CH-205-INFO - What If the Person I Want Protection From is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot be Located?

Summary

What If the Person I Want Protection From is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot be Located?

Text

Form ID: CH-205-INFO
Title: What If the Person I Want Protection From is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot be Located?
Effective Date: 2022-09-01
Mandatory Form: no
Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/CH-205-INFO
Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/ch205info.pdf
Form Detail Page:
What If the Person I Want Protection From is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot be Located?
(CH-205-INFO)
Explains what you can do if the other side is avoiding "personal service."
Get form CH-205-INFO
Effective: September 1, 2022
Go to
How-to instructions for Civil Harassment
Go to
Civil Harassment Form Packets
PDF Text:
Judicial Council of California,  
New September 1, 2022, Optional Form 
Code of Civil Procedure, § 527.6(m) 
What if the Person I Want Protection From is  
Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot Be Located? 
 (Civil Harassment Prevention)
CH-205-INFO, 
What if the Person I Want Protection From  
is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot Be Located?CH-205-INFO
Why do I have to serve the restrained 
person?
Before a judge can grant a civil harassment restraining 
order (that can last up to five years), the person you want a 
restraining order against must know about your request and 
have a chance to go to court to explain their side. In most 
cases, the judge will require that you have someone 
personally deliver the papers to the person you want 
restrained. This is called personal service. See form 
CH-200-INFO for more information.
What if I already have a civil harassment  
restraining order?
If a judge granted you a domestic violence restraining 
order on form CH-130, alternative service is not an option 
for you. Follow the orders for service on form CH-130. It 
is important to follow the orders for service because this is 
how the restrained person will find out about the 
restraining orders. Once you file proof that the restrained 
person was served, law enforcement and the court will 
have proof that the restrained person knows about the 
orders. If you have questions about what the judge ordered 
in your case, see page 2 for where to get legal help.
What if I can't personally serve the  
restrained person?
When you cannot personally serve the restrained person 
with a copy of form CH-100 and related papers, a judge 
may allow you to give, or serve, the restraining order 
papers another way. This is called alternative service. The 
judge could order you to have your server give the 
restrained person your court papers in more than one way.  
If you want to requests alternative service, at your court 
date tell the judge details about your attempts to have the 
restrained person served. To qualify for alternative service, 
you must show the judge at least two things.
uYou have tried many times (usually 3 or more 
times) to have someone personally serve the 
restrained person.
Some examples of ways you can try to have the 
restrained person personally served:
} Serve the restrained person at home, their 
workplace, or somewhere they go a lot.
} Search online for where they may be located.
} Check with their family and friends.
Make sure any attempts to find the restrained 
person are done safely.
If you have an address for the restrained person, you 
can ask the sheriff or marshal to serve your papers, 
which they will do it for free if:
l The court granted you a fee waiver; or
l The restraining order is based on stalking, 
violence, or a credible threat of violence
vYou believe the restrained person is avoiding 
(evading) personal service or cannot be 
located.
Be ready to explain why you think the restrained 
person is avoiding service. If you have people who 
will help you prove this to a judge, bring them to 
your court hearing or have them write a statement 
that describes what they witnessed. Form MC-030 
may be used for this purpose.
This will mean they can see your name, the fact that  
you want a restraining order against the other party,  
and possibly your statements regarding the abuse.  
You may want to talk to an advocate about your safety and 
privacy concerns before you consider this request. 
Alternative service may involve other people having 
access to your court papers.
Page 1 of 2

New September 1, 2022, Optional Form What if the Person I Want Protection From is  
Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot Be Located? 
 (Civil Harassment Prevention)
CH-205-INFO, 
What if the Person I Want Protection From  
is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot Be Located?CH-205-INFO
The judge may order you to perform substituted service at 
the restrained person's home or workplace, or, if no 
physical address is known, the restrained person's usual 
mailing address (other than a post office box; a private 
mailbox with a commercial business may be okay). 
Substituted service requires your server to follow these 
steps:
What is substituted service?
Give the papers to someone 18 years or older who 
lives at the restrained person's home or usual mailing 
address (that is not a P.O. box), or who appears to be 
in charge at the restrained person's workplace. If the 
only address reasonably known for the restrained 
person is a private mailbox with a commercial mail 
receiving agency, give the papers to someone 18 
years or older who appears to be in charge.
1.
Get the name of the adult who got the papers, and tell 
the adult that the papers are for a request for a 
restraining order against the restrained person.
2.
Mail the papers to the restrained person's home, 
workplace, or usual mailing address. (This step is not 
required if the papers were given to a person in 
charge of the commercial mail receiving agency 
where the restrained person has a private mailbox.)
3.
Follow the instructions for completing and filing a 
proof of service as ordered in item 1(d) on form 
CH-117.
4.
What is service by publication?
The judge may also order you to serve the restrained 
person by publication. This means that you would have to 
pay a newspaper to publish a copy of whatever papers the 
judge orders you to have published at least once a week, 
for at least four weeks in a row. The judge would approve a 
newspaper that would have the best chances of the 
restrained person seeing it. Follow the orders made by the 
judge, which will usually be found on form CH-117.
After the newspaper publishes your court papers, make 
sure you get a signed statement from the newspaper that 
includes a copy of what was published in the newspaper 
and when it was published. This statement is usually called 
“Proof of Publication.” After you receive this statement, 
file it with the court in your case.
To serve someone electronically, like by email or text 
message, the person you are serving has to agree to being 
served electronically or the judge has to order electronic 
service. If the person is avoiding service, it is unlikely that 
they will agree to being served electronically. If the judge 
orders you to serve the restrained person electronically, 
follow all the instructions of the judge, which will usually 
be found on form CH-117, including any orders to also 
provide additional forms of service, such as substituted 
service or publication.
May I serve by email of electronically?
Where can I find legal help?
Free legal information is available in every county at a 
court self-help center. Staff can provide you with your 
legal options but will not tell you what you should do in 
your case and will not provide you with legal 
representation. To find your local self-help center, go to 
www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp.
Page 2 of 2

Retrieval chunks

• #1

  Form ID: CH-205-INFO Title: What If the Person I Want Protection From is Avoiding (Evading) Service or Cannot be Located? Effective Date: 2022-09-01 Mandatory Form: no Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/CH-205-INFO Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/ch205info.pdf Form Detai…

• #2

  restrained person your court papers in more than one way. If you want to requests alternative service, at your court date tell the judge details about your attempts to have the restrained person served. To qualify for alternative service, you must show the judge at least two things. uYou have tried many times (us…

• #3

  lives at the restrained person's home or usual mailing address (that is not a P.O. box), or who appears to be in charge at the restrained person's workplace. If the only address reasonably known for the restrained person is a private mailbox with a commercial mail receiving agency, give the papers to someone 18 …

• #4

  legal options but will not tell you what you should do in your case and will not provide you with legal representation. To find your local self-help center, go to www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp. Page 2 of 2