Civil Harassment Restraining Orders in California: No Violence Required, But the Free Filing Is
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · California · Last updated October 22, 2026
California's civil harassment restraining order is the rare protective order that requires no violence at all, because a course of conduct that seriously alarms or annoys you and genuinely distresses you can support one standing alone. It is a court order telling someone you are not related to, and have never been in a close domestic relationship with, to stop harassing or contacting you and to stay away. If the person harassing you is a spouse or former spouse, someone you live with or used to live with, a dating partner, a co-parent, or a relative within the second degree, this is the wrong order and you want a domestic violence restraining order instead, because section 527.6 does not apply to proceedings under Family Code Division 10 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(w)). The test is clear and convincing evidence of harassment, meaning unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct serving no legitimate purpose that causes you substantial emotional distress (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(b)). Constitutionally protected activity is excluded by that definition itself. A judge can decide a request made without notice the same day you file it, and a temporary order then lasts up to 21 days until your hearing (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(d), (g)). An order after a hearing can run as long as five years (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(j)(1)). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in California
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Do I need to prove violence to get a civil harassment restraining order in California?
No. Harassment has three alternative routes under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(b)(3), and one is a knowing and willful course of conduct that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses, serves no legitimate purpose, and actually causes substantial emotional distress. Unlawful violence and a credible threat of violence are the other two routes.
How long does a California civil harassment restraining order last?
An order after a hearing can last up to five years, at the judge's discretion (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(j)(1)). There is a trap worth knowing: if no expiration date is written on the face of the order, it runs three years from the date it was issued rather than five.
What proof standard applies to a California civil harassment restraining order?
Clear and convincing evidence, which is higher than the preponderance standard used in most civil cases. The judge must find by that standard that unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a qualifying course of conduct occurred before issuing an order after the hearing (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(i)).
Is there a filing fee for a civil harassment restraining order in California?
It depends on what you allege. There is no filing fee if the petition alleges the person inflicted or threatened violence, stalked you, or otherwise placed you in reasonable fear of violence. A petition pleading only a non-violent course of conduct pays the standard first-paper fee.
California civil harassment order rules at a glance
California gives this order its most familiar name and its broadest reach. A civil harassment restraining order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6 directs a person you are not domestically related to, to stop harassing you and stay away, and it reaches conduct no other instrument needs: a knowing and willful course of conduct that seriously alarms or annoys you and causes substantial emotional distress, with no violence anywhere in the picture. The routing works by exclusion rather than by qualification. Section 527.6 simply does not apply where Family Code Division 10 does, so the closed relationship list in Family Code section 6211 decides which door you use. What makes California distinctive, and uncomfortable, is that the statutory fee waiver is keyed to violence, threats of violence or stalking. The purest civil harassment case, a non-violent course of conduct, is the one that pays.
A Fresno County allotment dispute that turns into eighteen months of messages
Consider a Fresno County gardener who shares a community plot boundary with another member. After a dispute over a water line, the other member begins arriving when she does, photographing her, and sending messages through three different accounts, roughly two hundred over eighteen months. None of it threatens violence and none of it is a crime. On those facts the course of conduct route under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(b)(3) is the one that fits, and because nothing violent is alleged the petition pays the standard first-paper fee rather than filing free. She files form CH-100, asks for a temporary order without notice, and gets a decision the same day. Whether the judge finds clear and convincing evidence is for the court.
Relevant Laws
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6 (civil harassment restraining orders)
The governing statute. Subdivision (a)(1) lets a person who has suffered harassment seek a temporary restraining order and an order after hearing. Subdivision (b) defines harassment as 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, would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress and actually causes it, with constitutionally protected activity excluded. Subdivision (w) disapplies the section to proceedings under Family Code Division 10 and Civil Code Title 1.6C. Last amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 267 (AB 561), effective January 1, 2026.
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(d) to (g) (temporary orders and the same-day rule)
Provides that a temporary restraining order may issue with or without notice on an affidavit showing reasonable proof of harassment and that great or irreparable harm would result, that it remains in effect for not more than 21 days or not more than 25 days where the court extends the hearing date for good cause, and that a request made without notice must be granted or denied on the same day the petition is submitted, or the next court day if it is filed too late in the day to be considered.
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(i) and (j) (standard of proof and duration)
Subdivision (i) requires the judge, at the hearing, to receive any testimony that is relevant and to issue an order if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that unlawful harassment exists. Subdivision (j)(1) permits an order after hearing to have a duration of no more than five years, and (j)(2) provides that where no expiration date appears on the face of the form, the order expires three years from the date of issuance.
