Domestic Violence Forms

Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order

Use this form to request a domestic violence restraining order against an abusive spouse, partner, or family member. The court can order your abusive partner to stop all contact, stay away from you, and move out of your home.

Description of Abuse

This form allows someone to describe the abuse they experienced in detail when asking a court for a domestic violence restraining order or protective order. Domestic violence victims, their attorneys, or advocates use this form to document specific incidents of abuse to help the court understand why they need legal protection.

Request for Child Custody and Visitation Orders

This form asks the court to make decisions about child custody and visitation when there is a domestic violence situation involved. Parents or guardians use it to request custody and visitation orders as part of a domestic violence case to protect children and establish their care arrangements.

Request for Orders to Prevent Child Abduction (Domestive Violence Prevention)

This form allows someone to request court orders that prevent a parent or other person from taking a child out of California or hiding them during a domestic violence situation. A person experiencing domestic violence uses this form to protect their child from being abducted and to get custody or travel restrictions that keep the child safe.

Notice of Court Hearing

This form is used to notify someone that they are required to appear in court for a domestic violence case. A person involved in a domestic violence situation—either the person seeking protection or the person being accused—would need this form to know when and where to show up for their court date.

Temporary Restraining Order

This form is used to ask a court to quickly stop someone from harassing, threatening, hitting, or coming near you when you're in immediate danger from domestic violence. Someone who is being abused by a spouse, partner, family member, or roommate would file this form to get emergency protection, often within hours or days.

Waiver of Hearing on Denied Request for Temporary Restraining Order

This form allows someone to give up their right to a court hearing after a judge has rejected their request for a temporary restraining order. A person who wanted a restraining order but was denied uses this form to accept the denial without going to court to argue against the judge's decision.

Request to Continue Hearing (Temporary Restraining Order) (Domestic Violence Prevention)

This form asks a court to delay a hearing on a temporary restraining order in a domestic violence case so that more time can be prepared. Someone who received a temporary restraining order or the person who requested it uses this form when they need extra time before the court decides whether to make the restraining order permanent.

Order on Request to Continue Hearing (Temporary Restraining Order) (CLETS-TRO) (Domestic Violence Prevention)

This form allows a judge to postpone a domestic violence restraining order hearing and extend a temporary protective order that was issued to keep someone safe from abuse. A person who has a temporary restraining order uses this form when they need more time before the full hearing, or when the court decides to continue the case to a later date.

Order Granting Alternative Service

This form allows a court to approve an alternative way to serve (deliver) court papers in a domestic violence restraining order case when the standard method of service cannot be completed. A judge, court clerk, or person representing themselves in a domestic violence case uses this form to document permission for serving papers by mail, email, or another approved method instead of personal delivery.

Response to Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order

The DV-120 form is used by a person who has been accused of domestic violence to respond to a court's request for a restraining order and explain their side of the situation to a judge. A defendant (the person the restraining order is being filed against) would need to fill out this form if they want to contest the restraining order or provide their version of events.

Response to Request for Child Custody and Visitation Orders

This form lets someone respond to a request for child custody and visitation orders in a domestic violence case. A parent or guardian uses it to tell the court their side of the story about what custody and visitation arrangements should be best for the child's safety and well-being.

Restraining Order After Hearing

This form is used by a judge to officially order someone to stop harassing, threatening, or physically abusing another person after a court hearing where both sides presented their case. A person who has experienced domestic violence, abuse, stalking, or threats would need this form to get legal protection that can prohibit the abuser from contacting them or coming near them.

Child Custody and Visitation Order

This form is used to create a court order that decides which parent or guardian has custody of a child and sets up a visitation schedule for the other parent. Judges, family law attorneys, and parents use this form in domestic violence cases to establish or modify child custody arrangements while protecting the safety of the child and any abuse victims.

Order to Prevent Child Abduction

This form is a court order that prevents a parent or guardian from taking a child out of California or hiding them to stop the other parent from seeing them. Judges, parents, and lawyers use it in family law cases to protect children from being kidnapped or removed from the state during custody disputes.

Mandatory Findings for Child Custody and Visitation Order (Domestic Violence Prevention)

This form documents the court's required findings when making decisions about child custody and visitation in cases involving domestic violence, ensuring the safety and best interests of children are protected. Judges and court staff use this form to create an official record that domestic violence was considered and to justify custody or visitation restrictions put in place to protect children from an abusive parent.

Request to Keep Minor's Information Confidential

This form lets you ask the court to keep your minor child's personal information (like address, school, and phone number) hidden from the other party in a domestic violence case. Parents or guardians use it to protect their children's safety and privacy when filing for or responding to a restraining order.

Order on Request to Keep Minor's Information Confidential

This form allows a court to order that a minor child's personal information—such as address, phone number, and school location—be kept confidential and hidden from public court records in domestic violence cases. Parents, guardians, or the court use this form to protect children's safety and privacy by preventing an abusive or dangerous person from accessing details that could be used to locate or harm them.

Notice of Order Protecting Information of Minor

This form notifies parties involved in a domestic violence case that a court order has been issued to keep a minor child's personal information (such as address or school location) confidential and protected from public records. Parents, guardians, or attorneys use this form to ensure that sensitive details about children are hidden from an abuser or other dangerous individuals who might misuse that information.

Cover Sheet for Confidential Information

This form allows people to submit sensitive personal information (like addresses or phone numbers) to the court in domestic violence cases while keeping that information hidden from the other person. Domestic violence victims and their attorneys use it to protect their safety and privacy by preventing abusers from seeing their location or contact details in court records.

Request for Release of Minor's Confidential Information

This form allows someone to request that a court release private information about a minor that has been kept confidential in a domestic violence case. A parent, guardian, attorney, or other authorized person uses this form when they need access to sealed records about a child for purposes like custody decisions, restraining order proceedings, or child protection matters.

Notice of Request for Release of Minor's Confidential Information

This form notifies the court and other parties that someone is asking to access private information about a minor that is normally kept confidential in a domestic violence case. A person involved in a domestic violence restraining order case uses this form when they need to obtain sealed or protected records about a child in order to proceed with their legal matter.

Response to Request for Release of Minor's Confidential Information

This form allows a person to object to someone's request to access private information about a minor child in a domestic violence case. A parent, guardian, or other person protecting a child's safety uses this form to keep sensitive details about the minor confidential and prevent their release to the requesting party.

Order on Request for Release of Minor's Confidential Information

This form allows a court to decide whether to release a minor child's confidential information that was filed in a domestic violence case. Parents, guardians, or attorneys use this form to request access to sealed or protected records about a child involved in a restraining order or protective order case.

Agreement and Judgment of Parentage

This form is used to record an agreement between parents about parentage and to get a court judgment that officially establishes who the legal parents of a child are. Parents, unmarried couples, or their lawyers use this form to legally recognize parentage and establish parental rights and responsibilities without going through a full court trial.

Proof of Personal Service

This form is used to show that someone was officially given a copy of a domestic violence court order or restraining order in person, so the court has proof the other person actually received it. The person who delivered the papers—like a sheriff, police officer, or any adult who isn't involved in the case—fills it out to confirm they handed it directly to the person being restrained.

Emergency Protective Order

This form is an immediate court order issued to protect someone from abuse, threats, or harassment. Law enforcement officers can issue this order on the spot in emergency situations to keep a person safe.

Proof of Service of Emergency Protective Order

This form documents that an emergency protective order has been properly delivered to the person being protected and the person subject to the order. It provides proof that the court's protection order is now in effect.