The person who filed it can be charged with a misdemeanor, but only if they knew the information in the petition was false or filed it with the intent to harass. Under Penal Code section 18200, anyone who files a gun violence restraining order (GVRO) petition knowing the information in it is false, or with the intent to harass, is guilty of a misdemeanor. That is a separate criminal matter. It does not by itself decide the petition, which the court resolves on its own standards.

What the statute covers

Section 18200 names two kinds of GVRO petitions: a petition for an ex parte order under the chapter starting at Section 18150, and a petition for an order after notice and a hearing under the chapter starting at Section 18170. Filing either one while knowing the information in it is false, or with the intent to harass, is the offense. Because the section names no penalty, Penal Code section 19 fills the gap: a conviction can bring as much as six months in the county jail, a fine of as much as $1,000, or both. For context, a GVRO deals only with firearms and ammunition: it bars the person named from having custody or control of, owning, buying, possessing, or receiving them (Penal Code section 18100).

Knowing it was false is the standard, not being wrong

The statute is written around what the petitioner knew or intended, not around whether the petition turned out to be accurate. A petition that is denied, or that a judge finds unsupported at a hearing, does not by itself show the petitioner knew the information was false or filed to harass. Genuine, good-faith concern about someone’s access to a firearm, even if a judge ultimately disagrees with it, is not the conduct this section punishes. What it reaches is a petitioner who knew the information in the petition was untrue, or who used the process to harass rather than to address a real safety concern.

Who decides whether to charge it

Filing a knowingly false or harassing petition does not automatically become a criminal case. Whether to charge it is up to the public prosecutor. Under Government Code section 26500, that is the district attorney except as otherwise provided by law, and the prosecutor initiates and conducts prosecutions within that office’s discretion. The person named in the petition cannot file the charge personally. They can bring the concern to law enforcement or the prosecutor, or raise it through their own attorney.

If you believe a petition against you was false

  • Respond to the petition itself. A longer-term order is decided at a hearing, where the petitioner has the burden of proving the grounds for it by clear and convincing evidence (Penal Code section 18175). A complaint that the petition was false does not replace that response.
  • Note exactly what the petition said, and which statements you believe were untrue.
  • Keep records that support your account: messages, records of your location, or anything else that contradicts a specific statement in the petition.
  • Do not contact or confront the petitioner. A GVRO itself covers firearms, not contact, but a separate protective order between you may bar contact, and the place to dispute the petition is the hearing.
  • Raise the false-petition concern through your own attorney, or report it to law enforcement or the prosecutor, rather than acting on it yourself.

None of these steps settles whether the petition was knowingly false. A false-petition charge is a separate, fact-specific decision, and no particular result follows automatically.

Getting help

Whether you are the person named in a petition you believe was knowingly false, or a petitioner concerned about how a petition you filed will be viewed, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can go over what the petition said and what your options are. Call (800) 755-5174 to discuss your situation.