California Learn
Domestic violence protection: the DVPA lives inside the Family Code
California's protective-order law is part of the Family Code itself: abuse is broader than physical injury (it includes harassment, stalking, and disturbing the peace — with coercive control named), protection turns on relationship, ex parte orders are available the same day (a denial must state reasons and carries a prompt-hearing right), after-hearing orders run up to five years and are renewable, every order transmits into the statewide law-enforcement system, and firearm possession is prohibited while an order is in effect.
The honesty note
Safety routes first — the DV-100 series official forms are the petition path, protective orders are civil and free to file, and none of it waits for a dissolution case. If there is danger now: 911.
Authority locked — retrieved from the hash-pinned corpus
Do it with the tools
Legal information, not legal advice. Statements about county practice defer to your superior court's local rules (CRC rule 5.4 territory) and the official self-help center — where this platform has no verified county data, it says so instead of guessing.