Types of Restraining Orders in California

By Matthew Barhoma, Esq. — California State Bar No. 319339 | Last updated: November 2026

California has ten types of restraining and protective orders. Seven are civil orders that a person, employer, school, or business asks a court to issue: the domestic violence restraining order (Family Code section 6200 et seq.), the civil harassment restraining order (Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6), the elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order (Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03), the workplace violence restraining order (Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8), the gun violence restraining order (Penal Code section 18100 et seq.), the school violence restraining order (Code of Civil Procedure section 527.85), and the retail crime restraining order (Penal Code section 490.8). Three arise in other ways: the emergency protective order, which police obtain from an on-call judge and which lasts up to seven days; the criminal protective order, which a criminal court issues in a pending case; and the juvenile court restraining order, issued in dependency and delinquency cases. Which type applies is decided mainly by the relationship between the two people, and the type determines the burden of proof, the relief available, and how long the order can last, from seven days to fifteen years. Each civil order also comes in two stages: a temporary restraining order issued on the papers, and an order after hearing. The Restraining Order Law Firm handles every type, for respondents and petitioners, across Southern California. Call (888) 808-2179 for a confidential consultation.

Every California restraining order compared

Violating any of these orders is a crime, and nearly all of them prohibit the restrained person from having firearms. The California courts publish their own summary of the civil types at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov.

How to tell which order applies

Start with the relationship, then the conduct, then who is asking.

1. Is a criminal case pending? If charges have been filed, the criminal court has probably already issued a criminal protective order. A civil order can be added.
2. Are the two people spouses, former spouses, dating or former dating partners, cohabitants, co-parents, or relatives within the second degree? If yes, the case is a domestic violence restraining order.
3. Is the person who needs protection 65 or older, or a dependent adult? If yes, an elder or dependent adult abuse order is available, and it covers financial abuse and neglect that other orders do not.
4. Did the conduct happen at work, and is the employer the one asking? If yes, the employer can seek a workplace violence order. An employee acting on their own files a civil harassment request.
5. Is the only goal to remove firearms from a dangerous person? That is a gun violence restraining order.
6. None of the above? The case is a civil harassment restraining order.

More than one type can apply. An adult child who abuses a 70-year-old parent can be restrained under the domestic violence statute or the elder abuse statute. An employee threatened by a coworker can be protected by the employer’s workplace order and by the employee’s own civil harassment order. Choosing between them is a strategic decision, because the burden of proof and the remedies differ. Our comparison of DVRO vs. civil harassment orders covers the most common fork.

Domestic violence restraining order (DVRO)

A domestic violence restraining order protects a person from abuse by someone with whom they have a close relationship. It is the most heavily used restraining order in California, with 77,444 requests filed in the superior courts in fiscal year 2024–25 according to the Judicial Council’s 2026 Court Statistics Report, and it is the one with the widest remedies.

• Relationship required: spouse or former spouse, cohabitant or former cohabitant, dating or former dating partner, the other parent of a child, or a relative by blood or marriage within the second degree (Family Code § 6211).
• What must be proved: “abuse” under Family Code § 6203: bodily injury or an attempt, sexual assault, reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury, or conduct listed in Family Code § 6320 such as harassment, stalking, threats, and disturbing the peace, including coercive control. Physical violence is not required.
• Burden of proof: preponderance of the evidence.
• Forms: DV-100 (request), DV-110 (temporary order), DV-120 (response), DV-130 (order after hearing).
• What it can order: no contact, stay away, move out, custody and visitation, child and spousal support, property control, pet protection, a batterer intervention program, and firearm relinquishment.
• Length: up to five years, renewable for five years or permanently without proof of new abuse (Fam. Code § 6345).
• Filing fee: none (Fam. Code § 6222).
• Unique consequence: a finding of domestic violence triggers a presumption against awarding custody to the restrained parent (Fam. Code § 3044).

Read more: domestic violence restraining orders, who qualifies, and what counts as abuse.

