What Is California’s Domestic Violence Prevention Act?

California’s Domestic Violence Prevention Act, codified in Division 10 of the Family Code, lets a court issue protective orders that separate a victim from an abuser, remove firearms from the home, grant temporary custody of children, and impose stay-away requirements. The law reaches a wider set of relationships and behaviors than many people assume, and there is no filing fee to request protection.¹

Who the Law Covers

Protection is not limited to spouses. Under Family Code Section 6211, the Act applies to abuse between any of the following:²

Spouses and former spouses
Current or former cohabitants, meaning people who lived together as more than roommates
Dating or engagement partners, present or former
People who share a child
A child of either party
Relatives by blood or marriage within the second degree, including parents, grandparents, siblings, and in-laws

If your relationship with the person harming you does not fit one of these categories, the DVPA is not the right tool. A civil harassment restraining order under the Code of Civil Procedure covers neighbors, acquaintances, and more distant relationships. The DVPA is built specifically for abuse inside close personal or family ties.

What Counts as Abuse

You do not need visible injuries to qualify. Family Code Section 6203 defines abuse to include intentionally or recklessly causing bodily injury, sexual assault, and placing someone in reasonable fear of serious bodily harm. The statute states that abuse is “not limited to the actual infliction of physical injury or assault.”³

Abuse also covers any behavior a court can prohibit under Section 6320, which reaches stalking, harassment, destroying property, and disturbing the peace of the protected person. As of January 1, 2026, Section 6320 defines disturbing the peace to include coercive control, meaning a pattern of conduct that unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will. The statute gives examples: isolating someone from family and friends, controlling finances, monitoring movements and communications, and using threats tied to immigration status to compel behavior.⁴

The Three Levels of Protective Orders

The Act creates three orders, each matched to a different point in time.

Emergency Protective Order

An Emergency Protective Order (EPO) is the fastest. A responding law enforcement officer can call a judge at any hour and request one if there are reasonable grounds to believe someone faces immediate danger of abuse.⁵ The judge can issue it without the other party present. An EPO expires at the earlier of the close of court business on the fifth business day after issuance or the seventh calendar day.⁶ It is meant as a bridge, so file for a longer order quickly.

Temporary Restraining Order

A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) covers you while you wait for a hearing, generally 15 to 25 days. You file the request yourself. A judge can grant it the same day, without notice to the other party, based on reasonable proof of a past act of abuse.⁷ Your written declaration is enough; police reports and medical records are not required, though they help. A TRO can bar contact, remove the restrained person from a shared home, and give you temporary custody of children.

Restraining Order After Hearing

After a hearing where both sides can present evidence, a judge can issue an order lasting up to five years. If the order does not state an expiration date, the default is three years. You can ask for renewal, for another five years or permanently, during the three months before the order expires, and you do not need to prove any new abuse to get the renewal.⁸

What the Order Can Require

Courts tailor orders to the facts. A judge can bar all contact, direct or indirect, through third parties, phone, text, social media, or any internet-connected device, and can set a minimum distance the restrained person must keep from your home, workplace, school, and vehicle.⁴

The court can also order the restrained person to move out of a shared home, even if that person is on the lease or owns the property. To issue this exclusion, the judge must find that you have a right to live there, that the other party has assaulted or threatened assault, and that physical or emotional harm would result without the exclusion.⁹

Pets are covered too. On a showing of good cause, the court can grant you exclusive care and possession of any animal owned by either party or by a minor child in the household, and can order the restrained person to stay away from the animal.⁴

Firearms Must Be Surrendered

Once a protective order is served, the restrained person must give up all firearms and ammunition. If an officer is present during service, surrender happens on the spot. Otherwise, the person has 24 hours to turn firearms over to local law enforcement or sell them to a licensed dealer, and must file a receipt proving surrender with the court and the law enforcement agency within 48 hours.¹⁰ Failing to file the receipt is itself a violation. Knowingly possessing a firearm while subject to a domestic violence protective order is a separate crime carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000.¹¹

Federal law stacks on top. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), a person subject to a qualifying protective order issued after a noticed hearing cannot possess firearms anywhere in the United States.¹² A misdemeanor domestic violence conviction triggers a lifetime federal firearm ban under the Lautenberg Amendment.¹³

How to Request an Order

For an emergency during a crisis, call 911 and the responding officer can request an EPO. For a TRO or longer-term order, go to your local courthouse. There is no filing fee.¹ You fill out court forms describing the abuse, the relationship, and what protections you need. The judge can issue a TRO based on your written statement alone, though police reports, photos, texts, or medical records make the case stronger.⁷

Once signed, the order has to be personally delivered to the restrained person by someone other than you. A process server, sheriff’s deputy, or any adult over 18 who is not involved can do it. Until the person is served, the order is not legally enforceable and police cannot arrest for a violation.¹⁴

The court will set a hearing roughly 15 to 25 days out. Both sides can appear and present evidence. If you do not show up, the TRO expires. If the restrained person does not show up, the judge can still issue the longer-term order.

Penalties for Violating the Order

Intentionally violating a domestic violence protective order is a crime under Penal Code Section 273.6. The baseline is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.¹⁵ A violation that causes physical injury carries a minimum 30 days in county jail and a fine up to $2,000. Repeat violations within set windows, especially those involving violence, a credible threat, or injury, can be charged as felonies under Penal Code Section 1170(h).¹⁶

Workplace Leave for Victims

Pursuing a restraining order often means missing work. Under Labor Code Section 230.1, employers with 25 or more employees cannot fire, demote, or retaliate against you for time off to seek medical care for abuse injuries, use a shelter or crisis center, attend counseling, or take steps to increase your safety, including relocating.¹⁷ Give reasonable advance notice when you can, and provide documentation afterward if the absence was unscheduled. Your employer must keep the reason confidential. If retaliation happens, you can seek reinstatement, back pay, and other relief.

Immigration Options for Non-Citizen Victims

Immigration status should not keep anyone from seeking safety. Under the Violence Against Women Act, you can self-petition for lawful status if you have been abused by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or child. The petition uses Form I-360 and is confidential from the abuser.¹⁸ A U visa is available if you are the victim of a qualifying crime, including domestic violence, that occurred in the United States, you suffered substantial physical or mental abuse, and you are helpful to law enforcement. It provides temporary status and work authorization, with a path to a green card after three years.¹⁹

Where to Get Help

The National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, is confidential and runs 24 hours a day in over 200 languages. The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence connects survivors to shelter, counseling, and other local programs through a statewide network.²⁰ Legal aid organizations across California offer free or low-cost help with court forms and hearings, and most county courthouses have self-help centers that can walk you through the paperwork, though staff there cannot give legal advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 first and handle the filing from a safe place.

1
California Courts. File Your Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order
2
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6211
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California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6203
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California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320
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California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6250
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California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6256
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California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6300
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California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6345
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California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6321
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California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 6389
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California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 29825
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922
13
U.S. Marshals Service. Lautenberg Amendment
14
California Courts. DV-205-INFO
15
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.6
16
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1170
17
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 230.1
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements and Evidence
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status
20
California Department of Social Services. Domestic Abuse Resources