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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

To ask the sheriff to serve your papers, you must have an address or location for the other side (restrained person). If the other side is in jail, the sheriff can serve them. If the other side is in prison in California, prison staff, not the sheriff, will serve your papers. Follow the instructions by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for serving someone in prison.

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. 

Service is  important because it will give the judge the power to consider renewing your restraining order. Service can be a hard step to complete and make take multiple tries. At your court date, the judge can give you more time, if you need it.

How to have the sheriff serve your papers

  • Fill out form SER-001

    Request for Sheriff to Serve Court Papers (form SER-001)

    Use this form to ask the sheriff to serve the other side with your court papers. 

    Tips for completing the form:

    • Location of person (item 4): The sheriff will try to serve the person at the address you give.  If you have more than one address (like a work address and a home address) you can list both (in item 4a and 4b) and write the hours that the person will be at each address. 
    • Type of court papers you are serving (item 5a): In this section, write "elder or dependent adult abuse restraining order." 
    • Court hearing (item 5c): Give the court date listed on form EA-710, #3.
    • Deadline for service (item 5d): To figure out your deadline, first look at form EA-710, #4 to see how many days the judge listed. Subtract the number of days from the court hearing date on EA-710, #3. For example, if your court date is June 10 and the court ordered you to serve the other side at least 5 days before your court date, then your deadline is June 5.
    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 on form EA-710.
     

  • Gather all your court papers

    You will need to give the sheriff your completed form SER-001, and a copy of all the court papers you are required to serve on the other side: 

    • 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).

  • Give your papers to the sheriff

    You can give your papers to the sheriff in person or electronically. Contact the sheriff's office for more details on how to turn in your papers. In Trinity county, contact the marshal for service. 

    Yes, you can have someone else turn in your papers for you. Make sure you complete and sign form SER-001 (and SER-001A if it applies to your situation). Even if someone turns in the form for you, list your name in item 2, and you or your lawyer must sign the form.

  • Get paperwork back from the sheriff

    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. It is important that you check with the sheriff to see if they were able to serve the other side by your deadline. If the sheriff did not serve the restrained person, you will need to reschedule your court date.
     

    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

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