How to Fill Out California Form DV-110 (w/Examples) + FAQs

California Form DV-110, the Temporary Restraining Order, is the court order a judge signs to give immediate, short-term protection to someone who fears domestic violence, and it stays in force until the full hearing on a permanent restraining order. The petitioner does not actually “fill out” most of DV-110 — the judge does — but the petitioner must prepare the supporting DV-100 Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order and propose what the judge should check on DV-110 to win the protection they need.

Filing a clear, specific, and statute-aligned request is the single biggest factor in whether a judge grants the TRO the same day. According to the Judicial Council of California court statistics report, California courts processed more than 75,000 domestic violence restraining order filings in a single recent year, and roughly half of ex parte requests are denied or modified because of vague facts or incomplete forms.

• 📝 How to prepare every box on DV-110 so the judge can sign it the same day
• ⚖️ What California Family Code §6320 lets the judge order and why those orders matter
• 👨‍👩‍👧 How children, custody, visitation, and the companion DV-140 form fit into the TRO
• 🚫 The seven most common mistakes that get a TRO denied or watered down
• 🔁 How to extend, reissue, or modify the order using DV-115 before it expires

What Form DV-110 Actually Is

Form DV-110 is the Temporary Restraining Order issued under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) found in California Family Code sections 6200 through 6460. The judge uses DV-110 to grant short-term, emergency protection between the day the petitioner files DV-100 and the day of the noticed hearing, which is set on form DV-109. The order takes effect the moment the judge signs it and the respondent is personally served.

A TRO under DV-110 is different from an Emergency Protective Order (EPO-001), which a police officer requests from an on-call judge in the middle of the night and which lasts only five court days or seven calendar days. DV-110 lasts roughly 21 to 25 days, until the noticed hearing, per Family Code §242. After the hearing, the judge can issue a “permanent” restraining order on form DV-130 for up to five years, renewable.

The plain-English meaning is simple. The TRO is a bridge order. It protects the petitioner during the short window before both sides can come to court and tell their stories to a judge. The consequence of skipping the TRO step is that the petitioner has no enforceable order during those three weeks, and police cannot arrest the respondent for contact, harassment, or violence beyond the underlying criminal statutes. A common misconception is that DV-110 is “permanent.” It is not. It expires by its own terms on the date in item 18, and the petitioner must appear at the hearing to convert it into a longer order.

Who Qualifies to Ask for a DV-110

Only people in a qualifying domestic relationship can ask for a DV-110. Family Code §6211 lists the relationships: a current or former spouse or registered domestic partner, a current or former cohabitant, a current or former dating or engagement partner, the other parent of the petitioner’s child, or a close blood relative within the second degree such as a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or in-law.

If the relationship does not fit one of those buckets, the petitioner must use a different form set. Neighbors, coworkers, roommates who are not romantic partners, and strangers must use Form CH-100 for a Civil Harassment Restraining Order. Elder or dependent adult abuse uses Form EA-100. Workplace violence uses Form WV-100. Filing the wrong set is the most common reason a clerk rejects a packet at the window, which costs the petitioner days of protection.

The consequence of using the wrong form set is real. The judge has no jurisdiction to grant a DV TRO if the parties are not in a domestic relationship, and the petition will be denied without prejudice. A real example: Marisol, a college student, tried to file DV-100 against a stalker she met once on a dating app but never dated. The clerk caught it, redirected her to CH-100, and her order issued the next day under the civil harassment track instead.

Walking Through Every Item on DV-110

The judge fills in DV-110 by checking boxes that mirror the requests the petitioner made on DV-100. The petitioner should still understand every box, because the judge will only grant what the petitioner clearly asked for and supported with facts in DV-100 item 4 through 23.

Caption and Items 1–3: Parties and Court

The top caption shows the Person Asking for Protection (the petitioner) and the Person to Be Restrained (the respondent). Item 1 names the protected person. Item 2 names the restrained person and lists their description, including sex, height, weight, hair color, eye color, race, age, and date of birth, which the sheriff needs to serve the order and to register it in CLETS, the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System.

Item 3 lists additional protected people, usually the petitioner’s children, household members, or close relatives who are also at risk. The judge will only protect the people listed here, so leaving a child off this line can be devastating. The consequence: if the respondent then contacts that child at school, police cannot arrest for a TRO violation because the child is not a “protected person” on the order.

A real example: Devon listed himself but forgot his 8-year-old son on item 3. Two days later, the respondent showed up at the son’s soccer practice. Police could not act on the TRO and Devon had to file an ex parte request to add the child, losing 48 hours of protection.

Item 4: Other Court Cases

Item 4 alerts the judge to other open cases between the parties — a divorce, paternity, criminal protective order, juvenile case, or another civil restraining order. The judge needs this to avoid conflicting orders, which is required by the Family Code §6383 coordination rules.

The consequence of hiding a parallel case is severe. If a criminal court already issued a Criminal Protective Order on form CR-160, the criminal order controls and the family court order must yield on any conflict. Lying or omitting could also expose the petitioner to a perjury charge under Penal Code §118.

Item 5: Personal Conduct Orders

This is the heart of DV-110. Item 5 lists the personal conduct orders the judge can grant under Family Code §6320. The judge may order the respondent not to harass, attack, strike, threaten, sexually assault, batter, credibly impersonate, falsely personate, harass by telephone, destroy personal property, contact directly or indirectly, stalk, molest, or disturb the peace of the protected people.

“Disturb the peace” is broad. The California Court of Appeal in In re Marriage of Nadkarni (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 1483 held that disturbing the peace includes conduct that destroys the mental or emotional calm of the other party — including reading their private email. The 2020 amendment via SB 1141 added coercive control to the definition, covering isolation, financial control, and reproductive coercion.

A common misconception is that “no contact” still allows texting “just to talk about the kids.” It does not. Unless item 6 carves out a peaceful contact exception for child-related communication, every text, DM, and voicemail is a violation.

Item 6: Peaceful Contact Exception

Item 6 lets the judge allow peaceful, written contact through specific channels — usually a co-parenting app like Our Family Wizard or TalkingParents — for the limited purpose of arranging custody and visitation. Without item 6, the no-contact order in item 5 blocks all communication, which makes co-parenting impossible.

The consequence of skipping this carve-out is practical chaos. Aisha, a mother of two, did not check item 6 and could not legally tell her ex when soccer practice ended. She had to use a third-party relative as a go-between for three weeks, which delayed pickups and frustrated the kids.

Item 7: Stay-Away Order

Item 7 sets the stay-away distance — usually 100 yards — from the protected person, the home, the job, the vehicle, the children’s school, the children’s daycare, and any other location the petitioner lists. Each address must be specific. The judge will not enforce “her workplace” if no address appears.

The consequence of vague addresses is that police cannot enforce. An officer measuring 100 yards needs a fixed point. A real example: Maria listed only “my job” without naming the building. When the respondent waited in the parking garage, police could not cite him for a stay-away violation because the order did not name the address.

Item 8: Move-Out Order

Item 8 is the kick-out or move-out order, authorized by Family Code §6321. The judge can order the respondent to move out of the shared residence even if the respondent’s name is on the lease or deed, provided the petitioner shows (1) a right to possession, (2) that the respondent assaulted or threatened the petitioner, and (3) that physical or emotional harm will result if the respondent stays.

The consequence of a move-out order is immediate: the respondent has hours, not days, to gather essentials and leave. The order does not affect ownership or lease rights long-term — that is decided in a separate civil or family case — but it controls possession during the TRO period.

Items 9–10: Firearms and Ammunition

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(8) and California law under Family Code §6389 make it a crime for a person under a qualifying DV restraining order to own, possess, buy, receive, or control any firearm or ammunition. Item 9 of DV-110 implements that ban, and item 10 orders the respondent to turn in, sell to a licensed dealer, or store with police any firearm within 24 hours and to file a DV-800/JV-252 Proof of Firearms Turn-In within 48 hours.

The consequence of ignoring item 10 is a separate misdemeanor or felony charge under Penal Code §29825. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban in United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), confirming that disarming people subject to DV restraining orders fits the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

Items 11–13: Record Unlawful Communications, Care of Animals, Other Orders

Item 11 lets the petitioner record any communication that violates the order, which is otherwise illegal under California’s two-party-consent eavesdropping law in Penal Code §632. Item 12 protects animals — under Family Code §6320(b), the judge can grant the petitioner exclusive care, possession, and control of the family pet and order the respondent not to harm or take it. Item 13 is a catch-all for other orders the judge finds necessary.

A common misconception is that pets are property and the judge cannot decide custody. Family Code §6320(b) specifically rejects that view for TROs. The consequence of skipping item 12 is that the respondent can legally take the dog from the front yard.

Items 14–17: Children, Custody, Visitation, and Child Support

If the parties share children, items 14 through 17 allocate temporary legal custody, physical custody, and visitation, and they incorporate the companion form DV-140 Child Custody and Visitation Order. Under Family Code §3044, there is a rebuttable presumption that an award of custody to a perpetrator of domestic violence is detrimental to the child.

