Domestic Violence · October 28, 2026 · 11 min read
Civil Harassment Restraining Order
Someone has asked a Los Angeles judge to order you away from them for up to five years. The papers tell you the date. They do not tell you what the judge has to find, what the response form is for, or what you have to do with a firearm within 24 hours.
Criminal defense only. We do not file lawsuits or represent victims.
A civil harassment restraining order is a court order, requested on Judicial Council form CH-100 under California Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6, that can bar you from contacting or going near a neighbor, co-worker, landlord, former friend or more distant relative for up to five years. If you have been served, the papers already name your hearing date. The judge can only issue the order after that hearing if the evidence of harassment is clear and convincing.
This page is written for the person named in the request, the respondent. It walks through the forms in the envelope, what the judge has to find, how to prepare, and where a civil harassment case starts to overlap with a criminal one. That overlap is the part this office handles: the Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister defends people charged with crimes in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, and does not file lawsuits or represent the person asking for protection.
This page explains California law as of September 23, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not predict how any particular hearing will go. That depends on the evidence and the judge.
Key Takeaways
- The hearing must be held within 21 days of the judge ruling on the temporary order, or 25 days if the court finds good cause, and you must be personally served at least five days before it.
- An order after hearing issues only if the judge finds unlawful harassment by clear and convincing evidence, under section 527.6(i).
- Form CH-120 is your written response. Section 527.6 sets no separate filing deadline; file it before the hearing and have someone else mail a copy to the other side.
- If a temporary order was issued, firearms and ammunition must be surrendered or sold within 24 hours of service, with a receipt filed within 48 hours.
- Disobeying the order is a misdemeanor under Penal Code 273.6, punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Civil harassment is a different order from a domestic violence order
California has several restraining orders, and they are not interchangeable. A civil harassment order is for people who are not closely related and have not had a dating or intimate relationship. The California Courts self-help guide lists a neighbor, a landlord, a co-worker, or a more distant relative like an aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. Section 527.6(w) expressly does not apply to cases covered by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act in the Family Code.
That matters because the rules differ. If the person asking for protection is a spouse, a former partner, or a parent, child or sibling, the case is a domestic violence restraining order in family court, which we cover separately in our guide to EPOs, criminal protective orders and DVROs. If they are the upstairs neighbor or someone from work, you are in the section 527.6 process described here.
The request can also come from a court that is not the one near you. Since January 1, 2025, section 527.6(a)(2) lets a petition be filed in the county where the petitioner lives or is temporarily located, the county where the respondent lives, or the county where the conduct happened, among others. A Culver City resident can be served with papers from a courthouse in another county, and that courthouse is where the hearing will be.
What arrives in the envelope, and what each form asks of you
Section 527.6(m) requires personal service of the request, the notice of hearing and any temporary order. Read every page, because the obligations start before the hearing, not after it.
| Form | What it is | The time limit that goes with it |
|---|---|---|
| CH-100 | The request. Items 3 and 8 to 16 show the orders the other person wants. | Hearing within 21 days of the ruling on a temporary order, or 25 days for good cause (527.6(g)) |
| CH-109 | Notice of Court Hearing. Item 3 gives the date, time and department. | You must be personally served at least 5 days before the hearing, unless the court shortens that (527.6(m)) |
| CH-110 | Temporary Restraining Order, if the judge granted one. It is in force now. | Lasts up to 21 days, or 25 if the hearing is extended, and continues through any continuance unless the court says otherwise (527.6(f), (p)) |
| CH-120 | Your Response. Where you agree, disagree, deny or justify, and ask for fees. | File before the hearing date; a person 18 or older, not you, mails a copy and signs CH-250 |
| CH-800 | Receipt for firearms, firearm parts and ammunition. | Surrender or sell within 24 hours of service; file the receipt within 48 hours (527.9(b)) |
| CH-130 | The order after hearing, if the judge grants one. | Up to 5 years; renewable for up to 5 more without proof of new harassment; 3 years if no end date is written (527.6(j)) |
If there is no CH-110 in your papers, look at item 4 of the CH-109. The self-help guide says that if "all denied" is not checked, a temporary order was granted and you should get a copy from the court.
What the judge must find before an order issues
The civil harassment statute gives the petitioner an unusually high bar. The ordinary civil standard is a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. Section 527.6 asks for more.
"If the judge finds by clear and convincing evidence that unlawful harassment exists, an order shall issue prohibiting the harassment."
California Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6(i)(1), as amended by Stats. 2025, ch. 267 (AB 561), effective January 1, 2026
"Harassment" is a defined term, and the definition has three routes. The petitioner has to prove one of them:
- Unlawful violence. Assault, battery, or stalking under Penal Code 646.9. The definition expressly excludes lawful self-defense or defense of others.
- A credible threat of violence. A knowing and willful statement or course of conduct that would place a reasonable person in fear for their safety or their immediate family's safety, and that serves no legitimate purpose.
