When orders protecting the same person from you conflict, California law sets the order in which their terms are enforced. A more restrictive emergency protective order comes first, then a no-contact order, then a criminal protective order (which, in a domestic violence or certain sex-offense case, has precedence over a civil order against the same defendant), and last, among civil orders, the one issued most recently. Terms that do not conflict remain enforceable, and the priority rules do not cancel any order.

The priority list, in the order it applies

  1. A more restrictive emergency protective order. An emergency protective order has precedence in enforcement over any other restraining or protective order if it protects someone already protected by the other order, restrains the same person, and is more restrictive toward that person. Even then, it controls only through its more restrictive provisions (Penal Code section 136.2(c)(1)).
  2. A no-contact order. Apart from that exception, a no-contact order, as described in Family Code section 6320, has precedence in enforcement over any other restraining or protective order (Penal Code section 136.2(c)(2)).
  3. A criminal protective order. If neither of the first two applies and there are both civil and criminal orders about the same people, the criminal order issued last is enforced (Family Code section 6383(h)(2)). A second rule points the same way: once a complaint, information, or indictment has been issued charging a domestic violence crime, certain sex offenses, or a crime requiring sex offender registration, the order the criminal court makes against the defendant in that case outranks, for enforcement, any civil order restraining the same defendant, unless rule 1 or rule 2 applies (Penal Code section 136.2(e)(2)).
  4. The most recent civil order. If there are only civil orders and neither of the first two rules applies, the order issued last is enforced (Family Code section 6383(h)(2)).

The same section of the Family Code gives a responding officer this sequence. The official order forms print the priority list as well and add that provisions of other orders that do not conflict must still be enforced (form DV-110; form CR-160).

Two examples show how the rules interact. If a criminal court’s order in a domestic violence case allows peaceful contact but a family court restraining order bars all contact, the no-contact order is the one enforced, because rule 2 comes before rule 3. If neither order contains a no-contact term, the criminal court’s order in that domestic violence case has precedence where the two conflict, even if the civil order was issued later.

Custody and visitation orders

A family or juvenile court can still decide custody and visitation while a criminal protective order is in place. Under Penal Code section 136.2(e)(3) and (f), the Judicial Council was required to create a protocol for coordinating these orders, and the statute sets conditions for how they fit together. A custody or visitation order made after the criminal order must mention it and, unless a qualifying emergency protective order or a no-contact order controls, recognize that the criminal order is enforced first. If the family order allows contact with the children, it has to arrange a safe handoff and cannot include terms that clash with a no-contact order from the criminal court. The orders are meant to work together; one does not erase the other. How an open custody case and a domestic violence prosecution affect each other more broadly is a separate question.

Practical steps when more than one order names you

  • Keep copies of every order that currently names you, including any family court custody order. The criminal protective order form advises both parties to carry a certified copy of the most recent family, juvenile, or probate court order (form CR-160).
  • As practical guidance, not a legal rule: when two orders seem to say different things, follow the more restrictive term until the court or your attorney clarifies which provision is enforced. The priority rules decide enforcement; following the stricter term simply avoids a new arrest while the question is sorted out.
  • Ask your attorney to raise any conflict with the court. Only a court can change an order’s terms, even if the protected person agrees to contact (Penal Code section 13710(b)).
  • Each order, and any modification or termination, must be sent to the statewide California Restraining and Protective Order System, which court clerks and law enforcement can access (Family Code section 6380). If an order has changed, ask your attorney to confirm the system reflects the change.

For more on each order type, see the firm’s restraining order overview and its pages on criminal and civil protective orders, or contact the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174.