# How to check California DVRO forms for common completeness problems

> A concrete pre-filing checklist for outdated forms, missing fields, signatures, continuation pages, local forms, packet consistency, and what only the clerk or court can decide.

**Direct answer.** Check current form versions, names and dates across the packet, required fields, signatures, attachment and continuation-page references, and local forms. Software can catch common document problems, but only the clerk can accept a filing.

## Check the form version and filing court first

Start with the official California Courts form page, not a saved PDF from an unofficial website. Judicial Council forms change. Compare the revision date and form number on every document against the current official copy. An outdated form can create avoidable work even when the information is otherwise complete.

Confirm the Superior Court county and courthouse. Then check that court website for local forms, cover sheets, e-filing instructions, and copy requirements. Statewide forms are the base packet, but filing requirements can include county-specific steps that a generic document check cannot discover unless the current court source is part of the review.

## Check required fields without guessing answers

Read each page for a missing name, address choice, relationship answer, date, requested-order selection, incident description, or other required field. A completeness tool may flag a blank or inconsistent answer. It must not invent a fact, infer an exact date, or convert an uncertain memory into a confident statement.

Compare repeated names, spellings, dates of birth, and county information across DV-100, DV-109, DV-110, CLETS-001, and attachments. If two pages disagree, return to the person who supplied the information. Consistency is not proof that a fact is legally sufficient; it only means the packet does not contradict itself on that field.

## Check signatures, dates, and court-only fields

Locate every signature and date line the filer must complete. Confirm the request is signed where the current form directs. At the same time, leave judicial officer, clerk, hearing, and order fields for the court when the instructions say the court completes them. A signature in the wrong role can be as problematic as a missing signature.

For e-filing, follow the court’s accepted signature method. For paper filing, confirm whether an original signature is required. JusticeOS can show where a signature appears to be missing; it does not sign for a person and does not certify that a particular electronic-signature method satisfies a local rule.

## Check every attachment and continuation reference

If DV-100 says “see attached,” the referenced page must exist, carry a clear title or item reference, and appear in the packet. Number continuation pages and keep them in the same order as the references. Check that a page count includes added pages when the form asks for one.

Open the final PDF from beginning to end rather than trusting the file list. Look for an accidental blank page, clipped text, tiny screenshots, a missing back page, a duplicate attachment, or content that moved outside a form field. Print one test copy if the filing will be on paper. A valid PDF is not automatically a readable court packet.

## The seven checks JusticeOS runs, named

A completeness check is only worth what it will tell you about itself. These are the seven mechanical comparisons the JusticeOS Clerk Check performs on an uploaded packet. Each one is a fixed rule against an official source, not a judgment: the same pages always produce the same findings, and every finding names the form item or rule it came from.

Three of them describe a document that would block acceptance as filed, and the rest describe something that varies by court or by packet. None of them evaluates what a person wrote, and none of them chooses a form, an order, or a court for anyone.

- Form version — the revision date printed in each form footer, compared against the current Judicial Council revision (form footer; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.31; courts.ca.gov/forms).
- Required information — each core item the form asks for, checked for a blank, cited to the form item and page.
- Signatures — every signature line the filer completes, checked for a signature, cited to the form item and page.
- Missing forms — whether DV-100, DV-109, and CLETS-001 are present, with DV-110 reported separately (DV-500-INFO; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.51).
- Attachments — where a custody request on DV-100 is marked, whether the referenced attachment is in the packet (DV-100 custody item; DV-105; DV-140).
- Caption consistency — repeated party names and the case number across pages, compared for disagreement (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.111).
- Court location — whether the county named on the packet is one of California’s 58 counties, and whether the caption agrees with it (courts.ca.gov/find-my-court).

## The six things it refuses to claim it checked

The more useful half of a document check is the part it will not pretend to have done. These six factors affect whether a packet is accepted and none of them is verifiable from an uploaded image, so the Clerk Check enumerates them rather than passing over them in silence.

- Handwriting legibility was not judged; clerks can decline pages they cannot read (Cal. Rules of Court, rules 2.100–2.119).
- What is written inside the description items was not evaluated; whether described events support an order is decided by the judicial officer (Fam. Code § 6300).
- Only the county was checked; which courthouse branch takes DVRO filings, and its window hours, vary by court (local court rules).
- Fee-waiver requests on FW-001 are decided by the court and were not checked. There is no filing fee for the DVRO forms themselves (Gov. Code § 68631; Fam. Code § 6222).
- Serving the papers happens after filing and was not checked; courts require proof of service before the hearing (DV-200; DV-500-INFO).
- The number of copies a court wants at the filing window varies and was not checked (local court rules).

## Know what a Clerk Check cannot decide

A software completeness check can run objective checks against official forms and flag an outdated form, missing field, absent signature, broken continuation reference, or inconsistency. It cannot decide whether the allegations meet a legal definition, whether evidence is persuasive, which orders a person should request, whether service was legally completed, or whether the court will accept or grant anything.

The clerk controls filing intake and may identify a filing requirement not represented in the statewide packet. A judicial officer decides temporary and longer-term orders. The filing court’s current instructions control over JusticeOS. If the clerk returns a packet, use the written reason to correct the document rather than guessing.

JusticeOS is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Its Clerk Check is a document-quality tool: it finds common completeness problems and shows the source and limit of each check.

## Questions people ask next

### Can a Clerk Check guarantee the court will accept my packet?

No. It can identify common completeness and consistency problems. The clerk controls filing intake, local filing requirements can change, and a judicial officer makes every decision on the request.

### What does JusticeOS check?

The check can compare form versions, required fields, names and dates across pages, signature lines, continuation references, attachments, and known packet rules. Each finding states what the software checked and what it cannot decide.

### Does JusticeOS review the strength of my case?

No. It does not evaluate evidence, decide whether conduct is legally abuse, recommend requested orders, or predict an outcome. Those questions require a court, Self-Help Center, or lawyer.

### What exactly does the check compare, item by item?

Seven fixed comparisons: printed form revision against the current Judicial Council version, required items against blanks, signature lines against signatures, the presence of DV-100, DV-109 and CLETS-001, an attachment referenced by a custody request, repeated names and case number across pages, and whether the county named is one of California’s 58. Each finding cites the form item or rule it came from.

### What cannot be checked from an upload?

Handwriting legibility, what the description items actually say, which courthouse branch takes the filing and when, a fee-waiver decision, service of the papers after filing, and how many copies the window wants. The check lists these six as unchecked rather than implying they passed.

## Official sources

- [California Courts — Fill out domestic violence restraining-order forms](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/DV-restraining-order/fill-forms)
- [California Courts — Find My Court and local instructions](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/find-my-court.htm)
- [California Courts — Current Judicial Council forms](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/forms)

## Related guides

- [Can you fill out California court forms on a computer and print them?](https://justiceos.ai/guides/printed-court-forms)
- [CLETS-001: the confidential form the other person never sees](https://justiceos.ai/guides/clets-001)
- [DV-100: what the California request form asks for](https://justiceos.ai/guides/dv-100)
- [Renewing a California restraining order: DV-700, and the deadline that ends the option](https://justiceos.ai/guides/dv-700)

Published 2026-07-20. Reviewed against official California Courts guidance on 2026-08-21.

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JusticeOS is not a law firm, is not your lawyer, and does not give legal advice. It explains California court forms and procedure in plain language and cites official sources. In immediate danger call 911. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.

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