How do you get a domestic violence restraining order in Orange County?

In Orange County, you ask for a domestic violence restraining order at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange, on form DV-100 with forms DV-109, DV-110 and the court's local forms, and there is no filing fee (Family Code § 6222). A judge decides on a temporary order the same day, or the next court day if you file too late to review (§ 6326). After a hearing, the judge can make an order lasting up to five years, and it can be renewed (§ 6345(a)).

A domestic violence restraining order, known as a DVRO, is a civil order made by the family court under the Family Code. It is separate from any criminal case: you ask for it yourself, in family court, and it can include orders about the home, the children, support and firearms. The criminal side of domestic violence, including arrest and charges, is covered on the page about what a domestic violence charge means for your case, your home and your children.

If you are in danger right now, call 911. When police believe there is a danger of domestic violence, an officer can contact a judge for an emergency protective order, which the Orange County court says lasts only a few days; to stay protected, you must come to court and ask for a restraining order before it expires.

Who can ask for one

The Orange County court explains that you may apply if you have suffered physical violence, stalking, sexual assault, a serious threat of violence, harassing calls or destruction of property, and you have one of these relationships with the other person: married or formerly married, a current or former dating relationship, a child together, related by blood, marriage or adoption (including in-laws), or living together now or in the past as members of a household. Without one of those relationships, a civil harassment restraining order is the different route the court points to.

Abuse does not have to be physical. The court may restrain conduct that disturbs the peace of the other party, which the statute defines as conduct that destroys the person's mental or emotional calm, including coercive control (Fam. Code § 6320(c)). The examples written into the law include isolating someone from friends and family, depriving them of basic necessities, controlling or monitoring their movements, communications or finances, and compelling them by threats, including threats based on actual or suspected immigration status (§ 6320(c)(1) to (4)). The office does not give immigration advice; the point here is only what the restraining order statute covers.

You do not need to live in California to file (§ 6301(a)), you do not lose the right to ask because you left home to avoid abuse, and you do not need to have filed for divorce (§ 6301(c)). The time since the most recent abuse is not, by itself, decisive; the court considers the totality of the circumstances (§ 6301(d)).

How to get a DVRO in Orange County, step by step

1. Fill out the forms. The Orange County court lists the Request (DV-100), the Temporary Restraining Order (DV-110), a confidential CLETS information form (the court's page names DV-260; the state self-help guide now names CLETS-001), and two local forms, the Declaration of Related Cases (L-1120) and the Declaration Re: Notice of Ex Parte Application (L-1124). The state guide adds the Notice of Court Hearing (DV-109). For custody and visitation orders, add DV-105 and DV-140; to ask for child or spousal support, add an Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150).
2. Write the facts carefully. The state self-help guide says the judge decides whether to grant the order based on what you write in the abuse section of DV-100. It suggests writing the most recent abuse first, then other incidents including the worst, with facts and estimated dates, and attaching proof such as texts or emails.
3. Get help if you want it. The court says that for help through the process you should be at the family law court before 8:30 a.m. and go to the Domestic Violence Assistance Program office, 7th floor, room 705, at the Lamoreaux Justice Center. The building, parking and security are described on the page about what to expect at the Lamoreaux Justice Center. The Self-Help Center also reviews completed papers.
4. Give notice, or explain why not. The Orange County court asks you to give the other person at least four hours' notice that you will request a restraining order. If you do not, you must explain why in your written declaration, and the judge decides whether the hearing must be moved to allow notice. By statute, a request cannot be denied solely because the other party was not given notice (§ 6326).
5. File the papers. If a divorce, legal separation or parentage case is already on file in Orange County, the court says to file your request in that case instead of opening a new one. There is no fee (§ 6222). The court says you will get your order the same day if your papers are completed correctly and submitted to the clerk's office before 2:00 p.m.
6. Read what the judge signed. If the judge signs DV-110, you have a temporary restraining order that lasts until the hearing date on DV-109. If the judge denies it, you still have a hearing, and the judge can still grant an order then.
7. Have the other person served. The sheriff in the county where the restrained person lives or works will serve the papers at no cost, or any adult over 18 who is not protected by the order can serve and complete the Proof of Service (DV-200). The state guide explains that once served, the restrained person can be arrested for violating the order.
8. Go to the hearing. The judge decides whether to issue an order after hearing. If you could not serve the papers in time, the Orange County court says to come to the hearing anyway and tell the clerk or judge; you will get a new date and a Reissue Temporary Restraining Order (DV-125) to serve.

What the order can include

The court can order the restrained person not to molest, attack, threaten, stalk, harass, contact or come within a set distance of you, and on good cause, of other family or household members (§ 6320(a)). It can give you care of a pet (§ 6320(b)). It can order the restrained person out of a shared home, regardless of whose name is on the title or lease, if the legal showing in § 6321 is made. If you have children together, it can make temporary custody and visitation orders (§ 6323), and after a hearing it can order child or spousal support, decided under the rules explained on the page about how child and spousal support are decided; any custody, visitation or support order made in the case survives the end of the protective order (§ 6340(a)(1)).

Every protective order carries a firearms ban: the restrained person may not own, possess, purchase or receive a firearm or ammunition while it is in effect (§ 6389(a)). After service, the firearms must be surrendered immediately if an officer asks, or otherwise within 24 hours to law enforcement or a licensed gun dealer, and the receipt must be filed with the court within 48 hours after service (§ 6389(c)).

What changes the answer?