- A course of conduct. A series of acts over a period of time, however short, directed at a specific person, that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses them and serves no legitimate purpose. It has to be conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, and it must actually have caused the petitioner substantial emotional distress.
The hearing is argued inside those words. A single heated argument is not a series of acts. A text about a shared fence line or an unpaid invoice may have a legitimate purpose. And the statute removes "constitutionally protected activity" from the meaning of course of conduct altogether, which is where disputes over lawful speech, complaints to a landlord or a city office, and similar activity get argued.
Form CH-120: your written answer, and why it is sworn
Section 527.6(h) says the respondent "may file a response that explains, excuses, justifies, or denies the alleged harassment," or may file a cross-petition. The self-help guide describes the written response as optional. You can also present your opposition at the hearing itself. What is not optional is showing up: the notice of hearing has to warn you that if you do not attend, the court may make orders against you that could last up to five years.
The CH-120 is short and structured. It lets you agree or disagree separately with the personal conduct orders, the stay-away orders, any additional protected persons, the animal orders and other orders requested. Item 10 is a plain denial. Item 11 is where you explain why conduct you admit was justified or excused. Item 14 lets you ask the court to order the other side to pay your lawyer's fees and costs, which section 527.6(s) allows for a prevailing party. Under section 527.6(y)(2)(C) no fee is charged for a response to a petition alleging violence, threats of violence or stalking, and item 13 of the form is where you claim that or a fee waiver.
Then comes the line people sign without reading. The form ends with a declaration under penalty of perjury that everything in it is true. Your response is a sworn statement in a court file. Our domestic violence defense page makes the same point about the detective's follow-up phone call after an arrest: the account you give in that call is the one the case is built around. A written explanation of the same events, signed under oath, carries the same weight. If there is any chance the conduct in the petition is also under criminal investigation, speak to a criminal defense lawyer before you write it.
Preparing the hearing: evidence, witnesses and timing
At the hearing, section 527.6(i) directs the judge to receive any relevant testimony, and the judge may make an independent inquiry. Plan for the hearing to be the only chance you get to put your side in front of the court.
- Bring witnesses, and their statements. The Judicial Council's CH-120-INFO says you can bring witnesses and documents, and should also bring their written statements, made under penalty of perjury. Form MC-030 works for this.
- Keep the whole thread. If the petition quotes three messages, the other forty in the exchange are the context. Preserve them while they still exist, the same first-week step we describe for protective orders in criminal cases.
- Use the continuance if you need time. Section 527.6(o) entitles a respondent, as a matter of course, to one continuance for a reasonable period to respond. The temporary order stays in effect through the continued date unless the court orders otherwise.
- Expect the other person to be there. CH-120-INFO tells respondents to assume they will attend and not to speak to them unless the judge or their lawyer says you can.
- Remote appearance is not yet a right. Starting January 1, 2027, section 527.6(i)(2) lets parties and witnesses appear remotely without a fee. Until then, check your court's own rules.
You are not entitled to a court-appointed lawyer in a civil harassment case. CH-120-INFO puts it plainly: having a lawyer is a good idea but not required, and the court clerk can point you to free and low-cost help and the self-help center.
Firearms, work and the other consequences
The first consequence in time is the firearms rule, because it starts with the temporary order, not the final one. Under section 527.6(u) a person subject to the order may not own, possess, purchase or receive a firearm or ammunition while it is in effect. Section 527.9(b) requires surrender to local law enforcement or sale to a licensed dealer within 24 hours of being served, and a receipt filed with the court within 48 hours. The current forms extend the prohibition to firearm parts, including receivers and frames, and to body armor.
The work questions have narrow, written answers:
- A job that requires a firearm. Section 527.9(f)(2) allows a judge to permit a specific firearm during scheduled work hours only if carrying it is a condition of continued employment, the employer cannot reassign you, and the judge finds by a preponderance of the evidence that you pose no additional threat. You must still surrender everything until the judge decides.
- A job that requires body armor. That exception comes from the chief of police or sheriff, not the judge, under Penal Code 31360(c).
- A shared workplace. The court can order you to stay away from the petitioner's workplace, according to CH-120-INFO. If you work in the same building, raise that on the CH-120 so the distance order is written around it, rather than finding out on your first day back.
The firearm prohibition is enforced. The California Department of Justice's 2025 Armed and Prohibited Persons System report counted 4,794 people, 17.6% of the 27,199 armed and prohibited persons in its database on January 1, 2026, who were prohibited because of a protection or restraining order, and its appendix lists a civil harassment order under section 527.6 among the prohibiting categories. Knowingly owning or possessing a firearm while prohibited is a separate crime under Penal Code 29825(b), punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both; buying or receiving one, or trying to, can be charged under subdivision (a) with a possible state prison term.
