A protective order in California is a court order that limits what one person can do to another — barring contact, requiring a stay-away distance, and prohibiting firearm possession — to keep the protected person safe from abuse, harassment, threats, or violence. A judge issues it after reviewing the petitioner’s evidence, and once in place it is enforceable by any law enforcement agency in the state through CLETS, the statewide restraining order database.1California Courts. Enforce Your Restraining Order Violating one is a crime.
Which Type of Order Fits Your Situation
California has several kinds of protective orders, and the right one depends on your relationship to the person you need protection from.
A domestic violence restraining order covers abuse by a spouse, former spouse, current or former dating partner, someone you live with or used to live with, or a co-parent. The judge can grant it based on your written statement or testimony alone, without additional witnesses or documents.2California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6300
A civil harassment restraining order applies when the person threatening you falls outside that domestic circle — a neighbor, acquaintance, stranger, or anyone else. The legal bar is higher: you have to show unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress and that serves no legitimate purpose. Constitutionally protected activity like lawful speech or protest doesn’t qualify as harassment, and you don’t need to be a California resident to file.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527.6
An elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order protects people 65 or older and dependent adults from abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. The victim can file, or a conservator, attorney-in-fact, court-appointed guardian, or county adult protective services can file on their behalf in certain circumstances.4California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15657.03
A workplace violence restraining order is filed by an employer or union — not the employee — when a worker faces violence, credible threats, or harassment connected to the workplace.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527.8
A gun violence restraining order is used to temporarily remove firearms and ammunition from someone who poses a significant danger of harming themselves or others. Family, household members, employers, certain coworkers and school staff, dating partners, roommates, and co-parents can petition, along with law enforcement.
One category you can’t file for yourself: a criminal protective order. A judge issues this during a criminal case — most often a domestic violence prosecution — to protect victims and witnesses. It can last up to 10 years and overrides any existing civil restraining order between the same people.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 136.2
Getting Protection Immediately
Court hearings take time. California has two fast tracks for people who need protection before a full hearing can be scheduled.
Emergency Protective Orders
If you call the police or 911, the responding officer can request an emergency protective order on the spot by contacting an on-call judge, who is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.7California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders These orders cover domestic violence, child abuse, child abduction, stalking, and elder or dependent adult abuse. They last only five to seven days, so you have to file for a longer-term order through the court before the emergency one expires.
Temporary Restraining Orders
When you file your petition at the courthouse, a judge often reviews it the same day and can issue a temporary restraining order without the other person being present. The court must schedule the full hearing within 21 days of granting or denying the temporary order, extendable to 25 days for good cause.8Justia Law. California Family Code 240-246 – Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Orders If the hearing doesn’t happen in that window, the temporary order stops being enforceable unless the judge reissues it.
What a Protective Order Actually Does
The specific terms depend on the case, but judges have broad authority to restrict the restrained person. Common provisions include:
- No contact of any kind — calls, texts, email, social media, or messages passed through a third party.
- A stay-away distance from your home, workplace, vehicle, and children’s school.
- No stalking, threatening, attacking, or disturbing your peace.
A judge can also order the restrained person to move out of a shared home, attend a batterer intervention program, or complete parenting classes.
Every protective order in California also triggers a firearm prohibition. The restrained person cannot own, possess, buy, or receive firearms or ammunition for as long as the order is in effect. They must surrender any firearms to local law enforcement, sell them to a licensed dealer, or transfer them to a dealer for storage, and file proof with the court.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29825 Knowingly possessing or buying a firearm while under a protective order is a separate crime, carrying up to a year in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both, and can be filed as a felony in certain cases.
How to File
You don’t need a lawyer, though one helps if your situation is complicated. The process has a few concrete steps.
Pull your evidence together first. Dates and descriptions of each incident, screenshots of threatening messages, photos of injuries or property damage, and any police reports. A detailed written account is often what gets a temporary order granted on the first visit.
Fill out the right forms. Each type of order has its own Judicial Council forms. For domestic violence, the main form is DV-100.10California Courts. Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order For civil harassment, it’s CH-100.11California Courts. Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders Forms are available on the California Courts website and at every courthouse self-help center, where staff can walk you through them.
File with the Superior Court clerk in the county where the abuse or harassment happened, or where the restrained person lives. The judge reviews your paperwork and decides whether to issue a temporary order while you wait for the hearing. Filing is free in domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault cases — federal law under VAWA prohibits courts from charging for filing, issuing, or serving these orders. Civil harassment petitions without violence may carry a filing fee, but you can request a waiver with Form FW-001 if you can’t afford it.
Serve the other party. The restrained person must be formally handed copies of the filed documents before the hearing, and you cannot do it yourself. The server must be at least 18 and not a party to the case — a friend, relative, sheriff, marshal, or professional process server all qualify.12California Courts. Serving Court Papers Sheriffs typically serve restraining order papers free or for a small fee.
Show up at the hearing. Both sides appear before the judge, who hears testimony and reviews evidence. If the restrained person doesn’t appear, the judge can still issue the order based on your evidence. Bring copies of everything you filed, any new evidence, and any witnesses who can back up your account.
How Long Orders Last
Duration depends on the type:
- Domestic violence restraining order: up to five years after the hearing, renewable.
- Civil harassment restraining order: up to five years, renewable for another five. If the judge doesn’t write an expiration on the form, the order defaults to three years.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527.6
- Workplace violence restraining order: up to three years, renewable in three-year increments, with the same three-year default if no date is listed.5California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 527.8
- Criminal protective order: up to 10 years, at the judge’s discretion.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 136.2
- Emergency protective order: five to seven days.7California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders
Renewal is not automatic. You have to file a request before the current order expires, and in most cases the court sets a hearing. For civil harassment and workplace violence orders, you can request renewal within three months of expiration without having to show new incidents of harassment.
If the Other Person Violates the Order
A first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.13California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6 If the violation causes physical injury, the maximum fine rises to $2,000 and the judge must impose at least 30 days in jail, reducible to 48 hours in the interest of justice.
Repeat violations are much more serious. A second violation within seven years involving violence or a credible threat of violence can be charged as a felony and carry state prison time. A second violation within one year that causes physical injury carries a minimum of six months in county jail (reducible to 30 days) or state prison.13California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6 Firearm possession in violation of the order is prosecuted separately and can also be charged as a felony.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29825
Report any violation to law enforcement right away. Officers can arrest the restrained person on the spot. Save every text, take screenshots, note dates and times — thorough documentation strengthens the criminal case.
If You Leave the State
A California protective order is enforceable in every other state, tribe, and territory. Under the Violence Against Women Act, each jurisdiction must give “full faith and credit” to a valid protective order from any other and enforce it as if it were their own.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders You cannot be required to register the order in the new state before it will be enforced, and the restrained person cannot be notified of a registration unless you ask for notice. The federal protection applies as long as the original court had proper jurisdiction and the restrained person received reasonable notice and a chance to be heard — including on temporary ex parte orders, provided notice and a hearing follow within the time the issuing state requires. If you’re traveling or moving, keep a copy of the order with you. Officers can look it up, but having the paperwork in hand speeds enforcement.