Restraining Orders

A temporary ex parte order for protection, which is issued without notice to the abuser, can:

1. prohibit the respondent from committing or threatening to commit acts of domestic violence against you and any specific family or household members listed on the order;
2. prohibit the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting, or communicating with you directly or indirectly;
3. remove and keep out (exclude) the respondent from your home, regardless of who owns the home where you are living;
4. order the respondent to stay away from your home, school, workplace, and specific places where you usually go;
5. order the respondent to stay away from specific places where any of your family or household members who are included in the order usually go;
6. prohibit the respondent from using a tracking device to determine the location of:
   • you or property that you own or use; and
   • your family or household member or property that they own or use;
7. give you sole possession, care, custody, or control of any animal owned, possessed, kept, or cared for by you, the respondent, a minor child of you or the respondent, or any other family or household member;
8. prohibit the respondent from removing, transferring, injuring, concealing, harming, attacking, mistreating, threatening to harm, or otherwise getting rid of such animal;
9. give you possession and use of the home, an automobile, and other essential personal items, regardless of who owns them;
10. order a law enforcement officer to:
    • accompany you to the home to make sure that you can safely get into the home and get possession of an automobile, animal, and other essential personal items; or
    • supervise your or the respondent’s removal of personal belongings and animals; or
11. order anything else that is necessary to keep you and any family or household members on the order safe.¹

A final order for protection can:

• include everything in the list above and in addition:
  • make a parenting time arrangement, which can do either of the following to ensure the safety of you or your child:
    • require parenting time between the abuser and your child to be supervised by a third party; or
    • deny parenting time to the abuser;
  • prohibit the abuser from possessing firearms, ammunition, or deadly weapons;
  • order the abuser to hand over (surrender) to law enforcement any firearms, ammunition, and deadly weapons in the abuser’s possession;
  • order the abuser to pay for expenses such as:
    • court costs related to the order for protection case;
    • your attorney’s fees;
    • rent/mortgage payments on your home;
    • child support and, if you are married, spousal maintenance;
    • costs and expenses related to the abuser’s use of a GPS tracking device (if applicable);
    • costs related to the domestic violence or harassment, such as:
      • medical expenses;
      • counseling;
      • shelter; and
      • the cost to repair or replace damaged property; and
  • order a wireless service provider to transfer to you the right to the continued use of (and financial responsibility for) any cell phone numbers that are used by you or by a minor child in your custody.²

¹ IC § 34-26-5-9(c)
² IC §§ 34-26-5-9(h); 34-26-5-21; see Petition for an order for protection and request for a hearing