To fill out a restraining order application, get the correct form from your county court clerk or the court’s website, enter identifying information for yourself and the person you want restrained, describe specific incidents with dates and locations in the sworn statement section, check every box for the protections you need, attach supporting evidence, and sign the form (in front of a notary or clerk if required). The application is free to file in domestic violence and sexual assault cases, and a judge typically reviews it the same day you submit it. Incomplete forms and vague statements are the most common reasons judges decline to issue an order, so the care you put into the form itself decides much of the outcome.
Pick the Right Form First
Courts stock different application packets depending on your relationship with the other person and the type of conduct involved. Filing the wrong type is one of the fastest ways to get sent back to the clerk’s window.
- A domestic violence protective order covers spouses, former spouses, people who live together or have lived together, dating partners, and parents who share a child. This is the most commonly filed type.
- A civil harassment or stalking order is designed for neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, or strangers. The legal threshold differs from domestic violence, and some courts require a pattern of conduct rather than a single incident.
- A sexual assault protective order is available to survivors regardless of any prior relationship with the offender. Several states make this a standalone category with its own form.
- A workplace violence order exists in roughly a dozen states, where an employer petitions on behalf of an employee who has experienced violence or credible threats at work.
Labels vary by state. Some call them orders of protection, others say restraining orders, and a few use personal protection orders. The legal effect is broadly similar, but the evidentiary requirements and available relief differ between categories. If you are not sure which form applies, ask at the courthouse self-help center or a local domestic violence organization before you start writing. A few minutes there saves a rejected filing.
Gather Information and Evidence Before You Write
Before you sit down with the form, collect everything you can about the respondent (the person you want restrained). At minimum, you need their full legal name and a current address where they can be served with the court papers. Employer, vehicle information, and physical description help law enforcement locate and identify the person if the order is violated. Not every form asks for all of these details, but having them ready speeds things up.
The heart of the application is your written statement describing what happened. Courts want specifics: dates, locations, exactly what the other person did or said, and how it affected you. A statement that says “he threatened me last month” is far weaker than one that says “on March 12, 2026, at approximately 9 p.m., he came to my apartment at 140 Oak Street and said he would kill me if I called the police again.” Judges evaluate these applications on paper before ever seeing you, so the written statement often decides whether you get temporary protection.
Supporting evidence gives the judge something beyond your word alone. Useful items include:
- Police reports. Even if no arrest was made, a report number shows you contacted law enforcement.
- Medical records documenting injuries from a hospital or urgent care visit.
- Text messages and emails, printed out with contact name, phone number, and dates visible. Screenshots on a phone are harder for the judge to review.
- Photographs of injuries, property damage, or the respondent at your home or workplace when they should not have been there.
- Written witness statements from anyone who saw an incident or its aftermath.
Organize everything chronologically before you start the form. The narrative section is easier to write when you can work through events in order, and consistency between your statement and your evidence is something judges notice.
Keeping Your Address Off the Filing
If you have relocated to escape the respondent, putting your new home address on a public court filing defeats the purpose. Forty-five states operate address confidentiality programs that provide a substitute mailing address, typically a post office box maintained by the secretary of state, for use on government documents including court filings. Eligibility generally requires that you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Contact your state’s secretary of state office or a local domestic violence organization to enroll before you file, so the substitute address appears on the application from the start rather than being added later.
Complete the Form Section by Section
Official forms are available at the county clerk’s office, the courthouse self-help center, or your court’s website. Some courts also stock them at local domestic violence shelters. Either way, confirm you have the complete packet. It often includes the application itself, an instruction sheet, and a proposed temporary order for the judge to sign.
The form walks you through several sections in order.
Identifying information. Enter your full legal name and contact information, then the respondent’s. Use the substitute address from your state’s confidentiality program here if you are enrolled.
Relationship. You describe how you know the respondent (spouse, former partner, cohabitant, dating partner, co-parent, neighbor, coworker, stranger). This determines which statute governs your case and, indirectly, which protections are available to you.
