Types of Restraining Orders in California: A Practical Guide

Quick answer: California has several restraining and protective-order categories, each with a different purpose and requestor rules. The main court guides cover domestic violence, civil harassment, elder or dependent adult abuse, workplace violence, postsecondary school violence, gun violence and retail crime. Police-requested emergency orders and orders issued in criminal cases are separate routes. Temporary and after-hearing describe stages of an order. To understand a particular restriction, identify the legal category, the court's actual decision, its checked terms and attachments, and the applicable notice and expiration information.

Updated September 2026. Checked September 30, 2026 against current California Judicial Branch guidance, operative statutes and the relevant current blank court forms. This guide compares the principal order types and helps readers navigate their paperwork and official resources. It provides general information, not a filing choice, legal opinion or prediction for an individual case.

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. A court-information article does not replace an emergency response.

California Restraining Orders at a Glance

The Judicial Branch's order index and type comparison are useful starting points. The table below explains the principal routes; the detailed sections retain the statutory qualifications that a short label can leave out.

In this guide: Reading the category | Domestic violence | Civil harassment | Elder abuse | Workplace | School | Gun violence | Retail crime | Emergency | Criminal | Temporary and after-hearing | Terms and notice | Multiple orders | Bail | Questions for counsel | How Bail Hotline can help | FAQs.

Start With the Type, Stage and Actual Order

A restraining order is a court decision that sets restrictions or requirements. People also use protective order, no-contact order and stay-away order in conversation. Those phrases may describe a provision without identifying the whole legal proceeding.

Three clues make the paperwork easier to understand:

1. The category and authority. Look for the case caption, form number and cited law. They help identify who requested protection and what the court may decide.
2. The stage. A petition asks for relief, a notice announces a hearing, a temporary order grants specified relief before the later decision, and an after-hearing order records the court's decision at that stage.
3. The operative terms. Read the signed document, checked provisions, named people and places, attachments, exceptions and expiration information together.

The person seeking protection is often called the petitioner. The person against whom relief is sought is often the respondent; a granted order may call them the restrained person. In a criminal case, the paperwork uses the criminal case's parties and defendant terminology. Preserve those distinctions when communicating with court staff or an attorney.

The general public index also does not cover every specialized proceeding. For example, 2026 Rule 5.630 addresses restraining orders in specified juvenile proceedings, with its own authority and forms. If papers come from an existing juvenile or other specialized case, ask about that case's actual procedure rather than assuming a general civil form is interchangeable.

Domestic Violence Restraining Orders

A domestic violence restraining order, or DVRO, concerns abuse within the relationships identified by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act. Family Code 6211 includes spouses and former spouses, specified cohabitants, dating or engagement relationships, applicable parentage and child provisions, and people related within the stated degree by blood or marriage.

The relationship is a legal question

The court's DV guide uses familiar examples such as a partner, former partner, parent, child or sibling. The statutory category should still be checked. Close family describes a legal relationship, not simply whether two people feel emotionally close.

Household labels also need care. Family Code 6209 defines cohabitant and former cohabitant in terms of regular residence in the household. Give the relevant facts to the court's self-help center or counsel rather than deciding the filing from an informal roommate label alone.

Protection can extend beyond physical injury

Family Code 6203 expressly says abuse is not limited to actual physical injury or assault. The court guide also discusses emotional, psychological and other conduct, including interference with money or basic needs and isolation. The actual conduct and statutory requirements still need assessment.

A DVRO can include personal-conduct, contact, stay-away and residence-exclusion provisions. The court may also address children, support, property or pets where authorized. The available form's list of options does not mean all of those terms were granted in a particular case.

Under Family Code 6345, initial after-hearing personal-conduct, stay-away and residence-exclusion orders may last up to five years. Renewal rules are different, and custody or support provisions have their own duration rules. Read the actual decision instead of treating five years as the guaranteed life of every provision.

Civil Harassment Restraining Orders

A civil harassment order is another principal protection route. The Judicial Branch guide gives examples such as a neighbor, landlord, co-worker or more distant relative. The relationship and conduct must fit the applicable law; the general examples are not an individual filing determination.

Code of Civil Procedure 527.6 defines harassment through unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a qualifying knowing and willful course of conduct. The course-of-conduct branch includes specific seriousness, purpose and emotional-distress requirements. An ordinary disagreement is not automatically the statutory finding.

The record needs more than a broad label

Someone may describe conduct as harassment in a message or workplace complaint. For a court proceeding, the dates, conduct, relevant communications and requested protection need a more precise account. Preserve original records and distinguish what a person directly observed from an inference or a secondhand report.

