the strongest argument for making the arrangement permanent.
If the Child May Be an Indian Child
If the child is or may be a member of a federally recognized tribe, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) adds requirements that can change the process significantly. California Probate Code Section 1459.5 applies ICWA to guardianship proceedings when the proposed guardian is not the child’s parent or Indian custodian.
An ICWA inquiry form (Form ICWA-010(A)) must be attached to the petition. If there is reason to believe the child may be an Indian child, notice must go by certified mail with return receipt requested to the parents, any Indian custodian, and the ICWA-designated agent for each potentially involved tribe, with a copy to the appropriate Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Director.12Bureau of Indian Affairs. ICWA Notice
Emergency removal or placement of an Indian child is still permitted under ICWA when necessary to prevent imminent physical harm, but the emergency placement must end as soon as the danger has passed. At that point, the state must either begin a formal child custody proceeding that complies with ICWA, transfer jurisdiction to the tribe, or return the child to the parent or Indian custodian.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1922 – Emergency Removal or Placement of Child If you have any indication the child may have tribal heritage, raise it with the court immediately rather than discovering it after the temporary order is already in place.