How to Get a Restraining Order

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Protect yourself from the threat of injury or physical harm by filing a restraining order.

Step 1: Complete paperwork
Complete the necessary paperwork. Forms are typically available at your local courthouse, through domestic violence programs, or from court web sites.

Tip
Forms must be signed in front of a court clerk or a notary public.

Step 2: Submit completed forms
Return completed forms to the court clerk. A judge may issue an ex parte, meaning emergency, restraining order and then schedule a hearing within 14 days to follow up on the order.

Tip
Keep a certified copy of the restraining order with you at all times to show to the police if you need help.

Step 3: Serve papers
Have law officers notify the defendant of the ex parte order, if there is one, and of the upcoming hearing.

Step 4: Attend hearing
Attend the scheduled hearing and present your case. The judge will listen to both you and the defendant and decide whether to grant or extend the restraining order.

Did You Know?
Did you know? In 1962 city officials in Albany, Georgia, sought and received a restraining order against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellow protestors