Petitioners must be 18 years of age or older and fit one of the following categories:

• A person who lives with the respondent.
• A spouse or registered domestic partner, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent of the respondent.
• A person who stands in the place of a parent to the respondent.
• The director of a hospital, or their designee, in which the respondent is hospitalized.
• The director of a public or charitable agency, or their designee, who has within the last 30 days provided or who is currently providing behavioral health services to the respondent or in whose institution the respondent resides.
• A licensed behavioral health professional, or their designee, who is or has been supervising the treatment of or treating the respondent for mental illness within the last 30 days.
• The director of a county behavioral health agency, or their designee, of the county where the respondent resides or is found.
• A first responder who has had repeated interactions with the respondent.
• A judge of a tribal court located in California, or their designee.
• The respondent.

Note: After the initial appearance, the petitioner will be replaced by the director of the county behavioral health agency, or a designee.

For more information, see CARE Act Resources for Petitioners.