At the hearing, the statute requires the specified clear-and-convincing finding of unlawful harassment before the order issues. An after-hearing order may last up to five years at the court's discretion. Neither a request nor a temporary decision should be described as the guaranteed final outcome.

The CH form family also distinguishes a request, hearing notice and temporary or after-hearing order. If papers have been received, identify which document actually grants restrictions and which identifies the next court event.

Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Orders

The elder and dependent adult court guide addresses protection from abuse or neglect, including physical, emotional and financial forms. This category is not limited to abuse by a paid caregiver.

An elder, under Welfare and Institutions Code 15610.27, is a California resident aged 65 or older. Section 15610.23 gives the dependent-adult definition for the specified ages 18 through 64 and limitations. It can include someone who lives independently and the specified inpatient-health-facility situation. The legal definition should not be replaced with an assumption about someone's appearance or housing.

Who requests protection matters

Section 15657.03 provides routes for the person who has suffered abuse and for specified people acting on their behalf. These include authority-based roles such as a conservator, trustee, authorized power-of-attorney agent or guardian ad litem, along with the statute's other qualified routes. County adult protective services has specified circumstances in which it may petition.

A family member's concern and legal authority to act are different questions. Bring the relevant appointment or authority document to the people assessing the proceeding. The court can then address the applicable category and requested relief.

An initial after-hearing order may last up to five years, and renewal provisions differ. Particular financial-abuse and isolation remedies and exceptions also have their own requirements. Age alone does not promise an order, a debt result or every available protection. The court guide notes that an elder or dependent adult may also have facts relevant to another order category; obtaining help with the actual situation is more useful than forcing every case into an age label.

Workplace Violence Restraining Orders

The workplace route protects employees through a request by an employer or a qualifying collective bargaining representative. Current CCP 527.8 includes qualifying harassment, unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence reasonably tied to the workplace.

Use the current requestor rules

A representative must actually serve as the employee's collective bargaining representative in employment or labor matters at that workplace. This is not a general permission for any concerned friend or co-worker to make the employer's petition.

The current WV-100 petition, revised January 1, 2026, has petitioner options for an employer and a collective bargaining representative. The current statute supplies the governing qualifications. A short employer-only summary should not erase the representative route.

The law also defines employer and employee for this purpose, including specified additional roles. It preserves protections for constitutionally or otherwise legally protected activities. A workplace complaint, staffing decision and a court finding under this provision answer different questions.

The employee has a naming choice in the temporary request

Before filing, the employer or representative must give the affected employee an opportunity to decline being named in the temporary restraining order. The statute explains that this does not prevent seeking temporary protection for other employees in the relevant workplace circumstances.

The court may include specified other employees or family and household members where authorized. Check the names actually included in the granted order. An after-hearing workplace order may last up to three years, subject to the applicable court decisions and renewal rules. The ordinary worker's own possible protection route is a separate question for court help or counsel.

Postsecondary School Violence Orders

The current school violence provision concerns a postsecondary educational institution. CCP 527.85, operative January 1, 2026, permits the chief administrative officer or an officer or employee designated to maintain order on the campus or facility to request protection with the student's written consent.

The statute defines student as an adult currently enrolled in or applying for admission to the institution. Postsecondary includes the specified vocational, professional and other postsecondary education. A general school label should not be treated as making every K-12 situation the same proceeding.

The predicates concern unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence. At the court's discretion, authorized protection may extend to similarly situated students or specified other people. The actual named people and campus restrictions must be read from the granted order.

The current SV-100 petition, revised January 1, 2026, identifies the institutional requestor and includes the student's consent section. The school guide provides official navigation. An after-hearing order under this authority can be up to three years; the actual order and later decisions set the operative term.

Gun Violence Restraining Orders

A gun violence restraining order, or GVRO, addresses the statutory danger associated with firearm access. The court's GV guide explains that this category concerns prohibited items. It does not itself order someone to stop contacting or approaching another person. A request for contact or stay-away protection involves a different legal question.

Not every person may make the petition

PC 18150 and 18170 identify the qualified requestor categories. They include law enforcement, a defined immediate family member, an employer, a qualified co-worker or school employee/teacher, a defined roommate, someone in a dating relationship, and a qualifying person who has a child in common with the subject.

The qualifications are material. For example:

• A co-worker needs the stated substantial and regular interactions for at least one year and employer approval.
• The school employee or teacher route has the stated school-attendance period and administrator or supervisor approval.
• The roommate definition includes its residence and one-year interaction requirements.
• The co-parent route also has the stated one-year interaction requirement.
• Immediate family has a statutory definition, including qualifications for the more distant relationship branch.

