What Is a DVRO in California and How Does It Work?

A Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) in California is a court order that can force an abuser to stay away from you, move out of a shared home, give up any firearms, and follow custody and support terms a judge sets. Filing costs nothing, and a judge can grant temporary protection the same day you turn in your paperwork. Two things decide whether you qualify: a specific kind of relationship with the person you need protection from, and enough detail about the abuse for a judge to act on.

What Counts as Abuse

California’s definition is wider than physical violence. It covers physical harm and sexual assault, placing you in fear of serious bodily injury, and conduct that destroys your mental or emotional calm.¹

Under Family Code Section 6320, “disturbing the peace” includes stalking, threats, harassment, destroying your belongings, and repeated unwanted contact by phone, text, or social media. The statute also recognizes coercive control: a pattern of behavior that interferes with your free will. Isolating you from friends and family, controlling your money or movements, depriving you of basic necessities, and using immigration threats to compel behavior all count.² You do not need to show physical violence to qualify.

Who Can File

A DVRO is only available when a specific relationship exists between you and the person you need protection from. Family Code Section 6211 lists the qualifying ones:³

Spouses, former spouses, and registered domestic partners.
Cohabitants or former cohabitants who lived together as more than roommates.
Current or former dating or engagement partners, whether or not you ever lived together.
Parents of a shared child, even if you were never a couple.
Close relatives: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and in-laws related by blood or marriage within two degrees.

If your situation doesn’t fit one of those categories, a DVRO is the wrong tool. A harassing neighbor or coworker, for example, would call for a Civil Harassment Restraining Order, which is a separate process. Minors can petition for a DVRO, though depending on age and circumstances a guardian or appointed representative may need to be involved.

What a Judge Can Order

Judges have broad discretion to shape the order around your situation. The court can bar the restrained person from contacting you directly or through anyone else, require them to stay a set distance from your home, workplace, and your children’s school, and order them to move out of a shared residence.²

If you share children, the order can set temporary custody and visitation. It can grant you temporary use of property such as a vehicle, allow you to record communications with the restrained person for safety reasons, and require them to complete a batterer intervention program.

On a showing of good cause, the judge can also give you exclusive care and control of household pets owned by either party or by a child in either household, and order the restrained person to stay away from the animal.²

Firearms

Every DVRO requires the restrained person to give up any firearms and ammunition. It is not optional.⁴ If law enforcement asks for surrender at service, it happens then. Otherwise the restrained person has 24 hours after being served to either turn the firearms over to local law enforcement or sell them to a licensed dealer, and 48 hours to file a receipt with both the court and the agency that served the order. Failing to file that receipt is itself a violation.⁵ Knowingly keeping a firearm while subject to a DVRO is a separate crime, punishable by up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.⁶

How to File

Before you go to the courthouse, write down specific incidents of abuse with dates, times, and locations. Gather text messages, voicemails, photos of injuries, and any police reports. Note children’s names and dates of birth, and bring the restrained person’s full name, home address, and workplace if you know them.

You will need at least four Judicial Council forms:⁷

DV-100, Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order, where you describe the abuse and list what orders you want.
CLETS-001, Confidential CLETS Information, which gives law enforcement enforcement details and is never shown to the restrained person.⁸
DV-109, Notice of Court Hearing. You fill in only the first two items; the court completes the rest.
DV-110, Temporary Restraining Order. You enter basic identifying information and the judge fills in the rest if a temporary order is granted.

Extra forms may apply if you are married to the restrained person or share children. The forms are on the California Courts website and at the court clerk’s counter. Most courthouses have a self-help center where staff can walk you through them, which is worth using because incomplete paperwork slows everything down.

There is no filing fee.

What Happens After You File

The Same-Day Temporary Order

Once you submit your paperwork, a judge must review it and either grant or deny a temporary restraining order (TRO) the same day, or the next business day if you filed late in the afternoon.⁹ A granted TRO takes effect immediately and protects you until the hearing. If the judge denies the TRO, your case is not over: the court must still schedule a hearing on your request for a longer order.¹⁰

Serving the Other Person

The restrained person has to receive copies of your filed paperwork before the hearing, and you cannot deliver them yourself. The server must be at least 18 and not involved in the case. A sheriff or marshal will do it at no cost, or you can hire a professional process server, who typically charges between $40 and $200, or ask another adult.¹¹

After service, your server signs Form DV-200, which you file with the court as proof.¹² File it promptly. That filing is what gets your order into the law enforcement database so officers responding to a future call can confirm it exists.

The Hearing

The court must schedule a hearing within 21 days of filing, or 25 days with good cause.¹⁰ Both sides can speak and present evidence. Bring witnesses, documents, photographs, and anything else that supports what you have described. The restrained person can appear and argue against the order.¹³ Judges usually rule the same day. A granted order replaces the TRO and can last up to five years.

How Long the Order Lasts

A DVRO issued after a hearing can run up to five years. If the judge writes no expiration date, it defaults to three years from the date of issue.¹⁴

You can request a renewal any time within three months before the order expires. The court can extend it another five years or make it permanent. You do not need to show new abuse since the original order. A reasonable fear of future abuse is enough.¹⁴ If you miss the window and the order lapses, you have to start over with a new petition.

If the Order Is Violated

Violating any term of a DVRO, whether by making contact, showing up at a prohibited location, or refusing to move out, is a criminal offense. Penalties scale with injury and prior violations under Penal Code Section 273.6:

First violation, no injury: a misdemeanor, up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
First violation causing physical injury: up to a year in jail with a 30-day minimum, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
Repeat violation within seven years involving violence or credible threats: up to a year in county jail or a state prison term.
Repeat violation within one year causing injury: a minimum of six months in jail (up to a year) or state prison, plus a fine of up to $2,000.¹⁵

Law enforcement can verify your order instantly through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, so officers responding to a call do not need to see a paper copy to make an arrest.¹⁶ Keep a copy with you anyway for situations where database access is slow. If you or the restrained person later move out of state, federal law requires every state, tribal government, and U.S. territory to enforce a valid California protection order, with no re-registration needed.¹⁷

1
Justia Law. California Code Family Code – Sections 6200-6219
2
California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 6320
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code Section 6211
4
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and Gun Violence Restraining Orders
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 6389
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 29825
7
California Courts. Fill Out Domestic Violence Restraining Order Forms
8
Judicial Branch of California. Confidential Information for Law Enforcement (CLETS-001)
9
California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code Section 6326
10
Judicial Council of California. Judges Guide to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
11
California Courts. Sheriff Serves Your Request for a Restraining Order
12
Judicial Branch of California. Proof of Personal Service (CLETS) (DV-200)
13
California Courts. Prepare for Your Restraining Order Court Date
14
California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code Section 6345
15
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 273.6
16
California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 6380
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders