To file for an Interpersonal Protective Order in Kentucky, take a completed Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order (form AOC-275.1) to the Circuit Court Clerk’s office in the county where you live or where you’re currently staying. There is no filing fee, clerks accept petitions 24 hours a day, and a judge reviews the petition immediately — if the judge finds an immediate and present danger, you can leave with a Temporary Interpersonal Protective Order the same day, with a full hearing scheduled within 14 days.
Confirm You Qualify Before You File
Kentucky’s IPO, created under KRS Chapter 456, is limited to three categories of petitioners: people subjected to dating violence and abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 456.030 – Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order An adult can also file on behalf of a minor who fits one of those categories.
Dating violence and abuse covers physical injury, serious physical injury, strangulation, sexual assault, stalking, or making you fear any of those are imminent. It also reaches harming or threatening a shared pet to coerce, control, or punish a dating partner. For dating cases, the court first has to find that an actual dating relationship existed — a romantic or intimate relationship, current or past. Judges weigh things like declarations of romantic interest, whether you attended social events as a couple, how often you interacted, and how long it lasted.2Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.010 – Definitions for Chapter A casual acquaintance or work contact doesn’t qualify.
For stalking and sexual assault petitions, no relationship is required. A stranger, coworker, or acquaintance can be the respondent as long as the conduct meets Kentucky’s criminal definitions.
If the person who harmed you is a family member, a spouse or former spouse, or someone you share a household with, you file a Domestic Violence Order under KRS Chapter 403 instead. The IPO exists for people outside those domestic categories.
Fill Out the Petition
The official form is AOC-275.1, available at any Circuit Court Clerk’s office or on the Kentucky Court of Justice website.3Kentucky Court of Justice. AOC-275.1 – Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order It asks for the respondent’s full legal name, address, and physical description so law enforcement can find and serve them.
The narrative section carries the most weight. Describe the most recent incidents in concrete terms — dates, locations, exactly what happened and what was said. “He threatened me” tells a judge less than “on March 12, he sent four text messages saying he would come to my workplace and hurt me.” You sign the petition under oath, so everything in it has to be truthful; a false statement can lead to perjury charges.
Nothing beyond the petition is legally required, but supporting material helps at the hearing. Gather what you can: police reports, medical records, screenshots of threatening messages, photos of injuries, names and contact information for witnesses. If you have none of that, file anyway.
Where and When to File
File at the Circuit Court Clerk’s office in the county where you live, or in the county where you’re currently staying if you left home to get away from the respondent. Clerks accept protective order petitions around the clock. After business hours, contact local law enforcement, who can help reach a judge.4Kentucky Court of Justice. How to Obtain a Protective Order
Kentucky charges no filing fee for a protective order petition, and the sheriff serves the order on the respondent at no cost to you.
What the Judge Decides Right After You File
A judge reviews your petition immediately. Two outcomes are possible at this stage. If the judge finds that dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault exists but no immediate danger is present, the court schedules a hearing within 14 days and issues a summons to the respondent. If the judge also finds an immediate and present danger, the court issues a Temporary Interpersonal Protective Order (TIPO) on the spot, without waiting for the respondent to be notified.5Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.040 – Review of Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order
A TIPO does not take effect until the respondent is personally served or notified by law enforcement. Once served, it stays in place until the evidentiary hearing. If the sheriff cannot serve the respondent before the hearing date, the court can reissue the summons.5Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.040 – Review of Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order
The Hearing Within 14 Days
The hearing takes place within 14 days of filing. You and the respondent each appear before a judge, and both sides can present testimony, witnesses, and evidence. The judge decides whether dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault occurred under a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard — more likely than not.6Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.060 – Ruling on Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order
Show up. If you don’t, the judge will almost certainly dismiss the temporary order and the petition. This is the step where otherwise strong cases fall apart. If you cannot attend for a legitimate reason, call the clerk’s office before the hearing date. If an in-person appearance would be dangerous, ask the court about appearing by video or telephone — judges have discretion to allow remote testimony.
The respondent can bring an attorney, cross-examine you, and present their own evidence. You are not required to have a lawyer, but Kentucky legal aid organizations help IPO petitioners at no cost, and having counsel matters most when the respondent arrives with one.
What a Final IPO Can Require
If the judge grants a final order, KRS 456.060 lets the court order any combination of the following:
- No further acts of dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault.
- No unauthorized communication with you, including calls, texts, emails, or contact through third parties.
- A stay-away distance of up to 500 feet.
- Restrictions on approaching your home, workplace, school, or other specific locations.
- No disposal of or damage to property belonging to either party.
- Counseling for one or both parties.
- Possession of any shared domestic animal awarded to you.
The judge has a catch-all authority to direct or prohibit any other action that would help eliminate future harm, as long as the order doesn’t require you to take any affirmative action.6Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.060 – Ruling on Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order For location restrictions, the judge must give both sides a chance to be heard on which locations to include and may let the respondent pass through an area as long as they don’t stop to harass or contact you.
How Long the Order Lasts
A final IPO can remain in effect for up to three years. Before it expires, you can file a motion to renew by returning to court and showing continued protection is necessary. If your situation changes — a new address, a new job — you can ask the court to modify the location restrictions. The respondent can also ask to modify or dissolve the order, though the court can deny that request if your safety is still at risk.
If the Respondent Violates the Order
Call 911. Do not try to enforce the order yourself. Law enforcement can arrest the respondent on the spot, and the order is in their system. Keep a copy with you — in your car, at your workplace, and at home.
Intentionally violating any provision of an IPO is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail.7Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.180 – Violation of Order of Protection8Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.090 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor A violation can also be handled as contempt of court, but once the court chooses one path — criminal charges or contempt — it cannot pursue the other for the same violation.
A third or subsequent violation within five years becomes a Class D felony if it involves the use or attempted use of physical force, or a threat of physical harm. The protected person doesn’t have to be the same across those violations; prior convictions for violating any Kentucky protective order count toward the three-strike threshold.7Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.180 – Violation of Order of Protection
Firearms: What an IPO Does and Doesn’t Do
Unlike Kentucky’s Domestic Violence Order statute, KRS 456.060 does not list firearms surrender as a named remedy for IPOs. The statute’s catch-all gives judges authority to direct or prohibit other actions that would help eliminate future harm, which courts may use to address firearms case by case.6Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 456.060 – Ruling on Petition for Interpersonal Protective Order
Federal law adds a separate layer. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), it is a federal crime to possess a firearm while subject to a qualifying protective order. The order must have been issued after a hearing with notice to the respondent, must restrain the respondent from threatening or harassing an “intimate partner,” and must either include a finding of credible threat or explicitly prohibit the use of physical force.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Here is where people get caught out. Federal law defines “intimate partner” as a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or someone who cohabits or cohabited with you.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions A dating partner who never lived with you does not fit that definition. The federal firearm ban under § 922(g)(8) may therefore not apply to every IPO, particularly those arising from a dating relationship without shared housing or from stalking and sexual assault by someone outside that category. If firearms are a concern, raise the issue with the judge at the hearing so the court can consider the state-law options available.