California’s rules and requirements for restraining orders are set by statute and run through the superior courts. You file a petition in the county where you live or where the conduct happened, a judge can issue a temporary order the same day based on your sworn statement, and a hearing is set within roughly three weeks. If the judge grants a longer order after that hearing, it can last up to five years and typically requires the restrained person to stay away from you, stop all contact, and surrender any firearms.
Which Order Fits Your Situation
California recognizes six categories, and picking the wrong one delays your case because each uses its own forms and legal standard.
A domestic violence restraining order is for people with a close relationship to the person they fear: current or former spouses, dating partners, cohabitants, co-parents, and close relatives. It’s governed by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act starting at Family Code section 6200.{1California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6203 (2025)}
A civil harassment restraining order applies when there is no domestic relationship, such as disputes with neighbors, roommates, acquaintances, or strangers. It falls under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6.{2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Injunction Prohibiting Harassment}
An elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order is available to adults 65 or older and to younger adults with certain disabilities. It covers physical abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and emotional abuse, and the abuser doesn’t need to be a family member.{3California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 15657.03}
A workplace violence restraining order is filed by an employer, not the employee, when a worker has faced violence or credible threats connected to the job. The governing statute is Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8.
An emergency protective order is one a police officer requests from an on-call judge during a response. It takes effect immediately but lasts only five to seven days, giving you time to file for a longer order in court.{4California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders}
A gun violence restraining order is narrower: it temporarily removes firearms and ammunition from someone who poses a danger, without the broader stay-away terms. Family members, roommates, dating partners, co-parents, employers, certain coworkers and school employees, and law enforcement can petition.{5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 18150}
What You Have to Prove
Under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, “abuse” is broader than most people expect. It covers intentionally or recklessly causing bodily injury, attempting to cause injury, sexual assault, and placing someone in reasonable fear of imminent serious harm. It also covers any behavior that can be enjoined under Family Code section 6320, which includes “disturbing the peace” of the other person.{1California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6203 (2025)}
That last category is where coercive control fits. California defines coercive control as a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with someone’s free will and personal liberty, and the statute lists examples: isolating a person from friends and family, depriving them of basic necessities, monitoring or controlling their movements and finances, using immigration status as a threat, and reproductive coercion.{6California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6320} You do not need a physical injury to qualify.
Civil harassment cases use a different test. You must show unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful pattern of conduct directed at you that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses you, serves no legitimate purpose, would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, and actually caused that distress.{2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Injunction Prohibiting Harassment}
The evidence bar shifts between stages. For a temporary domestic violence order, the judge needs only “reasonable proof” of past abuse from your sworn declaration and can grant it without hearing from the other side.{7California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6300} At the hearing for a longer domestic violence order, the standard is preponderance of the evidence. Civil harassment cases require the higher clear and convincing evidence standard at the hearing.{2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Injunction Prohibiting Harassment}
Filing the Petition
California uses mandatory Judicial Council forms. Domestic violence petitions start with Form DV-100.{8Judicial Council of California. Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DV-100)} Civil harassment petitions use Form CH-100.{9Judicial Council of California. Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders (CH-100)} Both types also require the Confidential CLETS Information form (CLETS-001), which loads the restrained person’s identifying details into a statewide law enforcement database.{10Judicial Council of California. Confidential Information for Law Enforcement (CLETS-001)} Height, weight, and distinguishing features matter here, because that’s what an officer will use to verify the order in the field.
The narrative sections are the case. Describe recent incidents in chronological order with dates, locations, weapons, injuries, and witnesses. Use Form MC-025 for extra pages.{11California Courts. Attachment to Judicial Council Form (MC-025)} Everything is signed under penalty of perjury. You also need the respondent’s current home and work addresses so they can be served.
Domestic violence petitions have no filing fee.{12Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule} Civil harassment and workplace violence petitions carry a $435 fee, but it’s waived automatically when the petition alleges violence, stalking, or threats of violence.{13California Courts. File Your Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders} Outside those situations, you can apply for a fee waiver using Form FW-001. You qualify automatically if you receive Medi-Cal, CalWORKS, food assistance, SSI, or unemployment. Income-based waivers as of March 2026 apply when gross monthly household income is at or below $2,660 for one person, $3,607 for two, $4,553 for three, and $5,500 for four. Even above those numbers, a judge can waive the fee if your expenses leave you unable to pay.{14Judicial Council of California. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001)}
A judge reviews the TRO request the day you file or the next business day. If granted, it takes effect immediately and stays in place until the hearing, which is generally 21 to 25 days out.{2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Injunction Prohibiting Harassment}
Getting the Papers Served
The respondent has to be formally notified before the hearing can go forward. You cannot deliver the papers yourself. Service has to be done by someone at least 18 years old who isn’t involved in the case: a friend, a professional process server, or a sheriff or marshal.{15California Courts. Serving Court Papers}
The server fills out a Proof of Service form afterward. Domestic violence cases use DV-200,{16Judicial Council of California. Proof of Personal Service (DV-200)} civil harassment cases use CH-200.{17Judicial Council of California. Proof of Personal Service – Civil Harassment Prevention (CH-200)} File it with the clerk before the hearing. Without proof of service, the judge cannot issue a final order.
The Hearing
The hearing is before a judge, no jury. Both sides can speak, submit evidence, and call witnesses, and the petitioner usually goes first.{18California Courts. Prepare for Your Restraining Order Court Date}
Bring three copies of every document you want the judge to consider: one for the court, one for the other side, one for the file. Photos of injuries, screenshots of threatening messages, medical records, and police reports carry weight. Audio and video can be admitted, though the judge may require a written transcript.
The respondent can file a written response ahead of time, using Form CH-120 in civil harassment cases{19California Courts. Response to Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders (CH-120)} or DV-120 in domestic violence cases. A response isn’t required to show up and argue, but it lets the judge see the other side’s position in advance. If the respondent was properly served and doesn’t appear, the judge can issue the order anyway based on your evidence.
Most hearings end with a decision the same day: the order is granted, denied, or continued to another date for more information.
How Long the Order Lasts and How to Renew
A restraining order issued after a hearing can last up to five years, for both domestic violence and civil harassment cases.{20California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6345}{2California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 527.6 – Injunction Prohibiting Harassment} If the judge doesn’t write an expiration date on the order, it defaults to three years from issuance. Either party can ask the court to modify or terminate the order earlier.
You can file to renew during the last three months before expiration.{21California Courts. Ask to Renew a Civil Harassment Restraining Order} Civil harassment renewals use Forms CH-700 and CH-710, filed with a copy of your current order. The existing order stays in effect until the renewal hearing. Domestic violence orders can be renewed for another five years or, in some situations, made permanent, and you don’t have to show that new abuse occurred since the original order. The court looks at the totality of circumstances, including the original abuse and any ongoing fear.
If your order has already expired, you cannot renew it. You have to file a new petition from the beginning.
Firearm Surrender Requirements
Firearm restrictions are one of the most consequential parts of a California protective order and one that restrained people most often misjudge. When the court issues the order, it must direct the respondent to surrender all firearms and ammunition in their possession or control, and they cannot own, possess, purchase, or receive any firearms or ammunition for the entire duration of the order.{22California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6389 (2025)}
The timeline is short. If the officer serving the order requests surrender, it happens immediately on the spot. Otherwise, the respondent has 24 hours to turn the weapons over to local law enforcement or sell or transfer them to a licensed dealer. Within 48 hours of being served, the respondent has to file the receipt proving compliance both with the court and with the agency that served the order. Missing either deadline is itself a violation.
Law enforcement can charge a storage fee, but no more than the actual cost of receiving and holding the firearms. If a respondent invokes the Fifth Amendment in connection with surrendering firearms, the court can grant use immunity for the act of turning them in.
Penalties for Violating the Order
Knowingly and intentionally violating a California protective order is a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 273.6. A first violation carries up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.{23California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.6} Penalties climb from there:
- A violation causing physical injury brings a fine of up to $2,000, a mandatory minimum of 30 days in county jail (up to one year), or both. The judge can reduce the 30-day minimum if at least 48 hours are served and the record supports it.
- A subsequent violation involving violence within seven years can bring up to a year in county jail or a state prison sentence.
- A subsequent violation causing injury within one year of a prior conviction brings a fine of up to $2,000, a mandatory minimum of six months in jail (up to one year), or a state prison sentence.
If the order is violated, call 911. Because the order sits in the CLETS database, responding officers can verify it in real time without a paper copy.
Effect on Custody and Visitation
A domestic violence restraining order can reshape custody and visitation inside the same case, without a separate family law filing. The judge can set temporary custody terms as part of the order.
Where safety concerns exist, the court can require supervised visitation, meaning the restrained parent’s time with the child happens only while a neutral third party watches and listens.{24California Courts. Guide to Supervised Visitation} The provider stays present throughout, monitors the interaction, and can end a visit if concerns arise.
These custody terms last only as long as the restraining order. When the order expires or is terminated, custody reverts to whatever the family court establishes through the regular process.