Yes. California law does not require a police report or a criminal case before a court can issue a domestic violence restraining order. The court can act on your own sworn account alone, but that account still has to show the court reasonable proof of past abuse.

What the law actually says

Under Family Code section 6300(a), “The court may issue an order under this part based solely on the affidavit or testimony of the person requesting the restraining order.” An affidavit is a sworn written statement. Nothing in the section makes a police report, an arrest, or criminal charges a condition. You ask the court for the order directly, as a civil matter.

Solely does not mean automatically

The same subdivision sets the showing the court needs: the affidavit or testimony, together with any information the court gathers under Family Code section 6306 (the court’s background search on the other person), must show, to the court’s satisfaction, “reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse.” So a report is not required, but proof is. A specific account is more useful to a judge than a general statement that abuse happened. Without a police report, material that can support your account includes:

  • A clear description of what happened and when, incident by incident.
  • Messages, photos, emails, or voicemails from around the time of the incidents.
  • Medical records, if you sought treatment, even if no report was made.
  • A witness who can be identified and who saw or heard something relevant.

None of these items is legally required by section 6300. They go to how convincing your account is.

What counts as abuse

The past act does not have to be a physical attack. Family Code section 6203(a) lists four kinds of abuse: bodily injury caused, or attempted, intentionally or recklessly; sexual assault; conduct that makes a person reasonably fear imminent serious bodily injury to themselves or someone else; and any behavior that has been or could be enjoined under Family Code section 6320. That section lists conduct such as stalking, threatening, harassing, and disturbing the peace of the other party, which includes coercive control. Section 6203(b) adds that abuse “is not limited to the actual infliction of physical injury or assault.”

What this means for your decision

Whether to also make a police report is a separate, personal decision with its own considerations, including your safety and whether you may want a criminal case pursued later. The rule in section 6300 only confirms that a report is not a legal precondition to asking a civil court for protection.

Talking to a lawyer about your situation

For how the initial request and hearing generally proceed, see temporary protective orders; the broader civil protective orders page describes each type of civil order. If you would like to talk through your situation, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley takes calls at (800) 755-5174.