# An out-of-state restraining order in California: you are already protected, and DV-600 is optional

> What California does with a restraining order from another state, tribal court, or Canada: why registration is not required for enforcement, what DV-600 actually buys you, and why it is free and sealed.

**Direct answer.** California Family Code section 6403(d) states plainly that registration or filing of an order in this state is NOT required for enforcement of a valid foreign protection order. An officer who has probable cause to believe a valid foreign order exists and has been violated must enforce it as if a California court had made it, and section 6403(a) states that presenting an order naming both people and facially in effect is itself that probable cause — a certified copy is not required. Registering on form DV-600 is voluntary and free; what it adds is entry into the statewide law-enforcement database, so an officer can find the order without you producing it.

## The sentence worth reading first

If you left another state carrying a protective order, the question underneath every other question is whether it still means anything here. California Family Code section 6403(d) answers it directly: registration or filing of an order in this state is not required for the enforcement of a valid foreign protection order.

Section 6403(a) goes further on what an officer must do. On probable cause that a valid foreign order exists and has been violated, a California law enforcement officer shall enforce it as if it were the order of a California court. And presenting an order that identifies both the protected person and the respondent, and on its face is currently in effect, constitutes in and of itself probable cause. The statute states a certified copy is not required, and that the order may be on paper or stored electronically so long as it can be retrieved in perceivable form.

## So what does registering actually buy

One specific thing: the database. Family Code section 6404(a) describes registration as the process by which a person in possession of a foreign protection order may voluntarily register it with a California court for entry into the California Restraining and Protective Order System. DV-600 is that request, and the judge’s finding on the form states the order is registered, valid, and enforceable in California and can be entered into CLETS, unless it ends or is changed by the court that made it.

The practical difference is who has to be carrying the paper. An unregistered order is enforceable, but an officer’s route to it runs through what you can show them. A registered one is in the system an officer already searches.

## It is free, and there is no hearing

Family Code section 6404(b) states no fee shall be charged for registering a foreign protection order, and that the court clerk shall provide all Judicial Council forms required by this part free of charge.

The DV-600 form itself states that no court hearing is required to register a foreign protection order. This is paperwork filed with a clerk, not a hearing to be prepared for and not an occasion where the other person appears.

## The file is sealed, and that is statutory

DV-600 and the attached order must be sealed under Family Code section 6404(a). The form states access is allowed only to law enforcement; to the person who registered the order, on written request with proof of identification; to the defense after arraignment on criminal charges involving an alleged violation of the order; or on further order of the court.

For someone who moved specifically to be harder to find, that matters as much as the enforcement question: registering does not put the order, or what it says, into a file the public can read.

## Which orders this covers

The declaration on DV-600 asks you to confirm the attached order is a true and correct copy, is currently valid and in full force and effect, has not been changed, canceled, or replaced by any other order, and was made in a different state, a U.S. territory, an Indian tribal court, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or a military court. California Courts also describes DV-600 as covering an order granted by Canada.

The form asks for the order’s expiration date, and the judge’s finding is expressly conditioned on the order not having ended or been changed by the court that issued it. An expired order is not registrable, and the issuing court remains the court that controls it.

## One caveat about someone who was never served

Family Code section 6403(c) covers the case where an otherwise valid foreign order cannot be enforced because the respondent was never notified or served. The officer must inform the respondent of the order, make a reasonable effort to serve it, and allow a reasonable opportunity to comply before enforcing it. The statute states verbal notice of the terms is sufficient for this purpose.

JusticeOS is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page describes what the California Family Code and the Judicial Council form say; how a particular order is treated is for the court and law enforcement. Local filing practice varies, and a court clerk or Self-Help Center can confirm it.

## The official form is published in other languages

DV-600 is published by California Courts in Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Korean and Vietnamese, alongside the English version. Those are the Judicial Council’s own translations of the form itself — the document you file — rather than summaries of it. Each translation is on that form’s own page at California Courts, linked under Official sources at the foot of this guide.

These guides are written in English. California Courts also publishes a page on asking for a court interpreter, and makes a point worth repeating here: even for someone who speaks English in everyday life, the situations and language in court can be very difficult.

## Questions people ask next

### Do I have to register my out-of-state restraining order in California?

No. California Family Code section 6403(d) states that registration or filing of an order in this state is not required for the enforcement of a valid foreign protection order. Registering on DV-600 is voluntary and adds entry into the statewide law-enforcement database.

### Will the police here enforce an order from another state?

Family Code section 6403(a) states that an officer with probable cause to believe a valid foreign protection order exists and has been violated shall enforce it as if it were an order of a California court, and that presenting an order naming both people and facially in effect is itself probable cause. A certified copy is not required.

### Does registering cost anything?

No. Family Code section 6404(b) states no fee shall be charged, and that the clerk shall provide the required Judicial Council forms free of charge.

### Is there a hearing to register?

No. Form DV-600 states that no court hearing is required to register a foreign protection order.

### Will registering make my order public?

No. DV-600 and the attached order must be sealed under Family Code section 6404(a). The form limits access to law enforcement, to the person who registered it on written request with proof of identification, to the defense after arraignment on charges involving an alleged violation, or on further order of the court.

### Does it cover a tribal court or a Canadian order?

The DV-600 declaration covers an order made in a different state, a U.S. territory, an Indian tribal court, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or a military court. California Courts also describes the form as covering an order granted by Canada.

## Official sources

- [California Family Code § 6403 — enforcement of a foreign protection order](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=6403)
- [California Family Code § 6404 — registration, sealing, and no fee](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=6404)
- [California Courts — DV-600 Order to Register Out-of-State or Tribal Court Protective/Restraining Order](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/DV-600)
- [California Courts — Ask for an interpreter](https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/request-interpreter)

## Related guides

- [California domestic violence restraining-order forms: the starting packet](https://justiceos.ai/guides/california-dvro-forms)
- [CLETS-001: the confidential form the other person never sees](https://justiceos.ai/guides/clets-001)
- [Serving California DVRO papers: who can serve and what to file](https://justiceos.ai/guides/dvro-service)

Published 2026-08-22. Reviewed against official California Courts guidance on 2026-08-22.

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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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