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Legal Information: California

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
January 11, 2024

Step 6 - After the hearing

Once the judge has signed the restraining order after hearing form, take all the copies to the clerk’s office so they can be stamped and returned to you.

You are entitled to three free certified copies of the DVRO from the court clerk.1 Your order does not have to be certified to be enforced, but in some counties, law enforcement demand a certified copy anyway. You will need one copy of the final court order for each law enforcement agency you want to give the order to, the abuser, your children’s school or daycare provider, and others who will help enforce the court order, and two copies for yourself. The court may charge a fee if you need more than three certified copies of your DVRO.

If you get confused about exactly what the judge has ordered, you can ask for a copy of the “minute order,” which is usually available from the court clerk a few days after the hearing. The minute order is what the court clerk writes down as the judge tells what order is s/he granting. You can also purchase a copy of the transcript from the court reporter, which will include everything that was said during the hearing. (The transcript can be very expensive, so ask for an estimate before requesting one.) However, the information in the transcript or minute order will not be looked at by the police when enforcing the DVRO. Only the terms written in the order will be enforced, so please be sure that you read the order carefully before leaving court to make sure that it has the terms in it that you expected it to have.

1 Ann.Cal.Fam.Code § 6387