Civil harassment restraining order (CHRO)

A civil harassment restraining order protects a person from harassment by someone they do not have a close family or intimate relationship with. It is the order for neighbor disputes, former friends, roommates, coworkers, online harassers, and strangers.

• Relationship required: none. It is the default when no domestic relationship exists.
• What must be proved: “harassment,” which means unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses, serves no legitimate purpose, and would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress (Code Civ. Proc. § 527.6(b)(3)).
• Burden of proof: clear and convincing evidence (§ 527.6(i)).
• Forms: CH-100, CH-110, CH-120, CH-130.
• What it can order: no harassment, no contact, stay away, and protection of family members and pets. It cannot order custody, support, or a move-out.
• Length: up to five years, renewable for up to five more (§ 527.6(j)).
• Filing fee: none if the petition alleges violence, a threat of violence, or stalking; otherwise the civil filing fee, with fee waivers available.
• Unique feature: the court may award attorney’s fees to whichever side wins, including a respondent who defeats the petition (§ 527.6(s)).

Read more: civil harassment restraining orders, what counts as harassment, and our statute page on CCP § 527.6.

Elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order (EARO)

An elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order protects a person 65 or older, or an adult 18 to 64 whose physical or mental limitations restrict their ability to carry out normal activities or protect their rights. No particular relationship to the abuser is required.

• What must be proved: abuse of an elder or dependent adult, which includes physical abuse, neglect, abandonment, isolation, abduction, financial abuse, and deprivation by a caregiver of goods or services needed to avoid harm (Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 15610.07, 15657.03).
• Who may file: the elder or dependent adult, or on their behalf a conservator, trustee, attorney-in-fact, guardian ad litem, or other legally authorized person; in some cases a county adult protective services agency.
• Burden of proof: preponderance of the evidence (Bookout v. Nielsen (2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 1131; Gdowski v. Gdowski (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 128).
• Forms: EA-100, EA-110, EA-120, EA-130.
• What it can order: no abuse, no contact, stay away, move out of the elder’s home, and orders addressing financial abuse and isolation. Since 2023, a person with a preexisting relationship to the elder can also ask for an order stopping someone from isolating the elder and blocking visits.
• Length: up to five years, renewable for five years or permanently.
• Filing fee: none.
• Unique features: it reaches purely financial abuse, such as taking or misusing an elder’s money or property. An order based solely on financial abuse or isolation, with no force, threats, or harassment, does not carry the firearm prohibition (Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.03(u)(4)).

Read more: elder abuse restraining orders.

Workplace violence restraining order (WVRO)

A workplace violence restraining order protects employees. It is requested by the employer, not the employee, and it can protect several employees and worksites in one order.

• Who may file: an employer, or a collective bargaining representative of the employees, on behalf of an employee who has suffered unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or harassment that can reasonably be construed to be carried out at the workplace (Code Civ. Proc. § 527.8).
• Burden of proof: clear and convincing evidence (§ 527.8(k)).
• Forms: WV-100, WV-110, WV-120, WV-130.
• Length: up to three years, renewable for up to three more (§ 527.8(l)).
• The employee’s role: the employee cannot file under this statute, and may decline to be named in the order.
• Limit: the order may not prohibit speech or activity protected by the Constitution or by labor law.
• Common respondents: former employees, customers and patients, an employee’s former partner, and members of the public who target a business or agency.

Read more: workplace violence restraining orders.

Gun violence restraining order (GVRO)

A gun violence restraining order does one thing: it prohibits a person from owning, buying, possessing, or receiving firearms, ammunition, and magazines. It does not restrict contact with anyone.