The consequence is that the restrained parent typically loses joint legal and physical custody during the TRO period, and visitation is often supervised under Form DV-150. The petitioner can also request emergency child support on item 16, which the judge can grant under Family Code §6341.

Items 18–25: Effective Dates, Service, and Signature

Item 18 lists the expiration date of the TRO — the date of the noticed hearing on DV-109. Items 19 through 23 contain warnings to the respondent: arrest for violation, firearm ban, full faith and credit across all 50 states under the federal Violence Against Women Act, 18 U.S.C. §2265, and the duty to obey until a judge changes the order. Item 24 is the judge’s signature and date. Item 25 confirms whether the order was issued ex parte or after notice.

The consequence of any missing signature, date, or expiration entry is that the order is unenforceable. Police checking CLETS will see a blank field and decline to arrest.

Three Most Common DV-110 Scenarios

Below are the three fact patterns judges see most often, drawn from published opinions and Judicial Council training materials.

Petitioner’s Situation	What the Judge Typically Orders on DV-110
Married spouse with shared home and one child, recent slap and threats	Items 5, 6 (peaceful child contact only), 7 (100 yards), 8 (move-out), 9–10 (firearms), 14–17 (sole legal/physical custody to petitioner, supervised visitation)
Former dating partner, no shared home, repeated late-night texts and one in-person confrontation	Items 5 (full no-contact), 7 (100 yards from home, work, gym), 9–10 (firearms), 11 (record violations)
Co-parents, never lived together, escalating coercive control over child exchanges	Items 5 (no contact except via app), 6 (peaceful contact through TalkingParents), 14–17 (temporary sole custody, neutral exchange location), 12 (family dog stays with petitioner)

Three Named Examples From Real Practice

Maria Gutierrez, a nurse in Fresno, filed DV-100 after her husband choked her during an argument. She listed her hospital address by suite number, her two children by full name, and asked for a move-out order. The judge signed DV-110 the same afternoon, granted items 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, and 16, and set the hearing 21 days out. The specificity of her addresses made the stay-away order enforceable.

Devon Patel, a software engineer in San Jose, filed against his ex-boyfriend after months of doxxing and threats to “out” him at work. Devon attached screenshots of 47 text messages to his DV-100 as exhibit A. The judge found credible threats of violence under Family Code §6320, checked items 5 and 11, and added a no-contact order extending to Devon’s employer.

Aisha Robinson, a mother of two in Oakland, filed against the father of her younger child after he showed up at her apartment uninvited three nights in a row. She used DV-105 to request child custody and visitation orders. The judge granted sole temporary legal and physical custody under the §3044 presumption, ordered supervised visitation through a professional monitor, and signed item 6 to allow co-parenting through Our Family Wizard.

Mistakes to Avoid on DV-110 and the Companion DV-100

Each mistake below has cost real petitioners protection, custody, or even the entire order.

• Leaving children off item 3 — police cannot enforce the order to protect a child who is not listed, and the respondent can legally approach them.
• Vague addresses on item 7 — “her job” is unenforceable, and officers will not measure 100 yards from an unknown point.
• Forgetting to check item 6 when co-parenting — every text about pickup time becomes a TRO violation, even friendly ones.
• Skipping the firearm turn-in proof on DV-800 — the respondent stays in violation of Family Code §6389 and risks new charges.
• Filing under the wrong form set — using DV-100 against a coworker or stranger gets the packet rejected at the clerk’s window.
• Writing conclusions instead of facts in DV-100 item 6 — “he is abusive” is not enough, but “on March 3 he grabbed my wrist and twisted it until I screamed” is.
• Failing to serve the respondent before the hearing — without proof of personal service on DV-200, the judge cannot convert the TRO into a permanent order.
• Missing the hearing — the TRO expires that day and the petitioner must start over.
• Hiding a parallel criminal protective order — the judge may deny the TRO for lack of candor.
• Asking for a move-out without showing a right to possession — judges deny item 8 if the petitioner is only an occasional guest.

Do’s and Don’ts When Preparing DV-110

Do’s – Do attach exhibits — texts, photos, medical records — labeled A, B, C, because evidence beats narrative. – Do list every protected person by full legal name and date of birth, so CLETS registers them correctly. – Do request a fee waiver on form FW-001 — DV filings are already free, but related motions are not, and FW-001 covers them. – Do read the DV-510-INFO Sheriff’s Information Sheet so service goes smoothly. – Do bring a support person to the hearing under Code of Civil Procedure §527.6(o).

