To file a Request for Order in California family court, you complete Judicial Council Form FL-300, add any required attachments (an Income and Expense Declaration if money is involved, a custody attachment if parenting time is at issue), file the packet with the court clerk and pay the $60 fee, then have an adult who is not a party to the case serve the other side at least 16 court days before the hearing the clerk assigns you.1California Courts. Request for Order FL-300 The rest is detail, but the detail matters: miss a service deadline or leave a financial form half-finished and the hearing can be delayed or your request weakened.
You can file an RFO whether your family law case is still pending or has already closed, and either party can bring one. You don’t have to be the person who opened the case.
Forms You Need to Complete
Form FL-300 is the core document. You fill in identifying information for both parties, check boxes for the types of relief you want (custody, support, attorney fees, property control, and so on), and write a declaration explaining the facts behind the request.1California Courts. Request for Order FL-300 The declaration carries the weight. Judges rely on what you write there, so stick to specifics: dates, events, dollar amounts, who did what. Calling the other party “unfair” or “uncooperative” without facts behind it doesn’t move a judge.
If any part of your request involves money (child support, spousal support, attorney fees, or anything with a dollar figure), you also file Form FL-150, the Income and Expense Declaration. It asks for your average monthly income, payroll deductions, and a line-by-line breakdown of household expenses. You must attach pay stubs from the last two months, and you’re expected to bring your most recent federal tax return to the hearing.2Judicial Council of California. Income and Expense Declaration Blank sections and missing pay stubs are a common reason requests get delayed or discounted.
If custody or visitation is part of your request, attach Form FL-311, the Child Custody and Visitation Application Attachment. That form is where you lay out the exact schedule you want: which days with which parent, holiday arrangements, exchange locations, and so on.3California Courts. Ask for or Change a Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Order Combining a custody request with a child support request on the same RFO lets the judge address both at once and saves you a separate filing fee.
Filing With the Court and the Fee
The filing fee for an RFO is $60.4Judicial Branch of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule If you can’t afford it, you can submit Form FW-001, a Request to Waive Court Fees. Waivers are available to people on public benefits, people with low income, and people who can’t cover both basic household needs and court costs.5California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees FW-001
Take your filled-out FL-300, your supporting attachments (FL-150, FL-311, or others as needed), and the fee or fee-waiver request to the clerk’s office at the courthouse handling your case. The clerk reviews the packet, stamps it filed, and assigns you a hearing date and time written on the face of the form. That stamped copy is what you’ll serve on the other party.
Serving the Other Party
Filing is only half the job. The other party has to receive copies of everything you filed, and the deadlines are strict.
For personal service (someone physically hands the papers to the other party), delivery must happen at least 16 court days before the hearing. For service by mail, it’s 16 court days plus 5 extra calendar days. If the other party lives in another state, add 10 calendar days instead of 5. If they live outside the country, add 20.6California Courts. Serve Your Request for Order Court days skip weekends and court holidays, so count carefully.
You cannot serve the papers yourself. The server must be at least 18 and not a party to the case: a friend, a relative, or a professional process server. Process servers typically charge somewhere between $20 and $200, depending on where you are and how many attempts they need to make.
Once the papers are delivered, the server fills out and signs a Proof of Service. Use Form FL-330 for personal service or Form FL-335 for service by mail.7Judicial Council of California. Proof of Personal Service File the signed Proof of Service with the court. Without it, the judge has no way to confirm the other side was notified, and the hearing may not go forward.
If the Issue Is a Genuine Emergency
A standard RFO takes weeks to reach a hearing. If you need faster relief, you can request a temporary ex parte order that takes effect before the other side responds. To qualify, you have to show immediate danger of one of three things: irreparable harm to you or your child, a real risk that the child will be removed from California, or the loss or damage of property.8California Courts. Ask for an Emergency (Ex Parte) Order
For child-related emergencies, courts look for recent acts of abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, or a documented pattern of ongoing abuse. Your filing must include specific facts based on what you personally saw, heard, or experienced; opinions and conclusions aren’t enough. You also have to explain why the normal timeline won’t work and what harm will happen if the court doesn’t act now. If you’ve asked for the same order before, you must disclose that and say whether it was granted.8California Courts. Ask for an Emergency (Ex Parte) Order
An ex parte order is temporary. The court schedules a full RFO hearing, usually within a few weeks, where both parties present evidence. The emergency order holds only until that hearing. Local courts sometimes layer on their own ex parte procedures, so check with your court’s family law facilitator before filing.
Mandatory Mediation if Custody Is Contested
If your RFO asks the court to decide a contested custody or visitation issue, you won’t go straight to a hearing. California law sends those disputes to mediation first.9California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3170 The court’s Family Court Services program runs the sessions, and both parents must attend.
If you reach an agreement, the mediator writes it up and it becomes part of the order. If you don’t, the case moves on to the hearing. Some counties let the mediator make a recommendation to the judge; others keep the mediation confidential. The rules vary locally, so ask your court’s self-help center which model applies in your county. Domestic violence cases follow a separate protocol with added safety measures, and the court can waive mediation entirely in certain situations, including abuse cases or where private mediation has already been attempted.
At the Hearing
At the hearing, the judge reviews the written declarations and financial documents from both sides. Most hearings run between 15 minutes and an hour, depending on complexity. Both parties get to speak, and the judge often asks pointed questions to fill in gaps.
Something many people don’t realize: California law gives both parties the right to present live testimony at an RFO hearing, not just read from their declarations. The court must allow relevant, competent live testimony unless both sides agree to skip it or the judge finds good cause to exclude it and states the reasons on the record.10California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 217 If you plan to call witnesses other than yourself, file and serve a witness list before the hearing describing what each witness will cover. Show up without a list and the judge may require you to make an offer of proof before letting any witness testify.11Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 5.113 – Live Testimony
In custody cases, the judge may also consider the mediator’s recommendation where the county uses that model. Either side can ask for a continuance if more time is needed, but granting one is up to the judge. When a continuance is granted, the court usually puts temporary orders in place until the new date.
After the Ruling
At the end of the hearing, the judge issues a ruling that becomes a binding court order. The decision is written up on Form FL-340, Findings and Order After Hearing, which is the official record of what the court decided.12California Courts. Findings and Order After Hearing FL-340 Once the judge signs it and it’s filed, the order carries the full force of law. Violating it can trigger contempt proceedings, fines, or jail time.
The order stays in effect until a later court order changes it. If your circumstances shift, you can file a new RFO to modify the terms, but you’ll have to show something meaningful has changed since the last ruling. A job loss, a relocation, a child’s changing needs, or evidence the other parent isn’t following the current order are the kinds of changes that justify going back to court. Being unhappy with the last outcome, on its own, isn’t.