• Who may file: a law enforcement officer; an immediate family member; an employer; a coworker with at least a year of regular interaction and the employer’s approval; a school employee or teacher with an administrator’s approval; a roommate; a person in a dating relationship with the subject; or a person who has a child with the subject (Penal Code § 18150).
• What must be proved: that the person poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to themselves or another by having a firearm, and that the order is necessary because less restrictive alternatives are inadequate or inappropriate (Penal Code § 18175).
• Burden of proof at the hearing: clear and convincing evidence.
• Forms: GV-100, GV-110, GV-120, GV-130. A law enforcement officer can also obtain a temporary emergency order, which lasts 21 days (Penal Code § 18125).
• Length: one to five years, renewable. The restrained person may ask the court to end it early once a year (Penal Code § 18185).
• Filing fee: none.
• Violation: a misdemeanor, plus a further five-year firearm ban (Penal Code § 18205).

Read more: gun violence restraining orders.

School violence restraining order

A school violence restraining order protects an adult student of a college, university, or vocational school. Like the workplace order, it is filed by the institution: the school’s chief administrative officer, or an officer or employee designated to maintain order on campus, may petition with the student’s written consent when the student has suffered unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence (Code Civ. Proc. § 527.85). The burden is clear and convincing evidence, and the order lasts up to three years. Until 2026 the statute applied only to private schools and to threats made off campus; the version operative January 1, 2026 removed both limits. It does not cover elementary or high school students, and a student acting on their own uses the civil harassment or domestic violence statutes. Read more: school violence restraining orders.

Emergency protective order (EPO)

An emergency protective order is issued at the scene, without a filing or a hearing. A police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe a person is in immediate and present danger of domestic violence, or that a child or elder is in immediate danger of abuse or abduction, calls an on-call judge, who can issue the order by phone at any hour (Fam. Code § 6250). A similar order is available for stalking (Penal Code § 646.91).

An EPO cannot be based on financial abuse alone. It takes effect immediately, can remove a person from a home and award temporary custody, and expires at the close of the fifth court day or the seventh calendar day after it issues, whichever is earlier. Its purpose is to give the protected person time to file for a restraining order. Read more: emergency protective orders.

Criminal protective order (CPO)

A criminal protective order is issued by a criminal court in a pending criminal case, usually at arraignment and on the prosecutor’s request. The court needs only a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation of, a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely (Penal Code § 136.2).

The protected person does not file for it and cannot drop it. It lasts while the case is pending. After a conviction for domestic violence and certain other offenses, the court can issue a post-conviction order for up to 10 years, or up to 15 years after a conviction for corporal injury under Penal Code § 273.5. In a domestic violence case, a criminal protective order takes precedence over a conflicting civil order. Read more: criminal protective orders and restraining order vs. protective order.

Juvenile court restraining order

When a child is the subject of a dependency or delinquency case, the juvenile court can issue its own restraining orders to protect the child, a parent or caregiver, a social worker, or other people connected to the case (Welf. & Inst. Code § 213.5). These orders last up to three years and are requested within the juvenile case, on Judicial Council Forms JV-245, JV-250, and JV-255, rather than through a separate petition. A violation is a misdemeanor under Penal Code § 273.65. Read more: juvenile restraining orders.

Retail crime restraining order

A retail crime restraining order bars a person from entering a store, and sometimes other locations of the same chain, for up to two years. It was created in 2025 (Penal Code § 490.8). A criminal court must consider one when sentencing a person for shoplifting, retail theft, vandalism of a store, or assaulting a store employee. A prosecutor, city attorney, county counsel, or the store’s own attorney can also petition for one against a person arrested two or more times for those offenses at the same store, and must prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence. The court must consider whether the store is the person’s only nearby source of food or medicine. It is the only order on this page that protects a business rather than a person.

Temporary and “permanent” orders: the two stages of every civil case

“Temporary restraining order” and “permanent restraining order” are stages, not separate types. Every civil restraining order can exist in both.

A temporary order is not a finding that the allegations are true. It is issued on one side’s account. The hearing is where the petitioner must prove the case and where the respondent can defeat it. An order after hearing is called “permanent” only to distinguish it from the temporary order; it has an expiration date. See temporary restraining orders, permanent restraining orders, and the restraining order hearing.

What every restraining order has in common

Whatever the type, these rules apply to every order on this page.