These are legal criteria to discuss with the responsible court or counsel, not a diagnosis of someone's risk or a guarantee that a petition will be granted.

An after-notice-and-hearing GVRO has the statutory one-to-five-year range. The police-requested emergency route, discussed below, is different from these qualified civil petition routes. Actual prohibited-item terms, deadlines and lawful exceptions require careful attention to the applicable order and authoritative compliance directions; an informal family arrangement does not supply a new exception.

Retail Crime Restraining Orders

A retail crime order can exclude a person from the named retail establishment, its grounds or serving parking area. A court may include specified other chain or franchise locations within the authorized geographic scope. The court's retail guide helps readers identify this newer specialized category.

PC 490.8 contains two distinct settings:

1. Sentencing authority. After a conviction for a listed offense, the sentencing court must consider the specified retail restriction.
2. A separate petition. A prosecuting attorney, city attorney, county counsel or attorney representing a retail establishment may petition under the stated repeat-arrest or citation circumstances.

The separate petition is not automatically granted just because two arrest records exist. The petitioner must establish the statutory qualifying acts and likelihood-of-return findings under the specified proof standard. The court must also consider the provision concerning basic necessities and undue hardship.

A retail petition has distinctive representation rules

Under the separate petition provision, the respondent is entitled to court-appointed counsel. That is a feature of this authority; it should not be generalized into a promise of appointed counsel for every restraining-order proceeding.

The business explanation and current RT-130 order, effective July 1, 2025, identify the store, term and actual restrictions. The statutory order can be up to two years. Read the specific locations rather than assuming an unlisted place is included, and ask counsel about an unclear scope. Neither a private request nor a description of alleged retail crime replaces the required court decision.

Emergency Protective Orders

An emergency protective order addresses a specified urgent situation through a law-enforcement request and judicial decision. The Judicial Branch protective-order guide describes this route and distinguishes the commonly encountered EPO forms.

EPO-001 and the Family Code authority

Family Code 6250 specifies urgent grounds involving domestic violence, certain child abuse or abduction circumstances, and elder or dependent adult abuse. It excludes an emergency order based solely on an allegation of financial abuse in that elder/dependent-adult branch. The judicial officer decides whether the applicable grounds are satisfied.

Under Family Code 6256, an order under that authority expires at the earlier of the close of judicial business on the fifth court day or the seventh calendar day following issuance. Those are different ways of counting days. Identify the actual signed expiration and any subsequent order instead of treating the emergency paper as long-term protection.

EPO-002 has a different gun-violence route

PC 18125 and 18130 require the law-enforcement request and judicial findings for an emergency gun-violence order. Its statutory expiry is 21 days, and 18148 provides the hearing requirement within that period.

That police-requested emergency order should not be confused with a qualified non-police GV petition. Nor does its 21-day period become the life of every temporary protective order. Keep the exact form, authority and court event attached to the question.

Criminal Protective Orders

A criminal protective order, or CPO, comes from the criminal court under its applicable authority. It may protect a victim or witness while a case is pending or arise at a later stage under an applicable postconviction or probation provision.

PC 136.2 describes criminal-matter protection and specified circumstances in which the court considers issuing it. The existence of a pretrial protective order is not itself a conviction on the underlying charge.

Read the basis checked on the criminal form

The current CR-160 domestic-violence form, revised January 1, 2026, separates pending-trial, probation-condition and listed postconviction bases. Its expiration and enforcement instructions distinguish those authorities.

An order tied to pending criminal jurisdiction and one issued upon conviction do not share a universal end-date rule. For example, PC 136.2(i) provides up to ten years for its specified postconviction protection, while PC 273.5(j) permits up to fifteen years under that authority. The actual court decision determines the term; these are not automatic lengths for every defendant.

Do not assume a case event has cleared every protective order. Identify the checked authority and the actual termination, modification or replacement in the record. The court guide also identifies a different criminal form for matters other than domestic violence.

The checked provisions determine the restrictions

CR-160 includes different conduct, contact, stay-away and exception fields. Its blank options illustrate what a court may address. They do not tell a reader what a judge selected in a specific case.

A criminal matter and a separately issued civil protective order can coexist. Give counsel both sets of papers. A financial release arrangement does not remove either order or expand a checked exception.

Temporary and After-Hearing Orders

Temporary restraining order, often shortened to TRO, describes an interim decision. After-hearing order describes a later court decision. These stages appear within several categories and should not replace the category's requestor and legal requirements.

