A Maryland peace order is a civil court order from the District Court that directs someone to stop harassing, threatening, or harming you when that person is not your spouse, a family member, or an intimate partner. You get one by filing a petition at the courthouse or, after hours, with a District Court commissioner. The case can move through up to three stages: an interim order from a commissioner, a temporary order from a judge, and a final order that can last up to six months.
When a Peace Order Is the Right Tool
Maryland runs two parallel systems for court-ordered protection, and picking the wrong one costs you time. A protective order is for people with a domestic or intimate connection to the person causing harm: current or former spouses, people who live together, blood relatives, co-parents, or anyone who had a sexual relationship with the respondent within the past year. If any of those fit, you need a protective order.
A peace order covers everyone else. Neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, strangers, former friends, someone you matched with on a dating app but never actually dated. If the person harassing you doesn’t fall into one of the family or intimate categories, the peace order is your path.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1503 – Petition for Peace Order
One difference matters enough to flag before you file: firearms. Federal law prohibits firearm possession for people subject to certain protective orders involving intimate partners or their children, and Maryland’s state-level surrender requirement likewise applies to protective orders, not peace orders.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Because a peace order by definition involves someone who is not an intimate partner, it generally does not trigger those firearm restrictions. If a family member or intimate partner is threatening you with a gun, a peace order would leave a protection gap; a protective order is the right remedy.
Conduct That Qualifies, and the 30-Day Window
You can seek a peace order when the respondent has committed any of the following acts against you within the 30 days before you file:
- Assault, serious bodily harm, or conduct that places you in fear of imminent serious bodily harm
- False imprisonment, meaning unlawfully restricting your ability to move freely
- Harassment through a malicious course of conduct directed at you
- Stalking: repeatedly following, monitoring, or surveilling you without a legitimate purpose
- Trespass on your property
- Malicious destruction of property you own
- Misuse of phone or electronic communication to harass you
- Revenge pornography: distributing intimate images of you without your consent
- Visual surveillance, including secretly recording or observing you in a private setting
The 30-day filing deadline is strict. If the most recent qualifying act happened more than 30 days ago, the court will not accept the petition.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1503 – Petition for Peace Order Your petition can still reference earlier incidents to show a pattern, as long as at least one qualifying act falls within the 30-day window.
Who Can File
The person filing is called the petitioner. You must be the actual victim of the qualifying act. You cannot file on someone else’s behalf just because you witnessed what happened to them.
There is one notable exception: an employer can file a peace order petition when a qualifying act was committed against an employee at the employee’s workplace, and the employer must notify the employee before filing.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Laws Chapter 341 – Peace Orders Workplace Violence A parent or guardian can also file on behalf of a minor child. If you’re unsure whether you or someone else should file, the clerk’s office at your local District Court can help.
How the Process Works
Getting a peace order isn’t a single event. The system has up to three stages, each with more judicial review than the last.
Interim Peace Order
If you need protection outside normal court hours, you can file your petition with a District Court commissioner. Commissioners are available evenings, weekends, and holidays. If the commissioner finds reasonable grounds to believe the respondent committed a qualifying act and is likely to do it again, the commissioner can issue an interim order on the spot.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1503.1 – Interim Peace Order
An interim order provides only minimum protection. It can require the respondent to stop the threatening behavior, stop contacting you, stay away from your home, and stay away from your workplace or school. It cannot order counseling or mediation. The interim order lasts until a judge can hold a temporary peace order hearing, which must happen within the first or second business day after the interim order is issued.
Temporary Peace Order
If you file during business hours, or once your interim order reaches a judge, the court holds a temporary peace order hearing. This hearing can proceed even if the respondent doesn’t show up. The judge applies the same reasonable grounds standard as the commissioner.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1504 – Temporary Peace Order
If granted, a temporary peace order lasts up to seven days after service on the respondent. The judge can extend it up to 30 days if law enforcement needs more time to serve the papers, or for other good cause. A law enforcement officer is responsible for serving the temporary order.
Final Peace Order
The final hearing is where things get serious for both sides. The respondent has the right to attend, present evidence, call witnesses, and argue against the order. The judge now applies a higher standard: preponderance of the evidence, meaning you must show it is more likely than not that the respondent committed the qualifying act and is likely to do so again.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1505 – Final Peace Order
The final hearing typically happens within seven days after the temporary order is served. If the judge finds sufficient evidence, the final peace order can last up to six months. A judge can also skip the temporary stage and go straight to a final hearing if the respondent appears at the first hearing or has already been served with an interim order.
What a Final Peace Order Can Require
A final order gives the judge broader tools than an interim or temporary order. The court can order the respondent to:
- Stop committing or threatening any of the qualifying acts against you
- Stop contacting, attempting to contact, or harassing you, directly or through someone else
- Stay away from your residence
- Stay away from your workplace, school, or temporary residence
- Attend professionally supervised counseling
- Participate in mediation, if both parties agree
- Pay filing fees and court costs
The court can order either party to pay filing fees and costs, not just the respondent.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1505 – Final Peace Order In practice courts most often assign costs to the respondent when granting the order, but it isn’t automatic.
Filing Fees
Under the 2026 Maryland District Court cost schedule, filing a temporary peace order petition costs $56. If a sheriff serves the order on the respondent, the service fee is $60.7Maryland Courts. District Court of Maryland Cost Schedule DCA-109 If you cannot afford the filing fee, you may qualify for a waiver when you are represented through Maryland Legal Aid, a JUDICARE attorney, or a recognized pro bono or legal services program.
Penalties for Violating a Peace Order
Violating any peace order, whether interim, temporary, or final, is a criminal misdemeanor, and a law enforcement officer can arrest the respondent for a violation. The penalties escalate with repeat offenses:
- First offense: a fine up to $1,000, up to 90 days in jail, or both
- Second or subsequent offense: a fine up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both
A prior conviction for violating a protective order under Maryland’s Family Law provisions also counts as a prior offense for these escalated penalties.8Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1508 – Failure to Comply With Interim, Temporary, or Final Peace Orders If the respondent violates the order, call the police. Do not try to enforce the order yourself.
Extensions, Modifications, and Appeals
A final peace order expires at the end of its stated term, which cannot exceed six months. If you still need protection as that term ends, you can file a motion to extend the order for an additional six months. The court must hold a hearing on your extension motion within 30 days. If the court cannot schedule the hearing before the original order expires, the order automatically stays in effect until the hearing takes place.9Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1506 – Modification, Rescission, Extension, and Appeal That automatic extension matters, because a gap in protection while waiting for a hearing date could put you at risk.
Either party can also ask the court to modify or rescind an existing peace order, and either party can appeal a District Court decision to the circuit court in the same county. The appeal is heard de novo, meaning the circuit court judge considers the case fresh rather than reviewing the District Court for error. While the appeal is pending, the original District Court order remains in effect unless the circuit court says otherwise.9Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1506 – Modification, Rescission, Extension, and Appeal
Preparing for Your Hearing
Preparation drives outcome more than anything else. The petitions that succeed share a few traits: specific dates, concrete descriptions of what happened, and supporting evidence.
Before your hearing, organize your evidence chronologically. Print text messages and emails rather than planning to scroll through your phone in court. Bring printed copies of photos showing damaged property or injuries. Write down the dates, times, and locations of each incident. If there were witnesses, bring them or have their contact information ready. Police reports help, even if no charges resulted.
At the temporary hearing you may be the only person presenting information. At the final hearing, expect the respondent to appear with their own version of events. Stick to facts and specific incidents rather than general characterizations. “On March 12, they followed me to my car after work and banged on the window” is far more useful than “they’re always threatening me.”6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1505 – Final Peace Order
Your petition is sworn under oath. Maryland law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly provide false information in the petition, so accuracy matters for your own protection as well.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1503 – Petition for Peace Order
Does a Peace Order Go on Your Record
A peace order is a civil matter, not a criminal charge. Having one issued against you does not create a criminal record by itself. Peace orders are public court records, though, and anyone running a thorough search through Maryland court databases can find them. Employers and landlords who look beyond a standard criminal background check may see an active or past peace order.
If the respondent violates the order and is arrested, that arrest and any resulting conviction do become part of the respondent’s criminal record. The peace order itself stays civil; the violation crosses into criminal territory.8Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings 3-1508 – Failure to Comply With Interim, Temporary, or Final Peace Orders