Civil Harassment

You can request a Civil Harassment Restraining Order when someone is harassing you and you would like a court order to make them stop.  A Civil Harassment Restraining Order is not right in all cases, though.

YOU DO NOT FILE A CIVIL HARASSMENT RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST:

• Current Romantic Partner
• Former Romantic Partner
• Grandparent
• Parent
• Brother/Sister
• Son/Daughter

If the person you want a restraining order against is a close family relation or a current/former romantic partner, you may need to request a Domestic Violence Restraining Order.  If you believe a Domestic Violence Restraining Order may be appropriate in your case, you may wish to request information from the Family Law Facilitator’s office at (661) 868-4815, or via email at wmfacil@kern.courts.ca.gov.

IF YOU NEED DOCUMENTS FOR YOUR CIVIL HARASSMENT RESTRAINING ORDER:
One of your best resources for up to date information and documents for most civil matters in California is on the Judicial Branch website.

For documents and information regarding requesting Civil Harassment Restraining Orders specifically, you should visit this page. 

The website also has a detailed entry for those who have been named as the party to be restrained in a Civil Harassment case.

If you would like, the Kern County Law Library has compiled a zip drive containing packets of documents you may use to initate your action for a civil harassment restraining order, respond to a request, ask for more time to serve the person to be restrained, etc.

Feel free to download the Judicial Council Forms for Civil Harassment Restraining Order here.

TO SERVE:
Someone other than you, 18 or older needs to give a copy to whoever is being served and sign a proof of service. You must then turn the proof of service in to the court. This generally needs to be turned in at least 5 days before the hearing.

Personal service is required for restraining orders.  See the packet of documents titled Continue Hearing to Allow Time for Service in the zip drive linked above if you need to ask for more time to serve the person to be restrained.

BE AWARE it usually takes a couple of days to receive your paperwork back from the court and immediate orders are not always granted. Read through the papers you get back from the court carefully to find out whether temporary orders have been issued pending your hearing.