The current DV-110 description identifies it as the court's temporary decision. The DV-130 description identifies the after-hearing order. The current WV-100 and SV-100 petitions expressly identify themselves as requests rather than court orders.

Permanent is not a universal promise

People often use permanent to mean longer than a temporary order. Actual duration rules differ. Initial DV, CH and EA after-hearing protection, workplace or school protection, retail restrictions and criminal orders have different authorities and limits. Some renewal provisions allow permanent protection at judicial discretion; that does not make every initial order permanent.

A hearing date also should not be treated as automatic permission to ignore existing temporary terms. Continuances and later decisions can affect an order's life. Obtain the current record and ask about any uncertainty before changing a plan based on an assumed expiration.

Read the Operative Terms and Notice

The court's signed decision is more informative than a short family description such as there is a restraining order. The current DV-130 and CR-160 forms demonstrate why all relevant pages and attachments matter.

Notice is not one universal delivery rule

Service and notice have legal significance, but the rule depends on the category, stage and circumstances. Family Code 6383 addresses officer notice of an issued but unserved order. CCP 527.6 also addresses specified actual notice through a court appearance and particular after-hearing service circumstances.

The actual forms contain notice and enforcement instructions. Do not assume a known order has no effect merely because a new paper copy was not personally handed over. Equally, an article cannot decide whether an individual's notice or service satisfied the law. Preserve the relevant records and ask the responsible court or counsel about the actual requirement and consequence.

A limited exception needs its actual wording

A court may authorize specified contact for a defined purpose under particular conditions. A child-related provision, for example, does not necessarily authorize unrelated conversations or a return to every location. Read the checked exception and referenced orders together, and obtain legal clarification about the intended plan. A relative's message or a family agreement does not create a new exception.

Multiple Orders and Changes

More than one court order can apply to the same people. The court's protective-order guide specifically describes this possibility. Current forms contain priorities for enforcement and retain nonconflicting provisions.

Family Code 6383(h) and PC 136.2 include relevant priority rules. The result is not resolved simply by choosing the newest paper or the term that is easiest to follow. Emergency and no-contact provisions, the type of criminal case and other applicable terms can matter.

Give counsel all current orders, amendments and attachments, including papers from different cases. Identify what a later court decision actually changed. A change to one case does not establish that every restriction in another has disappeared.

Consent does not privately cancel an order

PC 13710(b) preserves operative protection despite the parties' acts and requires a court order to change its terms. The current DV-130 and CR-160 instructions expressly address invitations or consent from a protected person.

If a protected person sends an invitation, do not treat it as court permission to violate an existing restriction. Questions about a change or an authorized way to handle necessary matters belong with counsel and the responsible court. Keep the actual modified decision with the rest of the papers once one is made.

Civil Protection, Criminal Allegations and Bail

A civil protection request, a criminal allegation, an arrest record and a bail decision are different matters. Some protection routes do not depend on an already filed criminal case. Other orders specifically arise from a criminal proceeding or its sentencing authority.

An alleged violation can raise a separate criminal question, with its own statute, notice and conduct issues. It should not be labeled a proven crime merely because someone reported a concern or filed a request. Obtain the actual order, allegation and current case information for counsel's assessment.

If a person is in custody, the release question also needs the actual booking, charges, holds and operative bail or court decision. The general type of restraining order does not supply one statewide bail amount or guarantee that a bond is authorized.

Our domestic-violence bail guide covers charge, county and release context. Our domestic-violence bond proposal guide explains the current record, agreement, cost and lawful pickup questions. The order's restrictions remain a separate part of any release plan.

Questions for Court Staff or Counsel

Bring the full papers and an accurate sequence of events. A court clerk can help with the case record and copies; court self-help centers provide legal information and resources for people without a lawyer. The court's legal-help guide describes ways to seek legal assistance.

Useful questions include:

• What category and statutory authority appear on these papers?
• Which document is a request, and which is an actual granted order?
• What restrictions are operative now, including attachments or later changes?
• What is the next hearing or response requirement in this proceeding?
• What service or notice record is relevant to the present question?
• Does a stated exception cover the proposed necessary activity?
• Do other court orders apply to the same people, and how are they read together?
• What does the expiration information mean for each kind of provision?
• Who is authorized to request relief or represent the relevant party under this procedure?

Keep personal observations, documents and secondhand information distinct. An accurate account helps the responsible professionals address the real question. Do not contact a protected person contrary to an order to seek an explanation, and do not select a service method or court substitute from a general summary.