• Children. A finding that a parent perpetrated domestic violence within five years creates a rebuttable presumption against giving that parent sole or joint custody (Fam. Code § 3044(a)). Custody disputes in these cases still go to Family Court Services under a separate protocol; the page on custody mediation in Orange County explains the right to meet the mediator separately.
• Fear of a child being taken abroad. The state self-help guide lists an optional Request for Orders to Prevent Child Abduction (DV-108), filed with DV-100, for a parent who believes the other may take the child without permission. For families with ties to Iran, this is one place to raise travel concerns; the page on how California courts decide custody and visitation covers the wider rules.
• A criminal case. A criminal court can issue its own protective order. The state guide notes that if a criminal case is dismissed, its protective order ends, and that a criminal order may not include custody orders, which is why some people ask for both. See what a criminal protective order means for your home and children.
• Mutual orders. The court cannot restrain both parties unless both appear, each files a written application on the Judicial Council form, and the court finds both acted as primary aggressors and neither acted primarily in self-defense (§ 6305(a)).
• A respondent who evades service. If diligent efforts fail and there is reason to believe the restrained party is evading service, the court may allow another method of service (§ 6340(a)(2)).
• A denial. If the court denies the request, it must give a brief statement of its reasons in writing or on the record; a decision stating only "denied" is insufficient (§ 6340(b)).

A worked example

For example, imagine Nazanin, a hypothetical Persian-speaking woman in Lake Forest with a four-year-old daughter. Her husband keeps her passport, controls every bank card, checks her phone, and has told her that if she leaves he will make sure her residency papers are cancelled and take their daughter to his family in Iran. He has never hit her.

Nazanin does not need a bruise to ask for protection. His conduct falls within the examples of coercive control written into § 6320(c), including monitoring her communications, controlling her finances and threats based on immigration status. She arrives at Lamoreaux before 8:30 a.m., goes to the Domestic Violence Assistance Program on the 7th floor, and prepares DV-100, DV-109 and DV-110, with DV-105 and DV-140 for custody, DV-108 to ask for orders to prevent child abduction, the CLETS form and the two local forms. She describes the most recent incident first, attaches screenshots of his messages, and asks for a Persian interpreter for the hearing.

She files before 2:00 p.m. The judge reviews it that afternoon and can sign a temporary order, including temporary custody and a stay-away order. The Orange County Sheriff serves her husband at his work. At the hearing, the judge hears both sides and decides whether to issue an order after hearing for up to five years and what custody and travel orders to make. Readers who want to know who the attorney is can read about Sourena Sarbazevatan. Whether she later files for divorce is a separate decision, covered on the page about filing for divorce in Orange County.

Common mistakes

• Relying on an emergency protective order. It lasts only a few days; you must ask the court for a restraining order before it expires.
• Writing too little in DV-100. The judge decides on what you write, so give facts, dates or estimates, and proof.
• Opening a new case when a family case exists. In Orange County, a request goes in the existing divorce, separation or parentage case.
• Not serving the papers. Without service, the judge can only grant a temporary order, which lasts until the hearing.
• Agreeing privately to drop the order. Only a judge can change or cancel a restraining order before it expires.
• For the restrained person, ignoring the firearms order. Failure to file the receipt on time is itself a violation of the order (§ 6389(c)).

What to do this week

1. If you are in danger, call 911 and make a safety plan; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
2. Write down each incident, most recent first, with dates or estimates, and save texts, emails, photos and voicemails.
3. Collect the other person's work and home addresses for service, and a description of any firearms you know of.
4. If you have children, write down the schedule you want and any travel risk, including passports and plans to travel to Iran.
5. Go to the Domestic Violence Assistance Program at Lamoreaux before 8:30 a.m., or have your papers reviewed at the Self-Help Center.
6. Ask for a Persian interpreter; the court provides interpreters free of charge in domestic violence cases.
7. Talk with an attorney about the hearing; book a meeting through the contact page.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a domestic violence restraining order cost in Orange County?

Nothing to file. Family Code § 6222 says there is no filing fee for the request or related filings, and the sheriff serves the papers at no cost.

How fast can I get a temporary order?

By statute, the court must issue or deny it the same day the application is submitted, or the next court day if it was filed too late in the day to review (§ 6326). The Orange County court says you will get it the same day if your papers are complete and submitted before 2:00 p.m.

How long does the order last?

An order after hearing can last up to five years, and if the form states no expiration date, it lasts three years (§ 6345(a), (c)). It can be renewed for five or more years, or permanently, without proof of further abuse, if you ask within the three months before it expires.

Can a restraining order make my spouse leave our home?

Yes, if the court makes the findings in § 6321, including that the person to be excluded assaulted or threatens to assault you or your children and that physical or emotional harm would otherwise result. It does not matter whose name is on the title or lease.

Can it include custody of our children?

Yes. The court can make temporary custody and visitation orders (§ 6323), and after the hearing, custody, visitation and support orders that survive the end of the restraining order (§ 6340(a)(1)).

I was served with a request. What should I do?

Read DV-109 for your court date and DV-110 for any temporary orders, and follow every order. You can file a written Response (DV-120) and should go to the hearing if you disagree; if you do not, the judge can grant an order for up to five years. If firearms are covered, comply within the time in § 6389(c).

Can we cancel the order if we reconcile?

Only a judge can change or cancel a restraining order before its expiration. A request to change or end it must be filed for the judge to review.

The Law Office of Sourena Sarbazevatan represents people in Orange County and San Diego in domestic violence and restraining order matters, in English and Persian (Farsi). Call (949) 591-9596 or use the contact page.