A temporary restraining order is a short-term court order that restricts someone from contacting, approaching, or harming you while a judge decides whether longer protection is warranted. Under federal procedural rules, it lasts no more than 14 days and can be extended once for another 14 days with good cause.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders A judge can sign one the same day you file, often without the other person knowing in advance, because the point is to hold a dangerous situation in place until both sides can appear in court.2Legal Information Institute. Temporary Restraining Order
What a TRO Can Order
A signed TRO creates legally enforceable restrictions the moment the other person is served. The specific terms depend on your situation, but most orders include some combination of the following.
- No contact: The restrained person cannot call, text, email, or reach you through third parties.
- Stay away: The order sets a minimum distance the person must keep from your home, workplace, children’s school, and vehicle. The distance varies by jurisdiction.
- Move out: In domestic violence cases involving a shared residence, the judge can order the restrained person to leave immediately, even if both names are on the lease.
- Temporary custody and property: The court can grant temporary custody of children, give you use of a shared vehicle, and address other immediate household needs.
Until the other person is actually served with the papers, the order exists on paper but can’t be enforced against them, because they don’t yet know it exists.
When a Court Will Grant One
A TRO is an extraordinary remedy because it restricts someone’s conduct before they’ve had a chance to respond. To justify that, you have to show the court you’ll suffer serious, immediate harm if the order isn’t granted right away. The legal shorthand is “irreparable harm,” meaning harm that couldn’t be fixed later by a money judgment or other remedy.3Legal Information Institute. Wex – Irreparable Harm
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b) captures the standard most state courts follow: you must present specific facts in an affidavit or verified complaint that clearly show immediate and irreparable injury will result before the other side can be heard.1Legal Information Institute. Rule 65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders Vague statements about feeling unsafe aren’t enough. Courts want concrete incidents: dates, locations, exact threats or acts of violence, and an explanation of why you need protection now rather than at a regularly scheduled hearing.
In domestic violence cases, recent physical abuse, threats to kill or seriously injure, or escalating stalking behavior will meet this threshold in virtually every jurisdiction. In civil harassment cases, the bar can be slightly higher because the court weighs First Amendment concerns more carefully when the parties aren’t in a domestic relationship.
Which Type Applies to Your Situation
Your relationship with the person threatening you determines which category of order you file for. Each follows a similar process but uses different forms and, in some states, different legal standards.
- Domestic violence: Covers current or former spouses, dating partners, people you live with or used to live with, and close family members. Federal law prohibits courts from charging you any fees.
- Civil harassment: Covers people outside a domestic relationship, like neighbors, coworkers, or acquaintances. Standard court filing fees apply in most jurisdictions.
- Elder or dependent adult abuse: Protects people 65 or older, or dependent adults, from physical abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.
- Workplace violence: Filed by an employer on behalf of an employee who has been threatened or harassed at work.
The type you choose determines which forms you fill out, whether fees are waived, and the specific protections a judge can order. If you’re not sure which category fits, your local court’s self-help center can direct you to the right paperwork.
How to File and What to Bring
You file your petition with the clerk of the court in the county where you live or where the abuse occurred. A judge then reviews it ex parte, meaning without the other person present or notified.4Legal Information Institute. Ex Parte In most jurisdictions, review happens the same day or the next business morning. If the judge grants the order, they’ll sign it and schedule a full hearing, typically within 14 to 21 days. If the judge denies it, you can usually refile with additional evidence or ask for a hearing to present your case in person.
What you put in front of the judge matters enormously. The judge has never met you and has only a few minutes to decide whether to sign. Start with the basics: the full legal name of the person you need protection from, their physical description, and any address where they can be found (home, workplace, or both). Incomplete details delay service and enforcement later.
The core of your petition is a written declaration describing what happened. Organize it chronologically, most recent and severe incidents first. Include dates, times, and locations. When someone threatened you, write the exact words they used instead of summarizing. Describe injuries and whether you sought medical treatment. If police responded, include report numbers.
Supporting evidence strengthens your petition. Useful materials include:
- Photos of injuries, property damage, or the other person showing up where they shouldn’t.
- Screenshots of threatening texts, voicemails, emails, or social media posts.
- Medical records from emergency room visits or doctor’s notes documenting injuries consistent with your account.
- Police reports, even if no arrest was made.
- Written statements from witnesses who saw the abuse or threats firsthand.
Don’t leave fields blank on the court forms. Empty spaces signal uncertainty or haste. If a field doesn’t apply, write “N/A.”
What It Costs
For domestic violence, stalking, dating violence, and sexual assault cases, there is no cost to you. Under 34 U.S.C. § 10461, every state that receives federal Violence Against Women Act grants must certify that victims aren’t charged fees for filing, issuing, serving, or enforcing a protection order.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10461 – Grants Every state receives this funding, so you shouldn’t be charged anywhere in the country.
Civil harassment restraining orders are different. These are treated more like standard civil filings, and courts charge accordingly. Fees vary widely by jurisdiction and can run from under $100 to over $400. If you can’t afford the fee, you can request a waiver by submitting a financial declaration showing your income falls below the court’s threshold. The waiver typically covers the filing fee and may also cover service costs.
Serving the Order
A TRO means nothing until the restrained person knows about it. You cannot hand-deliver the papers yourself. A law enforcement officer or professional process server must personally serve the restrained person with copies of the petition, the order, and the notice of the upcoming hearing.
In domestic violence cases, sheriffs or marshals will usually serve the papers at no cost to you, consistent with the federal prohibition on charging victims for service.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10461 – Grants For civil harassment orders, you may need to hire a professional process server or ask any adult who isn’t a party to the case. Professional servers typically charge between $75 and $200 for standard service, with higher fees for difficult-to-locate individuals or rush requests.
If the restrained person can’t be found, most states allow alternative service after you’ve shown a genuine effort to locate them. These methods require a separate court motion and push the hearing date back to account for the longer notice period.
The Follow-Up Hearing
The TRO is a placeholder. The real decision happens at the full hearing, scheduled within 14 to 21 days after the order is issued. State time limits vary, with some allowing up to 25 days.
At the hearing, both sides present evidence and testimony. The restrained person can challenge your claims, present their own evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and argue the order should be dissolved. The standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence, meaning you have to show it’s more likely than not that the abuse or threats occurred and that ongoing protection is necessary.
Three outcomes are possible. The judge can grant a longer-term protective order, which in most states lasts between one and five years and can be renewed. The judge can modify terms by adjusting the stay-away distance, changing custody provisions, or narrowing restrictions. Or the judge can deny the order entirely, which dissolves the TRO and lifts all restrictions.
If you don’t appear, the TRO expires automatically and you won’t get a longer-term order. Many cases fall apart here. People file in crisis, get the TRO, feel temporarily safe, and then fail to prepare for or attend the hearing that determines whether protection continues.
Firearm Consequences
Under federal law, a person subject to a qualifying protection order is banned from possessing any firearm or ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The ban applies when the order was issued after a hearing where the restrained person had notice and a chance to participate, the order covers an “intimate partner” (spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, or co-parent), and the order either includes a finding that the person is a credible threat or explicitly prohibits physical force.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Protection Orders and Federal Firearms Prohibitions
An important detail: the federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) applies only to orders issued after a hearing where the restrained person had an opportunity to participate. Most initial ex parte TROs don’t trigger the federal ban on their own. The ban kicks in after the full hearing if the judge issues a longer-term order meeting the statutory criteria. Many states, however, have their own firearm surrender laws that apply earlier, so the restrained person may still be required to turn in weapons under state law while the TRO is in effect.
The Supreme Court upheld the federal prohibition in 2024 in United States v. Rahimi, ruling that someone found by a court to pose a credible threat to another person’s safety can be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment. The penalty for violating the ban is up to 15 years in federal prison.8Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915
Enforcement Across State Lines
A valid protection order doesn’t stop at the state border. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2265, every state, tribal court, and U.S. territory must give full faith and credit to a protection order from another jurisdiction and enforce it as if it were a local order.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders The restrained person cannot escape the order by crossing into a neighboring state.
You don’t need to register the order in the new state for it to be enforceable. The statute explicitly says that failure to register or file the order in the enforcing jurisdiction doesn’t affect its validity.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders As a practical matter, carry a certified copy with you. When an officer runs the restrained person’s name through the National Crime Information Center database, the order should appear, but having the physical paperwork speeds the response.10Department of Justice. Fact Sheet – Entering Orders of Protection into NCIC
Penalties for Violating the Order
Violating a restraining order is a crime in every state. In most jurisdictions, a first-time violation is a misdemeanor punishable by jail time, fines, or both. Repeat violations or violations involving physical contact often escalate to felony charges. Jail sentences of up to a year for misdemeanor violations are common, and felony violations can carry several years in prison.
Federal consequences can be steeper. Possessing a firearm while subject to a qualifying protection order carries up to 15 years in federal prison.8Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915 Crossing state lines to violate a protection order can also trigger separate federal charges under the Violence Against Women Act.
If the restrained person violates the order, call 911 immediately. Bring a copy when you interact with law enforcement. Officers can verify the order through NCIC, but having the paperwork on hand eliminates any delay in making an arrest.10Department of Justice. Fact Sheet – Entering Orders of Protection into NCIC
If You’ve Been Served With a TRO
Being named in a TRO doesn’t strip away your legal rights, even though it restricts your conduct. The ex parte process exists because advance warning in a dangerous situation could put the petitioner at greater risk, but due process still applies, which is why the court schedules a hearing promptly after issuing the order.4Legal Information Institute. Ex Parte
Before the hearing, you can file a motion to dissolve the order if it was granted based on false or misleading information. You can request a continuance if you need more time to prepare or hire an attorney. At the hearing itself, you can testify, present evidence like text messages or photographs that contradict the petitioner’s claims, and bring witnesses who support your version.
What you cannot do is ignore the order while it’s in effect. Even if the accusations are completely fabricated, violating the TRO’s terms before the hearing will result in criminal charges. Comply with every restriction, document anything that contradicts the petitioner’s account, and make your case at the hearing.