The order is also transmitted to law enforcement and the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System under section 527.6(r), so officers responding to a call can see it. The Judicial Council's respondent forms do not address immigration, and we do not speculate here. If your status is a concern, raise it with a lawyer before the hearing.
When a criminal case runs alongside the civil one
A civil harassment petition is not a criminal charge. The conduct described in it can be, though. The statute itself borrows criminal definitions: "unlawful violence" includes stalking under Penal Code 646.9, and the orders can prohibit annoying telephone calls as described in Penal Code 653m. A written threat described in a CH-100 is the same kind of evidence behind a criminal threats charge under Penal Code 422.
Three points follow from that.
First, the order creates its own criminal exposure. Section 527.6(t) makes willful disobedience punishable under Penal Code 273.6, a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, with higher penalties if a violation results in physical injury. Our restraining-order guide puts the trap plainly: a reconciling text counts, and an invitation from the protected person is not a defense. CH-120-INFO adds that you cannot agree with the protected person to cancel the order. Once it issues, only the judge can change it.
Second, collecting belongings is a way people violate an order without meaning to. For protective orders in domestic violence cases, our guidance is not to go back to the protected address yourself, even for ten minutes and even with permission, and to use a civil standby instead. The same caution applies when a civil harassment order covers a shared building or a former roommate's home.
Third, the two cases read each other. What you sign on the CH-120 and say on the stand becomes part of the civil record, and the civil hearing may come before any criminal filing decision. That timing is why the order of steps matters. Where charges have not been filed, the pre-filing window matters: what is presented to the prosecutor before the filing decision can shape whether and what they file.
If you have been served in Los Angeles
Start with the date on the CH-109 and count backward. Obey the temporary order to the letter. Deal with any firearms inside 24 hours. Decide whether to use your one continuance. Gather the full message history and your witnesses' signed statements. Then decide what goes on the CH-120, and whether it should be written before or after you have spoken to a criminal defense lawyer.
If the police have contacted you about the same events, if you have been arrested for violating an order, or if a firearm charge is on the table, that is the work this office does. The Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister is a criminal defense practice at 3415 S Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. The first conversation is free, confidential, and with Aaron, not an intake service; the line is answered 24/7 at (310) 881-2786, and a fee is quoted flat and in writing after the review. You can request a confidential case review here.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to respond to a civil harassment restraining order?
Section 527.6 sets no separate deadline for the CH-120 response. File it before the hearing date shown on form CH-109 and have someone 18 or older, not you, mail a copy to the other side. The hearing itself must be held within 21 days of the ruling on the temporary order, or 25 days for good cause, and you must be served at least five days before it.
Do I have to file form CH-120?
No. The California Courts self-help guide describes the written response as optional, and you can present your opposition at the hearing. What you should not skip is the hearing. If you do not attend, the judge can make orders against you that last up to five years without hearing your side.
What does the judge have to find to grant a civil harassment restraining order?
Unlawful harassment, proved by clear and convincing evidence, under section 527.6(i). Harassment means unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct that serves no legitimate purpose and would cause, and actually caused, substantial emotional distress. Constitutionally protected activity does not count as a course of conduct.
Can I postpone a civil harassment restraining order hearing?
Yes, once as of right. Section 527.6(o) entitles the respondent to one continuance for a reasonable period to respond, and either side can ask for a further continuance on a showing of good cause. Any temporary restraining order normally stays in effect until the continued hearing.
How long does a civil harassment restraining order last?
An order issued after the hearing can last up to five years and can be renewed for up to five more without proof of new harassment. If no expiration date is written on the order, it lasts three years from issuance. A temporary order lasts until the hearing.
What happens to my guns if a civil harassment restraining order is issued?
You may not own, possess, buy or receive firearms or ammunition while the order is in effect. Under section 527.9 you must surrender them to law enforcement or sell them to a licensed dealer within 24 hours of being served, and file a receipt, such as form CH-800, within 48 hours. A narrow work exception exists under section 527.9(f).
Can the person who asked for the order just agree to drop it?
Not once it has been issued. The Judicial Council's CH-120-INFO says that only the judge can change or cancel an order, so either side has to file a request with the court. Contact with the protected person while the order is in force can be charged under Penal Code 273.6, even if they invited it.
Sources: California Code of Civil Procedure sections 527.6 (as amended by Stats. 2025, ch. 267) and 527.9; Penal Code sections 273.6 and 29825; Judicial Council forms CH-100, CH-109, CH-110, CH-120, CH-120-INFO, CH-130 and CH-800 (all Rev. January 1, 2026), including CH-120-INFO, How Can I Respond to a Request for Civil Harassment Restraining Orders?; California Courts Self-Help Guide, civil harassment restraining orders; California Department of Justice, Armed and Prohibited Persons System Report 2025.
Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister. Aaron P. McAllister, Esq., responsible attorney. 3415 S Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Attorney advertising. This page is general information about California law, not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case turns on its own facts. Submitting information through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. Law stated as of September 23, 2026.