Recently updated on April 6th, 2025 at 01:22 pm

Once you receive a court date for your restraining order, you must ensure that someone delivers a copy of your court documents to the person from whom you’re seeking protection. This process is called **serving papers**. A sheriff or marshal can serve the papers for free, but you can also designate someone else to do it for you. Serving the papers notifies the other party that a case has been filed, what steps they need to take, and any restrictions they must follow if a temporary restraining order is in place.

Option 1: Ask the Sheriff

To have the sheriff serve your papers, you need to provide an address or location for the person you want to restrain. If that person is in jail, the sheriff can serve them there. However, if they are in a California prison, the prison staff, not the sheriff, will handle service. Follow the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s guidelines for serving someone in prison.

What if I don’t want the sheriff to serve my court papers?

It’s important to have the restrained person served as quickly as possible. Once they are served, law enforcement can arrest them if they violate the order. Serving the papers is also essential because it allows the judge to consider issuing a long-term restraining order, which can last up to five years. Without proper service, the court can only grant a temporary restraining order. Serving papers can be challenging and may take multiple attempts. If needed, the judge can grant you more time to complete this step at your court hearing.

 

Step 1:  Fill out form SER-001 – Request for Sheriff to Serve Court Papers (form SER-001)

Use this form to request the sheriff to serve the other party with your court documents.

Tips for completing the form:

• Location of the person (Item 4): The sheriff will attempt to serve the person at the address you provide. If you have more than one address (such as their home and work), you can list both under item 4a and 4b. Be sure to include the times the person is likely to be at each location.
• Type of court papers (Item 5a): In this field, write “domestic violence restraining order.”
• Court hearing (Item 5c): Enter the court date, which is found on form DV-109 in section 3.
• Deadline for service (Item 5d): To find the deadline, check form DV-109, section 6, to see how many days the court has given for service. Subtract that number of days from the court date listed in DV-109, section 3. For example, if the hearing is on June 10 and the judge ordered service at least 5 days before the hearing, the deadline for service would be June 5.

Make sure to contact the sheriff or marshal as early as possible, as it may take them several weeks to complete service.

 

Step 2:  Give set of clerk stamped documents to Sheriff

When your case You’ll need to provide the sheriff with your completed form SER-001 along with copies of all the court documents that must be served to the other party. These typically include:

• Form DV-109 Notice of Hearing — This is the most important document informing the respondent about the hearing
• Form DV-100
• Form DV-110 (if granted by the judge) – The Temporary Restraining Order may or may not be granted depending on the seriousness of the situation and the evidence submitted.
• Form DV-120 (leave blank for the other party to fill out)
• Form DV-250 (leave blank)

If you requested child custody or support, there may be additional forms. Check page 2 of form DV-109 to see if the judge has ordered you to serve any other documents.

In some cases you can give your papers to the sheriff in person or electronically. Contact the sheriff’s office for more details on how to turn in your papers. In Trinity county, contact the marshal for service. 

 

Step 3: Get paperwork back from the sheriff

The sheriff will provide paperwork after attempting to serve your documents.

• If the sheriff successfully serves your papers:
  An officer will complete a Proof of Service form, which confirms that the other party was served. This document is essential for the court to proceed with your case.
• If the sheriff is unsuccessful:
  They will complete a form explaining that they were unable to serve the papers, noting the dates and times they attempted service. This form is often called a Declaration of Due Diligence.
• Follow up with the sheriff:
  If you haven’t received paperwork, check with the sheriff’s office to see if service was completed by the deadline. If the other party wasn’t served, you may need to reschedule your court date. You can learn more about how to do this through the court.

 

Step 4: File the Proof that the respondent has been served with the court

 

Option 2: Ask another person not party in the case

Have someone other than the sheriff serve your restraining order

Once you receive a court date for your restraining order, someone must deliver a copy of your court documents to the person from whom you’re seeking protection (the other party in your case). This process, called serving papers, informs the other party that a case has been filed, what actions they need to take, and any restrictions (if a temporary restraining order is granted).

Before you start: If your restraining order papers aren’t served, law enforcement cannot arrest the other party for violating a temporary restraining order, and the court cannot issue a restraining order lasting up to five years.

What if the judge didn’t grant a temporary restraining order?
You’ll still need to serve the papers to proceed with your case.

How to serve your Request for Restraining Order:

1. Choose your server:
   The person serving the papers must be:
   • At least 18 years old
   • Not involved in your case (such as being listed as a protected person or witness)
     You cannot serve the papers yourself. You can hire a professional process server or request the sheriff to serve the papers at no cost.

   Consider the safety of your server. If serving papers might be dangerous, it’s best to have the sheriff handle it.

2. Know your service deadline:
   The papers must be served before a specific deadline. To find the deadline, check your Notice of Court Hearing (form DV-109). Look at item 6 on page 2 for the number of days required for service. The papers must be delivered by that number of days before your court date (item 3 on page 1). You can serve the papers earlier, but not later.

What if you can’t meet the deadline?
If you are unable to serve the papers in time, you may need to ask the court for more time.

Give your server the necessary documents:
Provide your server with:

1. A copy of your court papers, including:
   • Form DV-109
   • Form DV-100
   • Form DV-110 (if granted by the judge)
   • Form DV-120 (leave blank, as it’s for the other party to fill out)
   • Form DV-250 (leave blank)
   • Any additional forms for child custody or support, if applicable. Check page 2 of form DV-109 to see if the court ordered you to serve any other documents.
2. A partially completed Proof of Personal Service form (DV-200):
   You should fill out items 1-3, and your server will complete items 4-7 after serving the papers.

Instructions for your server:
Once your server has the documents, they should:

• Deliver the court papers to the other party as soon as possible, and no later than the deadline
• Complete the Proof of Service form (DV-200)
• Return the completed form to you for filing with the court

What if the other party refuses to accept the papers?
Your server can still complete the service by leaving the documents near the other party.

Filing the Proof of Service (DV-200):
Once you receive the completed Proof of Service form, make a copy. File both the original and the copy with the court clerk. The clerk will stamp and return the copy to you. Keep the copy with you at all times, along with a copy of your restraining order (if granted). Be sure to bring both to your court hearing.

If the temporary restraining order (form DV-110) was granted, once the other party is served, they can be arrested for violating it.