Sworn statement or affidavit. This is the narrative you prepared. Write clearly and stick to facts. The section is made under penalty of perjury, meaning you are swearing that everything in it is true. Exaggerating or including events that did not happen can result in your application being denied and, in some jurisdictions, criminal charges for perjury. If you need more space than the form provides, most courts accept an attached continuation page; label it clearly and reference it in the affidavit section.
Requested relief. Most forms include checkboxes for specific types of protection. Check every box that applies. Courts can only grant what you ask for, and judges rarely add protections you did not request. Common options include:
- A stay-away order requiring the respondent to remain a specified distance (often 100 to 500 yards) from your home, workplace, school, or vehicle.
- A no-contact order prohibiting phone calls, texts, emails, social media contact, and contact through third parties.
- A move-out order directing the respondent to leave a shared residence.
- Temporary custody of shared children.
- Property protection preventing the respondent from damaging, hiding, or selling shared property.
Depending on your state’s statute and the type of order, a judge can also order child support, exclusive use of a shared residence, surrender of firearms and ammunition, attendance at a batterer intervention program or counseling, and restitution for damaged property or medical bills. Domestic violence orders tend to offer the widest range of protections. Harassment orders may be limited to stay-away and no-contact terms.
Signature. Sign the form. Many courts require the signature to be made in front of a court clerk or notary public, especially for the sworn affidavit portion. Courthouses frequently provide this service on-site at no charge. A growing number of states now accept electronic filing with electronic signatures for protective order applications, though availability varies by county. If you plan to file online, check your local court’s e-filing portal for specific signature requirements before submitting.
File With the Clerk
Take the completed application to the court clerk’s office, usually the domestic relations or family court division. Under the Violence Against Women Act, courts that receive VAWA funding certify that victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking are not charged fees for filing, issuing, registering, serving, or enforcing a protective order.1GovInfo. Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 In practice, you should not have to pay anything to file. If a clerk asks for a filing fee in a domestic violence or sexual assault case, ask about a fee waiver.
After filing, the clerk forwards your application to a judge for same-day review. The judge reads your written statement and supporting evidence and decides whether the situation warrants immediate temporary protection. This initial review is ex parte, meaning the respondent is not present and has no chance to argue against it yet. If the judge finds enough evidence of an immediate threat, a temporary protective order is issued, typically on the same day you file. The temporary order stays in effect until the full hearing, which courts generally schedule within 14 to 21 days.
If the judge declines to issue a temporary order, your case is not necessarily over. You still have the right to a full hearing where you can present evidence and testimony in person. The denial of a temporary order simply means the judge did not find enough on paper to justify emergency relief before hearing from both sides.
Why Applications Get Denied
Most denials come down to a handful of recurring problems, and nearly all of them are avoidable when you are filling out the form.
- Vague or unsupported allegations. Saying “I feel unsafe” without describing specific incidents leaves the judge nothing to evaluate. The statement needs concrete facts: what the person did, when, and where.
- Wrong type of order. Filing a domestic violence application against someone you have no qualifying relationship with, or filing a harassment order when the conduct is actually domestic violence, creates a mismatch the court cannot overlook.
- Incomplete paperwork. Blank fields, missing signatures, or an unsigned affidavit can stall or sink the application before the judge even reads the substance.
- Inconsistent or exaggerated claims. If your written statement says one thing and your evidence shows another, credibility suffers. Judges see a lot of these applications, and overreaching backfires more often than it helps.
- Failure to appear at the hearing. If you do not show up for the full hearing, the temporary order expires and the case is dismissed.
After You File
Filing the application is the start of the process, not the end. The order does not become enforceable against the respondent until they have been formally served, meaning a copy of the application, the temporary order (if one was issued), and the notice of the hearing date are physically delivered to them. In most jurisdictions, a sheriff’s deputy or process server handles this, and courts in domestic violence cases generally cover the cost of service.
The full hearing is where the judge decides whether to grant a longer-term order. Both you and the respondent attend, and each side gets a chance to speak. Bring three copies of every document you want the judge to see: one for the court, one for the respondent, and one for yourself. If you have audio or video recordings, check with the clerk’s office beforehand about how to present them; some courts require transcripts. The judge usually decides the same day. If the order is granted, you may need to complete a final order form for the judge to sign before leaving the courthouse.