Form DV-200 Proof of Personal Service: Filing Steps and Deadlines

To fill out Form DV-200, the person who personally handed the restraining order papers to the restrained party — not the petitioner — completes every item on the form, lists each document delivered, records the exact date, time, and address of service, and signs under penalty of perjury before the form is filed with the court clerk.¹ Filing it is what puts the restraining order into CLETS, the statewide law enforcement database, so police can enforce it.²

Who Fills Out and Signs the Form

DV-200 is the server’s declaration. The server is the adult, non-party who physically delivered the court papers to the restrained person. They must be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the case, which means the petitioner cannot serve their own papers.³ A friend, relative, coworker, county sheriff, or professional process server can do it.¹

Whoever served the papers is the one who sits down and completes DV-200. If a friend served for you, that friend fills in the details and signs. The restrained person signs nothing. If the sheriff handled service, they often use their own proof-of-service form instead of DV-200; either version needs to reach the court file.¹

What to Have in Front of You

Before writing anything on DV-200, download the current version from the California Courts website and gather the papers that were served.⁴ The server needs to know exactly what was in the packet, because every document has to be listed on the form. A standard packet includes:

Form DV-109, Notice of Court Hearing
Form DV-100, Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Form DV-110, Temporary Restraining Order, if the judge granted one
A blank Form DV-120, Response to Request for Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Form DV-120-INFO, instructions for responding
A blank Form DV-250, Proof of Service by Mail

Custody cases add Forms DV-105 and DV-140. Financial issues may add Form FL-150 or FL-155 with blank copies for the restrained person.⁵ Also have Form DV-109 handy, since it tells you the hearing date and the service deadline.

Completing Each Item on DV-200

At the top of the form, write the name of the court, the county, and the street address of the court branch handling the case. Put the case number in the upper right corner. That number appears on the copies of DV-109 or DV-100 you already have. A wrong case number can keep the clerk from matching your proof of service to the file.

Item 2. Enter the name of the person who was served, meaning the restrained party.

Item 4. Check every document the server handed to the restrained party. The pre-printed options track the standard packet (DV-109, DV-100, DV-110, blank DV-120, and so on). An “Other” line handles anything not listed.⁵ Miss a box and the record shows an incomplete service.

Item 5. Record when and where the papers changed hands: the date, the time with a.m. or p.m. marked, and the address. Service has to be face-to-face. Leaving papers in a mailbox or sending them by mail does not satisfy DV-200.⁵

Item 6. The server enters their own full name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number. A registered process server also writes in the county of registration and their registration number.⁵

Item 7. The server signs and dates the form. The signature is a declaration under penalty of perjury that everything on the form is true. An unsigned DV-200 is worthless to the court.

Filing DV-200 With the Clerk

Once the form is signed, file it with the clerk of the court hearing the case as soon as possible.¹ Either the server or the petitioner can drop it off. The clerk’s filing sends the order into CLETS, the database law enforcement uses statewide. Until that happens, officers responding to a call may have no way to see that the order exists.

Ask for a file-stamped copy and bring it to the hearing. The judge will want to confirm that service was completed before granting a long-term restraining order, which can last up to five years.⁶

When Does DV-200 Have to Be Filed

The papers must reach the restrained person before the hearing, and the exact number of days comes from Form DV-109. Check two spots on that form:

Item 3 on page 1: the hearing date
Item 6 on page 2: the number of days before the hearing that service must happen

Subtract the days in Item 6 from the hearing date to get your deadline. If Item 6 is blank, the default is at least five days before the hearing.¹ Serving earlier gives you time to file DV-200 before the hearing, which is what the judge will be looking for.

If Service Cannot Be Completed in Time

If the restrained person avoids the server or cannot be located, you have two options rather than showing up empty-handed.

Ask the court to reschedule. File Form DV-115, Request to Continue Hearing, and Form DV-116, Order on Request to Continue Hearing. If the judge grants a new date, any temporary restraining order in place stays active until the rescheduled hearing. The restrained person then has to be served with DV-115 and DV-116 along with all the original papers.¹

If the court finds you made a genuine effort and the other person is dodging service, the judge can authorize an alternative method, such as service by mail, service at the workplace, or service by publication under the Code of Civil Procedure standards.⁷ The court will grant a continuance so the new method has time to work. If alternative service is ordered, Form DV-210 may replace DV-200; the judge will say which form to use.

Mistakes That Cause Rejected Service

The most frequent problem is an incomplete form. A missing date, a blank document checkbox, or an unsigned Item 7 can force the judge to question whether service happened at all, delaying the hearing or blocking a long-term order.

The next most common error is having the petitioner fill in the form. DV-200 belongs to the server. The person who actually delivered the papers is the only one who writes in the details and signs.

Do not confuse DV-200 with related forms. Form DV-250 is for proof of service by mail and applies to different papers later in the process. Form DV-800 is a firearms receipt used when the restrained person turns in weapons. DV-200 covers in-person delivery of the initial restraining order packet, and nothing else.

1
Judicial Council of California. DV-200-INFO What Is Proof of Personal Service
2
Judicial Council of California. CLETS-001 Confidential Information for Law Enforcement
3
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 414.10
4
California Courts | Self Help Guide. Proof of Personal Service (CLETS) (DV-200)
5
Judicial Council of California. DV-200 Proof of Personal Service
6
California Courts | Self Help Guide. Sheriff Serves Your Request for a Restraining Order
7
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6340