To serve a restraining order in California, you arrange for an adult who is not part of the case to physically deliver a complete packet of your court papers to the person you want restrained, then file proof of that delivery with the court before the hearing. You cannot hand the papers over yourself. Until service is complete, a judge cannot issue a long-term order at the hearing, and in most cases police cannot arrest the restrained person for violating a temporary order.
Who Can Serve the Papers
The person who delivers the papers must be at least 18 years old and cannot be a party to the case. That rules you out. You have three practical choices.
- The sheriff or marshal. For domestic violence restraining orders, the sheriff’s department serves papers for free. You bring Form SER-001 and copies of all your court documents to the sheriff’s office. This is the most reliable route because the office handles service constantly and documents each attempt correctly.
- A professional process server. Private servers are experienced at locating people who are hard to find and following the legal requirements. Fees commonly run between $65 and $125 per attempt.
- Any adult you know. A friend, coworker, or relative who is 18 or older and not part of the case can do it at no cost. The risk is that an inexperienced server may not document service properly or may have trouble locating the restrained person.
What Goes in the Packet
The restrained person needs the full set of papers so they have real notice of the case and their right to respond. For a domestic violence restraining order, the California Courts self-help guide lists the packet as:
- Form DV-109, Notice of Court Hearing, showing the date, time, and location.
- Form DV-100, Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order, your petition.
- Form DV-110, Temporary Restraining Order, if the judge granted temporary protection when you filed.
- A blank Form DV-120, Response to Request, so the restrained person can respond in writing.
- Form DV-120-INFO, the instruction sheet explaining how to complete the response.
Read page 2 of your DV-109 carefully. The judge may have ordered additional forms served, especially where child custody or support is involved. Leaving out any required document gives the restrained person grounds to argue they weren’t properly notified.
How Personal Service Works
Personal service is the default. The server physically hands the entire packet to the restrained person. Before handing anything over, the server confirms they have the right individual. The server doesn’t need to explain what the papers are or persuade the person to accept them. If the person refuses to take the packet, the server can set it down nearby and state what it is. That is valid service.
Most attempts happen at the restrained person’s home, workplace, or another location where they are known to be. Timing matters, so pick hours when the person is likely to be there. If the sheriff is handling it, expect a queue: they serve high volumes and don’t always attempt service immediately, so follow up on the status.
Service Should Happen Quickly
Serve as soon as possible after filing. The California Courts self-help guide advises this for domestic violence orders, and there is a practical reason beyond procedure: until the restrained person is served, law enforcement generally cannot arrest them for violating a temporary order even if one has been granted.
When Personal Service Doesn’t Work
Sometimes the restrained person is avoiding service or genuinely cannot be found. California offers alternatives, but every one of them requires court approval and evidence that personal service was tried first.
Substituted Service
If your server has made multiple attempts on different days and at different times without success, the court may allow substituted service. The server leaves the documents with a responsible adult (at least 18) at the restrained person’s home or workplace, tells that adult the papers are legal documents for the restrained person, and then mails a second copy to the same address.
Courts generally want to see at least three failed personal service attempts, spread across different days and times, before authorizing this. Three tries in one afternoon isn’t real diligence.
Service by Posting or Publication
If you truly cannot locate the person and substituted service isn’t possible either, you can ask the court for permission to post the papers at the courthouse or publish them in a newspaper. This is a last resort. You have to file a declaration describing every step you took to find the person: attempts at the last known address, outreach to people who might know where they are, and any other investigation. Judges do not grant this easily, because it provides the weakest notice.
Electronic Service
As of 2026, California law allows courts to authorize electronic service of process when a defendant is actively evading traditional methods. You cannot choose this on your own. You need a court order, and to get one you’ll need to show that personal service was exhausted, substituted service was attempted, and that the electronic contact (an email address or social media account, for example) actually belongs to the restrained person. Judges weigh whether the method has a high likelihood of reaching the person. The option is new and courts are still developing standards for approving it.
Filing the Proof of Service
After delivery, the server completes Form DV-200, Proof of Personal Service. The form records the name of the person served, the exact address, the date and time, and every document included in the packet. The server signs under penalty of perjury.
If the sheriff served the papers, the sheriff’s office fills out its own proof of service and returns it to you. If someone else served them, they complete DV-200 and hand it back. Either way, filing that form with the court clerk before the hearing is your responsibility. Without it in the file, the judge has no official evidence that the restrained person was notified and cannot issue a long-term order at the hearing.
If Service Isn’t Done Before the Hearing
Go to court on the scheduled date anyway and ask the judge for a continuance. The court reschedules using Form DV-116, and incomplete service is specifically listed as good cause. When the judge grants the continuance, your temporary restraining order stays in effect until the new hearing date, and the court will tell you how to serve the restrained person with the rescheduled notice.
This is common, especially when the restrained person has moved, is staying with friends, or is dodging the server. Bring documentation of every attempt, with dates, times, and locations. A judge who sees genuine effort is more likely to extend the temporary protection and may authorize an alternative service method to move the case forward.
Serving the Long-Term Order
If the restrained person attends the hearing, the judge can issue the long-term order on the spot and the person is considered notified. If the judge grants a long-term order (up to five years) at a hearing the restrained person didn’t attend, that new order also has to be served. Check item 32(b) on Form DV-130 to see whether the judge ordered service by mail or in person. Until the long-term order is served, law enforcement may not be able to enforce it.
The same server rules apply: someone 18 or older who is not a party. The sheriff will serve the long-term order at no cost if you have an address for the restrained person. After service, file a new proof of service with the court, using Form DV-200 for personal service or Form DV-250 for service by mail. That filing makes the order fully enforceable and gets it entered into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, where any officer in the state can verify it.