California Domestic Violence Restraining Order: Filing and Firearms

A California domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) is a civil court order that bars someone who has abused you from contacting or coming near you. You can request one at your local superior court without a lawyer and without paying a filing fee, a judge can issue temporary protection the same day you file, and a final order after a hearing can last up to five years and be renewed permanently. The law behind it is the Domestic Violence Prevention Act in the California Family Code.¹

Who Qualifies to Ask for One

A DVRO is only available where a specific relationship exists between you and the person you need protection from. Under Family Code 6211, that person must be or have been your spouse or registered domestic partner, a cohabitant you lived with romantically or sexually, a dating or engagement partner, a co-parent of your child, or a close relative by blood or marriage within the second degree (parent, child, grandparent, sibling, or in-law).²

If your relationship falls outside those categories, a different kind of order (such as a civil harassment restraining order) may fit instead.

What Counts as Abuse

California defines abuse more broadly than most people expect. Family Code 6203 covers bodily injury or attempted bodily injury (intentional or reckless), sexual assault, threats that put someone in reasonable fear of imminent serious physical harm, and behavior that “disturbs the peace” of the other person by destroying their mental or emotional calm.³

That last category is where the statute reaches furthest. Family Code 6320 identifies coercive control as a form of disturbing the peace: a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with someone’s free will. The statute lists examples including isolating a person from friends and family, withholding food, clothing, or medication, surveillance and financial control, threats tied to immigration status, and reproductive coercion.⁴ Physical violence is not required.

How to File the Petition

You file with the Family Law clerk at your local superior court. The main form is the Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order (Form DV-100), and you also complete the Confidential CLETS Information form (CLETS-001), which routes to law enforcement but stays out of the public file. There is no filing fee.

The judge decides whether to grant immediate protection based on what you write, so the description of the abuse has to be specific. For each incident, put down the date, where it happened, what the person said or did, and how it affected you. Attach copies of anything that supports your account: photos of injuries, screenshots of messages, medical records, police reports. Under Family Code 6300, the court can issue the order based solely on your written statement if it shows reasonable proof of a past act of abuse.⁵ A police report is not required, but corroborating evidence helps at the hearing later.

Emergency Protective Orders From Police

If police respond to a domestic violence call, the responding officer can call an on-call judge and get an Emergency Protective Order (EPO) issued immediately. No paperwork from you, no court visit. An EPO is short: it expires at the close of business on the fifth court day after issuance, or the seventh calendar day, whichever comes first.⁶ Treat that window as a deadline to file for a longer-lasting order.

Temporary Order, Service, and the Hearing

After you file, a judge reviews the petition the same day or the next business day, without the other person present. If the judge finds enough grounds, a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) takes effect right away and lasts until the hearing, typically about three weeks out. If the judge denies the TRO, you still get a hearing date.

Before the hearing, the restrained person must be personally handed a copy of the TRO, the petition, and all supporting documents. You cannot do this yourself. Someone at least 18 years old who is not named as a protected party has to serve the papers, often a friend, family member, or professional process server. After service, that person files a Proof of Personal Service (Form DV-200) with the court.⁷ Without proof of service on file, the hearing cannot go forward.

At the hearing, both sides present testimony, documents, and witnesses. The judge decides by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it is more likely than not that the abuse occurred. That is a lower bar than the criminal standard, but the judge still needs concrete, credible evidence.

What the Final Order Can Do

A final DVRO prohibits the restrained person from contacting, threatening, stalking, harassing, or destroying the property of anyone named on it.⁴ Beyond that baseline, the order can include:

A stay-away distance from your home, workplace, vehicle, and your children’s school or childcare.
A “kick-out” order granting you exclusive possession of a shared residence, even if the restrained person is on the lease or title.
Temporary orders on child custody and visitation, child support, and spousal support.
Exclusive care and possession of a household pet, with an order that the restrained person not harm, hide, or give the animal away.

Firearms Surrender

Anyone subject to a DVRO cannot own, possess, buy, or receive any firearm or ammunition while the order is in effect. Once served, the restrained person must surrender all firearms and ammunition to law enforcement or sell them to a licensed dealer. If an officer is present during service, immediate surrender is requested on the spot; otherwise, the restrained person has 24 hours. Within 48 hours of service, they must file a receipt with the court and the serving law enforcement agency proving the surrender. Failing to file that receipt is itself a violation of the order.⁸ Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) adds its own firearms prohibition once a qualifying order is entered after a hearing.⁹

How Long the Order Lasts and How to Renew It

A final DVRO can last up to five years, with the exact expiration date printed on the order. The judge has discretion to set a shorter period.¹⁰

You can ask for a renewal in the three months before the order expires, and the court can renew it for another five years or more, or make it permanent. You do not have to show that new abuse happened since the original order. The statute allows renewal “without a showing of further abuse.”¹⁰ What the judge weighs is whether you have a reasonable fear of future abuse if the order lapses; the evidence behind the original order counts toward that.

What Happens If the Order Is Violated

Violating a DVRO is a misdemeanor under Penal Code 273.6. A first offense carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. If the violation causes physical injury, the minimum jail time rises to 30 days and the fine cap doubles to $2,000. A second conviction within seven years that involves violence or a credible threat of violence can be charged as a felony and punished with state prison time; a second violation within one year that causes injury carries at least six months in county jail.¹¹

To convict, the prosecution must prove the violation was willful and knowing.¹² A chance encounter at the grocery store is not criminal. Deliberately calling, texting, showing up at a workplace, or having a friend relay a message is.

Federal penalties reach further when someone crosses state lines to violate a protection order. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2262, a baseline violation carries up to five years in federal prison; serious bodily injury raises the maximum to ten years; if the victim dies, the penalty can be life.¹³

Traveling or Moving to Another State

A California DVRO is enforceable anywhere in the country. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state must give “full faith and credit” to a valid protection order from another state and enforce it as its own.¹⁴ The enforcing state must honor every provision, even ones that wouldn’t be available under its own laws.¹⁵ Officers can verify the order through the CLETS/NCIC database, but keep a certified copy with you. It makes a real difference during a crisis.

A Note on Immigration Status

California courts do not ask about immigration status when issuing a DVRO, and threats based on immigration status are themselves recognized as coercive control under Family Code 6320.⁴ Separately, domestic violence victims who cooperate with law enforcement may qualify for a U nonimmigrant visa, which lists domestic violence as a qualifying crime. Eligibility requires substantial physical or mental abuse, information about the criminal activity, and helpfulness to investigators, along with a law enforcement certification. Information in a U visa petition is confidential, and USCIS cannot rely solely on information from the abuser to deny it.¹⁶

1
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6200 – Domestic Violence Prevention Act
2
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6211 – Domestic Violence Defined
3
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6203 – Abuse Defined
4
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320 – Orders Enjoining Parties
5
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6300 – Issuance of Order
6
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6256 – Expiration of Emergency Protective Order
7
Judicial Branch of California. Proof of Personal Service (CLETS) (DV-200)
8
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6389 – Firearms and Ammunition Prohibitions
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
10
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6345 – Duration of Restraining Order
11
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.6 – Violation of Protective Order
12
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 166 – Contempt of Court
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2262 – Interstate Violation of Protection Order
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders
15
Judicial Branch of California. Overview: Domestic Violence Restraining Orders: Enforcement Issues
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status