California Family Code 6320: Conduct, Orders, and Penalties

California Family Code Section 6320 is the statute that lets a family court order someone to stop a broad range of abusive behavior toward a spouse, partner, close relative, or co-parent. It reaches well past physical violence to cover stalking, threats, harassment, unwanted contact, destruction of property, online impersonation, and a catch-all category called disturbing the peace, which includes coercive control. It works together with Family Code 6203, which defines “abuse” for the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, so anything a court can restrain under 6320 also counts as abuse for purposes of getting a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO).¹

What Conduct Section 6320 Covers

Section 6320 lists the behavior a judge can prohibit. That includes attacking, striking, and battering, but it also covers stalking, threatening, harassing, making unwanted phone calls, destroying personal property, and contacting the other person by any method. It reaches impersonation online or in person as well.²

Physical contact is not required. Family Code 6203 says explicitly that abuse is not limited to actual physical injury or assault.¹ A pattern of threatening messages, relentless calls, or smashing a partner’s belongings all qualify. So does placing someone in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury.

Disturbing the Peace and Coercive Control

The most far-reaching part of Section 6320 is the “disturbing the peace” provision. It covers conduct that destroys the mental or emotional calm of the other person, judged on the totality of the circumstances.² This is the ground that captures abuse without bruises.

The statute names coercive control as a form of disturbing the peace. Coercive control is a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and personal liberty. Examples in the statute include:

Isolating the person from friends, family, or other sources of support.
Depriving the person of basic necessities like food, medication, or shelter.
Monitoring or controlling movements, finances, communications, or daily activities.
Using force, intimidation, or threats based on immigration status to compel the person to do something they have a right to refuse, or to stop them from doing something they have a right to do.
Controlling reproductive choices through force or intimidation, such as pressuring pregnancy, interfering with contraception, or attempting to control pregnancy outcomes.²

The examples are not exhaustive. Any pattern that destroys the other person’s mental or emotional calm can qualify, whether carried out directly, through a third party, or through technology like social media, text messages, or internet-connected devices.

Who Qualifies to Ask for a 6320 Order

A DVRO under 6320 is only available to people with a specific domestic relationship to the person they want restrained. Family Code 6211 lists them: spouses and former spouses, current or former cohabitants, people in a current or past dating or engagement relationship, people who share a child, a child of either party, and close relatives by blood or marriage within the second degree such as parents, grandparents, siblings, and in-laws.³

If your relationship doesn’t fit one of those categories, 6320 isn’t the right vehicle. A civil harassment restraining order under Code of Civil Procedure 527.6 is a separate track with different requirements.⁴ Confirm your relationship type before filling out DVRO forms.

What a Court Can Order

A DVRO is a package of orders that a judge can mix and match to fit the situation.

Personal Conduct and Stay-Away Orders

The core order prohibits the restrained person from contacting, threatening, stalking, or harassing the protected person. The court can also set a stay-away distance in yards from the protected person, their home, workplace, vehicle, and their children’s school.² Protection can extend to other household or family members on a showing of good cause.

Residence Exclusion

A residence exclusion order removes the restrained person from a shared home even if they own it or are on the lease. Family Code 6321 requires the court to find three things before issuing it: the person staying has a legal right to be there, the person being excluded has assaulted or threatened to assault the protected person or a child in their care, and physical or emotional harm would result if the exclusion is not ordered.⁵ All three must be met.

Children and Pets

When minor children are involved, the court can issue temporary custody and visitation orders as part of the DVRO, with priority on limiting the children’s exposure to domestic violence and keeping everyone safe.⁶ Where the petitioner has an established parent-child relationship and the other party does not, the court may award temporary sole custody to the petitioner and deny visitation until parentage is established.

The court can also grant the petitioner exclusive care and control of any pets owned by either party and order the restrained person to stay away from the animals.²

Firearms Surrender

A DVRO triggers mandatory firearms surrender. Family Code 6389 requires the restrained person to give up all firearms and ammunition in their possession or control, either immediately upon request by a serving officer or within 24 hours of being served. Weapons can be turned in to law enforcement or sold or stored with a licensed dealer, and a receipt must be filed with the court and the serving agency within 48 hours. Failing to file the receipt is itself a violation of the protective order.⁷

Federal law layers on top. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), a person subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order cannot possess any firearm or ammunition. The federal prohibition applies once the restrained person has had notice and an opportunity to participate in a hearing, so it kicks in with the order issued after the full hearing rather than at the temporary stage.⁸

How to Request an Order

Start by pulling together evidence: dates, times, and locations of each incident, photographs of injuries or property damage, medical records, police reports, and screenshots of threatening texts, emails, or social media messages. Specifics matter more than adjectives. “On March 12, he sent four text messages saying he would hurt me if I left the apartment” carries far more weight than “he threatened me.”

