Restraining Orders

You can file for a permanent restraining order in front of the criminal court judge in General Sessions Court at the time a conviction is entered or in front of a civil court judge in the Court of Common Pleas any time after the respondent is convicted. The court would then set a date for a hearing where you would appear to request the order. The respondent has 30 days to respond to your petition.¹

If you want to get an immediate, temporary ex parte order while you wait for the hearing, you would have to file a separate petition for an emergency restraining order at the Magistrate’s Court. The Magistrate’s Court would then hold a hearing within 24 hours and decide whether to issue the temporary ex parte order.²

The judge will decide how long a permanent restraining order lasts.³ There is no specific timeframe laid out in the law. You can file a request to have the order extended, though, before it expires.⁴

^​1 S.C. Code § 16-3-1910(B), (G)
² S.C. Code § 16-3-1920(A), (H)(1)
³ S.C. Code § 16-3-1910(M)(1)
⁴ S.C. Code § 16-3-1910(M)(2)