Restraining Orders

You can file for a gun violence restraining order if the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself/herself or another person by having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. Additionally, to file for a gun violence restraining order, you must be the respondent’s immediate family member or a law enforcement officer.¹ You are considered an immediate family member if you are the respondent’s:

• spouse (including a common law spouse if established in a state that recognizes common law marriage);
• domestic partner;
• parent;
• child;
• second-degree relative (such as an uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, grandparent, grandchild, etc.); or
• current household member or regularly lived in the respondent’s household within the previous six months before filing.²

Note: You can request that a law enforcement officer file a petition even if you are not the respondent’s immediate family member.

¹ Cal. Penal Code § 18105(a)(1), (a)(2)
² Cal. Penal Code § 422.4(b)(3)