Help preparing your restraining order paperwork
The court forms for a restraining order can be long and stressful to complete. As a Registered Legal Document Assistant, TruPoint Legal prepares them accurately at your direction — in English, Vietnamese, or Spanish. We prepare documents; we do not give legal advice or represent you in court.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911
If you or someone else is in danger right now, call 911. For free, 24/7 support, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (or text START to 88788).
California courts also offer free help. The Santa Clara County Restraining Order Help Center and the California Courts Self-Help website assist people with restraining orders at no cost. TruPoint Legal is a paid option for hands-on help completing the paperwork.
What is a restraining order in California?
A restraining order (also called a protective order) is a court order that tells one person to stop certain conduct toward another — such as contact, harassment, threats, or abuse — and can include staying a set distance away. To request one, a person files a set of Judicial Council forms with the court, a judge reviews the request, and a hearing is usually scheduled. California has several kinds, depending on the relationship between the people involved.
As a Registered Legal Document Assistant, TruPoint Legal can prepare these forms at your direction and help with the filing and service steps. An LDA is not an attorney: we do not give legal advice, decide which order fits your situation, write the legal arguments in your declaration, or represent you at the hearing. For advice about your specific case, the court self-help center above or a licensed attorney can help.
Restraining order forms we can prepare
Domestic violence
For protection from a current or former spouse, partner, someone you have a child with, or a close family member or household member.
Civil harassment
For protection from someone you are not closely related to and never dated — such as a neighbor, coworker, roommate, or stranger.
Elder or dependent-adult abuse
For protection of an adult 65 or older, or a dependent adult, from abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.
Workplace violence
Filed by an employer to protect an employee from violence or a credible threat of violence at work.
Responding to a restraining order
If a restraining order has been requested against you, we can also prepare your response forms at your direction so you can file them and be heard at the hearing.
What we do, and what we don’t
What TruPoint does
- Prepare and type the court forms accurately, at your direction, from the information you provide
- Help you understand the general filing and service steps the court requires
- Provide service in English, Vietnamese, or Spanish
- Charge a flat fee, quoted before any work begins
What an LDA cannot do
- Give legal advice or tell you whether or which order to seek
- Write the legal arguments or strategy in your declaration
- Represent you or speak for you at the court hearing
- Predict the outcome of your case
Free help is available too
Court self-help centers prepare restraining order paperwork for free, and you are always welcome to use them. TruPoint Legal is a paid option for people who want hands-on help, language support, or someone to handle the typing and logistics with them. For legal advice, a licensed attorney is the right resource. See the California Courts Self-Help website, or explore our other civil document preparation services.
Flat fee, quoted up front
Restraining order form preparation is offered at a flat fee, quoted during a free consultation before any work begins — no hourly billing and no surprises.
Court filing fees are separate and set by the court. In California there is generally no court fee to file a domestic violence restraining order, and civil harassment filings are typically free when they involve violence or a credible threat. Fee waivers are available, and the court determines eligibility. Confirm current fees with your court or self-help center.
Restraining order help, answered
What is the difference between a domestic violence and a civil harassment restraining order?
Can a Legal Document Assistant help me file a restraining order?
Do you give legal advice or represent me at the hearing?
How much does it cost?
Can you help me respond to a restraining order filed against me?
Where can I get free help with a restraining order?
What information do I need to prepare the forms?
Can TruPoint tell me whether I should get a restraining order, or which type?
Need help with the paperwork?
If you have decided to file or respond, we will prepare your restraining order forms accurately and at your direction, at a flat fee quoted up front. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. To begin, contact us or complete our intake forms.