• Firearms. Under every order that protects a person, the restrained person may not own, possess, buy, or receive firearms or ammunition while the order is in effect, and must turn in or sell any firearms within 24 hours of being served and file a receipt with the court within 48 hours. Possession is a separate crime under Penal Code § 29825. The one exception is an elder abuse order based only on financial abuse or isolation.
• Statewide enforcement. Orders are entered in the California Restraining and Protective Order System, which police access through CLETS. An officer anywhere in California can confirm the order and arrest for a violation.
• Criminal penalties. A willful, knowing violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, with higher penalties for injury and for repeat violations (Penal Code §§ 273.6, 166, 18205). See violating a California restraining order.
• The protected person cannot waive it. Only the court can change or end an order. Contact at the protected person’s invitation is still a violation.
• Background checks. Orders after hearing are court records and appear in law enforcement databases; they can affect employment, professional licenses, security clearances, and immigration applications.

If you have been served: what the type of order tells you

For a person on the receiving end, the type of order is the first piece of the defense, because it fixes what the other side must prove and how strongly.

• Check the form number. DV-109 and DV-110 mean a domestic violence case; CH-109 and CH-110 mean civil harassment; EA, WV, and GV mean elder abuse, workplace violence, and gun violence. CR-160 means a criminal protective order.
• Check the relationship. A domestic violence request against someone who is not a spouse, partner, cohabitant, co-parent, or close relative is filed under the wrong statute.
• Know the burden. Civil harassment, workplace violence, school violence, and gun violence orders require clear and convincing evidence. Many are denied because the petitioner’s evidence, though sincere, does not reach that level.
• Know the hearing date. It is printed on the notice of hearing, generally 21 days or less from the temporary order. A respondent is entitled to one continuance.
• Obey the temporary order. A violation is a crime and is also evidence the judge can use to grant the long-term order.

Our respondent’s guide covers the first 72 hours, the written response, and the defenses for each order type.

If you need protection: choosing the right order

For a person seeking protection, the right order is the one whose elements the evidence can meet and whose remedies match the problem.

• If a domestic relationship exists, file under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act. The burden is lower, there is no fee, and custody, support, and move-out orders are available.
• If the abuser is taking an elder’s money or isolating them, the elder abuse statute reaches conduct the others do not.
• If the threat is at work, ask the employer to file; a workplace order protects coworkers too.
• If the only concern is access to guns, a gun violence restraining order is faster and narrower.
• If a criminal case is pending, do not rely on the criminal protective order alone. It ends when the case ends.

Our petitioner’s guide walks through filing step by step.

How the Restraining Order Law Firm handles every type

The firm’s practice is limited to California restraining and protective orders, on both sides. Its results include domestic violence and civil harassment requests denied after trial at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, Stanley Mosk, Long Beach, Palm Springs, and Corona courthouses; dismissals negotiated at Stanley Mosk, Santa Monica, the Central Justice Center, Moreno Valley, and Whittier; an existing domestic violence order set aside by motion at the Metropolitan Courthouse; and, for petitioners, domestic violence orders granted after trial in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties, an elder abuse order granted after trial in Los Angeles County, and a civil harassment order renewed in Los Angeles County. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

The firm appears in every courthouse in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura Counties, from offices at 835 Wilshire Blvd., Floor 5, Los Angeles 90017 and 695 Town Center Dr., #1200, Costa Mesa 92626.

Frequently asked questions

Consult With a Restraining Order Lawyer Today

The type of order decides what has to be proved, how strongly, and what happens if it is granted. If you have been served with any of these orders, or need to know which one fits your situation, call (888) 808-2179 or request a confidential consultation with the Restraining Order Law Firm. We will identify the statute that applies, tell you what the court will require, and explain what we would do next. If the situation is urgent, our 24/7 emergency help line is available now.

The Restraining Order Law Firm is a d/b/a of Barhoma Law, P.C. This page is attorney advertising and general information about California law, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Statutes, forms, and deadlines change — verify all references with counsel before relying on them. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.