Don’ts – Don’t communicate with the respondent after filing, even to “warn” them — it can be used against you at the hearing. – Don’t exaggerate facts — judges read hundreds of these, and one disproven claim destroys the rest. – Don’t post the case on social media — screenshots become respondent’s exhibits. – Don’t skip the firearms section out of fear of retaliation — that is exactly why §6389 exists. – Don’t try to amend DV-110 by writing on it — use DV-115 for changes or reissues.

Pros and Cons of Seeking a DV-110

Pros – Same-day protection is possible if the ex parte showing is strong. – Filing fee is zero under Family Code §6222, and sheriff service is also free. – Triggers an automatic federal firearm prohibition that lasts the life of the order. – Carries full faith and credit in every state under 18 U.S.C. §2265. – Creates a paper trail that supports later custody, immigration (VAWA self-petition), or criminal cases.

Cons – The order is short — usually 21 to 25 days — and dies without a hearing. – Respondent gets a chance to fight back at the hearing, which can be re-traumatizing. – A denied TRO can embolden the abuser and undermine future filings. – The petitioner must appear in person (or by remote appearance under California Rule of Court 3.672) or lose the order. – False statements expose the petitioner to perjury under Penal Code §118.

Reissuing, Modifying, or Terminating the TRO

If the respondent has not been served by the hearing date, the petitioner can ask the judge to reissue DV-110 using DV-115 Request to Continue Hearing and Reissue Temporary Restraining Order. The judge then signs DV-116 granting the new dates. The order does not expire in the meantime as long as DV-115 is filed before the original expiration.

To modify a TRO — for example, to add a child or change a stay-away address — the petitioner files a new DV-100 checking the “modify” box and explaining what changed and why. To dismiss the case, the petitioner files CIV-110 Request for Dismissal, but a judge in Loeffler v. Medina (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 1495 cautioned that voluntary dismissal does not erase the underlying CLETS record.

Recap of Key Rulings That Shape DV-110 Practice

The leading cases shape how judges read the form. In re Marriage of Nadkarni expanded “disturbing the peace” to include emotional harm. Burquet v. Brumbaugh (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 1140 held that repeated unwanted contact, even without threats, supports a DV TRO. Caldwell v. Caldwell confirmed that the §3044 custody presumption applies the moment the TRO issues, not after the permanent order. The U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Rahimi settled the Second Amendment challenge to the firearm ban.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the petitioner sign DV-110?

No. Only the judge signs DV-110. The petitioner signs DV-100 under penalty of perjury, and the judge mirrors those requests onto DV-110 by checking boxes and adding findings.

Is there a filing fee for DV-110?

No. Under Family Code §6222 there is no fee to file or serve a domestic violence restraining order request, and the sheriff serves the respondent for free.

Can the petitioner file DV-110 online?

Yes. Most California counties accept e-filing through One Legal or county portals, and many courts now allow remote ex parte hearings under emergency rules.

Will DV-110 show up on a background check?

Yes. The order is registered in CLETS and is visible to law enforcement and many licensing agencies, although it is not a criminal conviction.

Can the respondent own a hunting rifle while DV-110 is in effect?

No. Family Code §6389 and 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(8) ban all firearms and ammunition, including hunting rifles, while a qualifying TRO is active.

Is DV-110 valid in other states?

Yes. The federal Violence Against Women Act, 18 U.S.C. §2265 requires every state, tribe, and territory to enforce a valid California DV-110 as if it were their own order.

Can a minor request DV-110?

Yes. A minor age 12 or older may file on their own behalf under Family Code §6229, and a parent or guardian may file for any child.

Does DV-110 affect immigration status?

No. A DV-110 alone does not change anyone’s status, but it can support a VAWA self-petition or U-visa application by the protected person.

Can the petitioner drop DV-110 before the hearing?

Yes. The petitioner may file CIV-110 Request for Dismissal at any time, but the CLETS entry remains visible to law enforcement until purged.

What happens if the respondent violates DV-110?

Yes, police can arrest on the spot. A first violation is a misdemeanor under Penal Code §273.6 carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Can DV-110 cover pets?

Yes. Under Family Code §6320(b), the judge can grant the petitioner exclusive care, possession, and control of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by either party.

How long does DV-110 last?

No longer than the noticed hearing — usually 21 to 25 days — under Family Code §242, unless reissued via DV-115.