Index: All Pages

Sheriff serves your request to renew

After you get a court date, you must have someone give a copy of your court papers to the other side. This is called serving papers. A sheriff can do it for free, but you can also choose someone else to serve for you. Serving the papers lets the other side know that you are asking to renew the elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order.

Before you start

The sheriff can be a good option for you because it is free and safe

The sheriff may not be a good option for you if you do not know where the other side lives or works, or if they move around a lot. The sheriff usually serves during normal business hours. 

You can also hire a professional process server or ask someone you know to be your server.
If you want someone you know to serve your papers, they must be:  
  • 18 or over, and
  • not part of your case

You can't serve your papers yourself. Think about safety when choosing your server. If you choose to not have the sheriff serve your papers, you can ask someone else to serve your papers. 

 It’s important to have the other side served as soon as possible. Service can be a hard step to complete and may take multiple tries.

How to have the sheriff serve your papers

  • Contact the sheriff

    The sheriff will serve your papers for free. Contact the Sheriff in the county where the other side is located to give them your court papers. In Trinity county, the marshal serves restraining orders.

    Contact the sheriff as soon as you can. It may take them a couple of weeks to attempt service. They will need to serve your papers before the deadline listed in item 4 on form EA-710.
     

  • Give the sheriff your court papers

    The sheriff must serve the restrained person with these forms:

    • Request to Renew Restraining Order (form EA-700), including a copy of your current restraining order (EA-130)
    • Notice of Hearing to Renew Restraining Order (form EA-710)
    • A blank Response to Request to Renew Restraining Order (form EA-720) (for the restrained person to complete).

  • File your proof of service

    The sheriff should give you paperwork after they serve (or try to serve) your forms

    • If the sheriff was able to serve your forms
      An officer will complete a Proof of Service Form. This form shows the court that the other side was served and will allow the court to move forward with your case.
    • If the sheriff was unable to serve your forms
      They may complete a form that says they were unsuccessful and will give dates and times they tried to serve the other side. Sometimes this form is called a Declaration of Due Diligence.

    Check in with the sheriff,

     if you have not received paperwork from them.
     

     

    Once you get your paperwork

    1. Make sure the original proof of service or declaration of due diligence form gets filed with the court. If there is a stamp on the upper right-hand corner of the form, this means it was already filed and you do not need to file it with the court
    2. Bring a copy of the form to your court date.

Elder and Dependent Adult Restraining Order

What's next?

success alert banner:

Have a question about Elder abuse restraining order?

Look for a "Chat Now" button in the right bottom corner of your screen. If you don’t see it, disable any pop-up/ad blockers on your browser.