Restraining Orders

Types of Restraining Orders in California

Which type applies depends on the relationship between the parties, and it determines the procedure, the standard of proof, and the consequences.

Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO)

Family Code § 6200 et seq. For current or former spouses, registered domestic partners, cohabitants, people in or formerly in a dating relationship, co-parents, and close relatives.

The standard is preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not. DVROs carry the broadest consequences, including custody, support, and move-out provisions.

Civil Harassment Restraining Order (CHRO)

Code of Civil Procedure § 527.6. For everyone else — neighbors, coworkers, roommates, acquaintances, distant relatives, strangers.

The standard is higher: clear and convincing evidence. That’s a meaningful difference, and it’s frequently the most important fact for a respondent facing a civil harassment petition.

Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order

Welfare & Institutions Code § 15657.03. Protecting a person 65 or older, or a dependent adult, from abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. → Elder Abuse

Workplace Violence Restraining Order

Code of Civil Procedure § 527.8. Filed by an employer on behalf of an employee. The employee is not the petitioner, which affects how these are defended.

Criminal Protective Order (CPO)

Penal Code § 136.2. Issued by a criminal court as a condition of a pending case or of probation. It’s separate from any civil order and typically lasts through the case. → Domestic Violence

Emergency Protective Order (EPO)

Issued at law enforcement request, often in the middle of the night, effective immediately and lasting only a few days — long enough to allow a longer order to be sought.

Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO)

Penal Code § 18100. Requires temporary surrender of firearms where a person is alleged to pose a danger. → Gun Charges

How the Process Works

1. The petition is filed. The petitioner submits a written request describing the conduct.

2. A temporary order may issue immediately. This is the part that surprises people: the temporary order is decided ex parte — on the petition alone, without the respondent being present or heard. A judge reviewing a written account can order someone out of their home that day.

3. The respondent is served. This is typically the first they know of it.

4. The hearing. Generally scheduled within about three weeks. This is the only opportunity to be heard, and it’s where the temporary order either expires or becomes a longer one.

5. The order issues — or doesn’t. Orders can run for years, and can be renewed.

The Hearing Is the Whole Case

There’s no second chance and no trial afterward. Whatever evidence exists — messages, photographs, witnesses, records, a coherent account — has to be assembled and presented at that hearing.

Many respondents appear without counsel, without documents, and without witnesses, and describe what happened conversationally. Many petitioners do the same. Both frequently lose cases they should have won.

What a Restraining Order Actually Does

For respondents, the consequences reach substantially further than “don’t contact this person.”

No contact. In person, by phone, text, email, social media, or through third parties. Third-party contact counts, which catches people out.

Stay-away distance. Typically specified in yards, covering home, work, school, and vehicle.

Move-out order. You can be ordered to leave a residence you own or rent, sometimes within hours.

Firearm surrender. Mandatory. Firearms must be surrendered or sold, and possession while the order is in effect is a crime — including under federal law.

Custody and visitation. Orders can set temporary custody and restrict or supervise visitation.

Support and fees. Final DVROs can address child and spousal support and attorney’s fees.

The Custody Consequence — Family Code § 3044

This is the stake most people don’t see coming.

A finding of domestic violence within the previous five years creates a rebuttable presumption against awarding custody to the restrained party. The presumption can be overcome, but the starting position is against you.

In a divorce or custody dispute, that presumption is frequently the actual objective of a restraining order petition — and the actual reason to contest one.

CLETS and Background Checks

Orders are entered into CLETS, California’s statewide law enforcement database. Any officer running your name sees it, and restraining orders can appear on background checks — affecting employment, professional licensing, housing applications, and immigration matters.

Violation Is a Crime

Violating a restraining order is chargeable under Penal Code § 273.6, and it’s prosecuted independently of the underlying matter.

The order restricts you, not the protected person. If they call, text, or show up, responding still violates the order. This is the single most common way respondents create criminal exposure for themselves — and it’s entirely avoidable.

If a Restraining Order Was Filed Against You

Follow It Exactly, Starting Now

Even if it’s unfounded. Even if the allegations are false. Even if they contact you first. A violation converts a civil dispute into a criminal case and destroys your credibility at the hearing.

What Can Be Contested

The conduct doesn’t meet the statutory definition. Not every unpleasant interaction is abuse or harassment. The statutes have specific requirements, and ordinary conflict — an argument, a disagreement, unwanted but lawful contact — often doesn’t satisfy them.

No reasonable fear. Civil harassment requires conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress. That’s an objective standard.

The higher standard wasn’t met. For civil harassment petitions, the petitioner must prove their case by clear and convincing evidence, not merely a preponderance.

The relationship doesn’t qualify. DVROs require a specific relationship. Where it doesn’t exist, the petition was filed under the wrong statute.

Self-defense or mutual conflict. Where both parties were involved, the question of who was the aggressor is genuinely contested rather than assumed.

Strategic filing. Restraining orders are filed during divorces, custody disputes, neighbor conflicts, and landlord-tenant disputes, where an order carries tactical advantage. Timing and context are legitimately relevant.

Insufficient evidence. The petition is a written account. At the hearing, it has to be supported.

If You Need a Restraining Order

Protection is available, and the process is designed to move quickly.

What helps: a clear written chronology, saved messages and voicemails, photographs, police report numbers, medical records, and witnesses who observed the conduct or its effects.

What to expect: a temporary order can issue quickly, and the hearing follows within roughly three weeks. The respondent will be present and may be represented.

What counsel does: prepares the petition so it satisfies the statute, assembles and organizes evidence, prepares you for questioning, and handles the hearing — including cross-examination, which is frequently the part unrepresented petitioners find hardest.

Orders can also be renewed before they expire, and modified when circumstances change.

Why a Former Prosecutor Matters

Restraining order hearings are short, evidence-driven, and decided by a judge who will hear the entire matter in a single sitting. What matters is whether the account is documented, coherent, and legally sufficient — not how strongly either person feels about it.

Polina Logrue handled domestic violence and protective order matters at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, including cases in the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit. She knows what these hearings look like from the inside, what judges in this county credit, and how a criminal protective order and a civil restraining order interact when both are in play.

She’s also worked on both sides of these cases — which is what this practice area requires.

Meet Polina →

Served With an Order? Do This Now

1. Read the entire order, including the stay-away distance and any move-out provision.
2. Note your hearing date. It’s usually within about three weeks and it’s the only hearing you get.
3. Follow the order exactly, starting immediately.
4. Do not contact the protected person — not to apologize, not to explain, not to ask them to drop it. Not through friends or family either.
5. Surrender firearms as directed. This is mandatory and non-compliance is a separate offense.
6. Preserve everything — messages, call logs, photos, location data. Do not delete anything.
7. Identify witnesses who observed the relevant events.
8. Call before the hearing, not after.

Call (949) 758-4469 · Free Consultation

Related Matters

• Domestic Violence — criminal charges and criminal protective orders
• Assault & Battery — frequently charged alongside
• Gun Charges — surrender requirements and GVROs
• Elder Abuse — elder abuse restraining orders
• Probation Violation — where an order is a probation condition
• Expungements — clearing a related conviction