File your request on the Judicial Council form DV-100, Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order.⁹ If you’re also asking for custody or visitation orders, add form DV-105 and the Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150). File with the superior court clerk in your county. There is no filing fee.¹⁰

A court clerk cannot reject your filing if you use the mandatory Judicial Council forms, include everything required, and identify both parties.¹¹ If a clerk tries to screen your petition out, the law prohibits that refusal.

Temporary Order Before the Hearing

A judge reviews the paperwork and can issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) without notifying the other party. This usually happens the same day you file, or by the next business day at busier courthouses.¹⁰ The TRO lasts until your full hearing, which is normally scheduled within a few weeks. The court can issue a TRO based only on the affidavit of the person requesting it, with no additional evidence needed at that initial stage.¹¹

A denied TRO doesn’t end the case. You may still get a hearing date to present evidence and testimony in person. Denials often come from thin detail in the written petition rather than weak underlying facts, so if you refile, add specifics.

Serving the Papers

The TRO and hearing notice must be personally delivered to the restrained person before the order is enforceable. You cannot serve the papers yourself. Service has to be done by someone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case, such as a friend, a professional process server, or a sheriff or marshal, who will serve free of charge.¹²

The server completes form DV-200, Proof of Personal Service, and files it with the court before the hearing. The default deadline is at least five days before the court date unless the form specifies otherwise. If service can’t be completed in time, ask the court to reschedule the hearing.¹²

The Hearing

At the hearing, both sides get to speak. The petitioner usually goes first and explains why the order is needed, then the respondent responds, and the judge can question either party.¹³ The standard is “reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse,”¹¹ lower than the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. When deciding on any custody, visitation, or support orders, the judge must consider whether failing to issue them would jeopardize the safety of the petitioner and any children.¹⁴ Decisions usually come the same day.

How Long the Order Lasts

After the hearing, stay-away, personal conduct, and residence exclusion orders can last up to five years. If the order form leaves the expiration blank, the default is three years.¹⁵

Before the order expires, the protected person can ask for a renewal of five or more years, or permanently. The court doesn’t require proof of new abuse since the original order to grant renewal.¹⁵ File the renewal within three months of expiration. Any custody, visitation, or support orders that came with the DVRO survive even if the protective order itself expires or is terminated.

Penalties for Violating a 6320 Order

Violating a DVRO is a criminal offense under Penal Code 273.6. A first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. If the violation causes physical injury, the minimum is 30 days in jail (with limited judicial discretion to reduce it) and a fine of up to $2,000.¹⁶

Repeat violations escalate. A second conviction within seven years involving violence or a credible threat of violence can be charged as a felony. A second conviction within one year causing physical injury carries a minimum of six months in jail.¹⁶

Enforcement in Other States

A California DVRO travels. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2265, every state, tribal government, and U.S. territory must give full faith and credit to a valid protection order from another jurisdiction and enforce it as their own.¹⁷ If you travel or relocate, carry a certified copy of your order so law enforcement in another state can verify and act on it quickly.

Immigration Consequences

For non-citizens, a violation carries a second penalty layer. Federal immigration law makes a non-citizen deportable if a court finds they violated a protection order in a way that involved credible threats of violence, repeated harassment, or bodily injury against the protected person. A conviction for a crime of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, or child neglect is a separate ground for deportation.¹⁸ Neither ground requires a felony conviction. A misdemeanor violation can be enough to trigger removal, which makes strict compliance with every term of the order essential for anyone without U.S. citizenship.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6203 – Abuse Defined
2
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6320 – Issuance of Orders
3
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6211 – Domestic Violence Defined
4
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Harassment
5
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6321 – Residence Exclusion Order
6
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6323 – Custody and Visitation Orders
7
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6389 – Firearms Relinquishment
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
California Courts. Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order
10
California Courts. File Your Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order
11
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6300 – Issuance of Orders
12
Judicial Council of California. DV-200-INFO – What Is Proof of Personal Service
13
California Courts. Prepare for Your Restraining Order Court Date
14
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6340 – Issuance of Orders After Hearing
15
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6345 – Duration of Restraining Order
16
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6 – Violation of Protective Order
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens