Restraining Orders

You can ask for a protective order because of acts of domestic abuse committed by a current or former intimate partner or a family or household member, which includes:

• a current or former spouse;
• someone you are dating or used to date;
• someone with whom you have a biological child in common;
• someone you lived with in an intimate way, which is mainly defined as involving affectionate or sexual involvement;
• parents, grandparents, stepparents, adoptive parents, and foster parents;
• children, grandchildren, stepchildren, adopted children, and foster children;
• anyone else related to you by blood or marriage; or
• anyone you live in the same household with, regardless of whether you are related by blood or marriage.¹

“Living in the same household” means that you currently live or, within the past year, lived in the same single-family home as the abuser. It can also mean that you each have your own lease for a private bedroom, while sharing the home’s common areas.²

Additionally, you may be able to petition for a protective order against someone who is not a family or household member, under the following circumstances:

1. If you are the immediate family member of a victim of first-degree murder, you can file against the person who committed the murder.
2. You can file against anyone if you are a victim of one of the following acts committed by that person:

• rape;
• forcible sodomy;
• a sex offense;
• kidnapping;
• child abuse;
• assault and battery with a deadly weapon; or
• if you are an adult, any other crime.³

If you are asking for a protective order against someone who is not an intimate partner, family member, or household member, you must file a police report against this person before filing a petition with the district court. You must give a copy of this report to the judge unless the police have already given it directly to the court.⁴ 

Minors who are 16 or 17 years old can file for an order themselves. A minor who is under 16 years old must have an adult family or household member file for them. If you are filing against a minor who is age 13 or older, you must file your petition in the local court that has power (jurisdiction) over juvenile matters.⁴

If you do not qualify for a domestic violence protective order, you may instead qualify for a stalking protective order or a victim protective order for violence by a non-intimate partner.

¹ 22 O.S. § 60.1(2), (3), (6)
² 22 O.S. § 60.1(7)
³ 22 O.S. § 60.2(A), (G)
⁴ 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)(1)

You can file a petition in the district court in the county where you live, in the county where the abuser lives, or in the county where the abuse took place.¹  However, if you file for an ex parte order in one county, but there is a pending case for divorce, separate maintenance, guardianship, adoption or any other proceeding involving custody or visitation in a different county, the protective order case will be transferred and the hearing for the final protective order will be held in the same county in which the other case is pending.²

If you are being stalked and seeking a protection order against someone who is not a family or household member or an intimate (dating) partner, you must first file a complaint with law enforcement officials before filing the petition for a protective order in district court. (For the definition of a family or household member see Am I eligible to file for a protective order? ) You will have to provide the judge with a copy of the complaint you filed with the police at the full hearing for the protection order. If you do not present a copy of the complaint in court, your claim could be dismissed and you may be forced to pay the abuser’s attorney’s fees and/or other court fees.¹

¹ 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)(1)
² 22 O.S. § 60.3(D)