Cal. Fam. Code 6211 (the relationship list that routes you to the other order)
Defines domestic violence as abuse perpetrated against a spouse or former spouse, a cohabitant or former cohabitant, a person with whom the respondent is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship, a person with whom the respondent has had a child, a child of a party, or any other person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree. A petitioner inside this closed list uses a domestic violence restraining order; a petitioner outside it uses section 527.6.
Cal. Fam. Code 6300 (the domestic violence standard, for contrast)
Provides that an order may be issued under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act to restrain any person for the purpose of preventing a recurrence of domestic violence and ensuring a period of separation, on reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse. Note the contrast with section 527.6: the domestic violence route rests on reasonable proof, while the civil harassment route requires clear and convincing evidence.
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.8 (workplace violence restraining orders)
A separate order type for the workplace, petitioned by an employer or by the employee's collective bargaining representative rather than by the employee personally, on grounds of unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence against an employee. An employee who wants an order in their own name against a coworker uses section 527.6 instead. Last amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 147 (AB 394), effective January 1, 2026.
Cal. Penal Code 646.9 (stalking, the offence that triggers the fee waiver)
Defines the crime of stalking as wilfully, maliciously and repeatedly following or wilfully and maliciously harassing another person and making a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for their safety or the safety of their immediate family. Stalking under this section is one of the allegations that removes the filing fee and the sheriff service fee from a section 527.6 petition.
Judicial Council form CH-100, Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders
The mandatory petition. Section 527.6(x)(1) directs the Judicial Council to develop forms, instructions and rules relating to matters governed by the section, and provides that the petition and response forms shall be simple and concise and that their use by parties is mandatory. The current CH-100 is effective January 1, 2026, and sits in a numbered set that includes CH-109 notice of hearing, CH-110 temporary restraining order and CH-115 request to continue the hearing.
Regional Variances
California civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Civil harassment restraining order, the name this cluster takes from California. Governed by Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6 and run on the Judicial Council CH- form series. Sibling instruments exist for the workplace (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.8) and are petitioned by an employer rather than by the person protected.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
Anyone outside the Family Code 6211 list. The routing is negative: section 527.6 does not apply where Family Code Division 10 applies (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(w)). Family Code 6211 closes the list at spouses and former spouses, cohabitants, dating and engagement partners, co-parents, a child of a party, and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree.
The standard
Three alternative grounds, any one sufficient: unlawful violence (assault, battery, or Penal Code 646.9 stalking, excluding lawful self-defence); a credible threat of violence; or a knowing and willful course of conduct that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses, serves no legitimate purpose, would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress and actually causes it (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(b)). No violence is required on the third route.
Burden of proof
Clear and convincing evidence, higher than the preponderance standard that governs most civil litigation and higher than the reasonable proof standard the domestic violence route uses under Cal. Fam. Code 6300 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(i)).
Temporary order
Available with or without notice on a declaration showing reasonable proof of harassment and that great or irreparable harm would result. Not more than 21 days, or not more than 25 days where the court extends the hearing date for good cause. A request made without notice must be granted or denied the same day it is submitted, or the next court day if filed too late in the day (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(d), (e), (g)).
Duration
Up to five years for an order after hearing, in the court's discretion. Where no expiration date appears on the face of the form, the order expires three years from the date of issuance rather than running the full five (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(j)(1), (j)(2)).
Renewal
A renewal may be requested in the three months before expiry and may run a further five years, and it does not require a showing of further harassment after the original order issued. A quiet period therefore does not defeat a renewal.
Court and form
Superior court, on mandatory Judicial Council forms. The petition is CH-100, Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders, effective January 1, 2026. Use of the petition and response forms is mandatory by statute (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(x)(1)).
Filing fee
Two-tier, and keyed to violence rather than to harassment. No fee where the petition alleges inflicted or threatened violence, stalking, or conduct placing the petitioner in reasonable fear of violence, and no fee for a related subpoena or for a response to such a petition. A petition pleading only a non-violent course of conduct pays the standard first-paper fee for a civil petition.
Service
No sheriff or marshal fee for serving the order where it is based on Penal Code 646.9 stalking, on unlawful violence, or on a credible threat of violence. A petition resting only on a non-violent course of conduct does not carry that exemption.
Not yet in force
Two provisions appear in the served text but are not yet operative and should not be relied on. Remote appearance by a party or witness under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 527.6(i)(2) and mandatory electronic submission of petitions under 527.6(y)(1)(A) both commence January 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other California guides
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Asset Protection Planning in California (2026)
Conservatorship in California
Dealing With Debt Collectors in California (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in California: Five Years of Default, Then the County Sells the Parcel
Expunging a Criminal Record in California (2026)
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