How Bail Hotline Can Help

Everything above this section is written to be useful whether or not you ever call us. This is the one place we talk about ourselves. Bail Hotline has been family-owned since 2004 and operates through our parent company, DMCG, Inc., licensed by the California Department of Insurance under license 1845394. Our team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at (888) 958-1228.

Bring us the current information when there is an authorized bail matter

If an arrest or custody event creates a bail question, our team can work through available booking and bail information and explain the bond-side steps. Give legal questions about the order to counsel, and bring our team the current bail or court information needed for the proposed posting.

• Every cosigner receives an agreement walkthrough. We explain responsibilities, premium and any collateral so the actual commitments are clear.
• Dedicated posting agents work around the clock. We coordinate the posting steps when a surety bond is authorized and approved.
• Complicated cases receive individual consideration. A large, complicated or out-of-county bond is not an automatic no.
• Support continues after posting. Text court-date reminders help clients keep required appearances in view, and appropriate warrant walk-through support is available when an appearance issue needs attention.

Every case is different. The judge makes court decisions, and the holding agency controls custody procedures. Posting a bond does not change a protective order's contact, residence or other terms. We help with the available bond process without promising approval, an order change, a case outcome or a release time.

Call before traveling. Use our locations directory for another office and our bail FAQ for general company process information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does California have only four types of restraining orders?

The current court index includes additional specialized categories, including gun violence, postsecondary school and retail crime, as well as emergency and criminal protective-order guidance. Existing juvenile and other specialized proceedings may have their own authority. A fixed four-type list is not a complete current navigation guide.

Is a temporary restraining order a different relationship category?

Temporary describes a stage of relief. A DV, CH, workplace or other category can have temporary and later decisions under its own rules. Identify both the legal category and the stage rather than using TRO as the whole answer.

Does an after-hearing order always last five years?

No. Duration rules differ by authority, and the judge's actual decision matters. Some initial orders can be up to five years, workplace and school orders can be up to three, and retail orders can be up to two. Criminal and renewal provisions have further distinctions.

Does a petition prove that all requested terms were granted?

A petition requests relief. The granted order records the court's decision. Current WV-100 and SV-100 visibly distinguish their request from a court order. Check the actual signed decision and its terms rather than treating every requested checkbox as operative.

Can an elder also have a domestic violence protection question?

Yes. The court's elder guide explains that an elder or dependent adult may also have facts relevant to DV or civil harassment protection. The relationship, conduct and requestor authority need assessment. Age does not by itself choose every filing route.

Can anyone ask for a gun violence restraining order?

The statutes identify qualified categories and specific definitions, interaction periods or approvals for some of them. An employer, qualifying co-worker, school employee, roommate, family member, dating partner and co-parent do not all have identical requirements. The police-only emergency route is also separate.

Can a protected person give private permission for prohibited contact?

An invitation or consent alone does not change the court's restrictions. Current forms and PC 13710 address this directly. Read actual court-authorized exceptions and obtain the responsible court's decision before treating a term as modified.

Does a missing new hand-delivered copy mean the order can be ignored?

Notice and service depend on the actual category and facts. Court appearance or legally relevant officer notice can matter. Preserve the record and ask counsel about the requirement instead of assuming that the absence of one delivery event ends all restrictions.

Does posting bail cancel a restraining or protective order?

The bond addresses an authorized financial release requirement. The order addresses its own restrictions. A payment or posting does not supply a new contact, residence or other exception. Current court and custody information should guide both parts of the plan.

Why We Publish This

Families and other readers need a clearer way to identify the kind of order, the document's stage and the terms actually in force. This guide points to current official resources and keeps protection, criminal allegations and bail questions distinct. A court's self-help center or qualified attorney can address the individual record and applicable procedure.

Sources and Further Reading

Official navigation and document sources

• California Judicial Branch restraining-order index and type comparison.
• Emergency and criminal protective-order guide.
• WV-100, SV-100, DV-110, DV-130, RT-130 and CR-160. The official pages identify current editions. Relevant blank petitions and orders show the document distinctions discussed above; an individual's signed order supplies their actual decision.
• 2026 juvenile restraining-order Rule 5.630.

Selected governing law

• Family Code 6203, 6209, 6211, 6250, 6256, 6345 and 6383.
• Code of Civil Procedure 527.6, 527.8 and 527.85.
• Welfare and Institutions Code 15610.23, 15610.27 and 15657.03.
• Penal Code 136.2, 273.5, 490.8, 13710, 18125, 18130, 18148, 18150 and 18170.