A Connecticut protective order is a court order that bars someone from contacting, threatening, or coming near you, and in most domestic situations you get one by filing an application for a restraining order under Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-15. A judge can issue a temporary order the same day you file if there’s immediate danger, and a full hearing follows within 14 days. Connecticut law actually uses three different court orders for these situations, and picking the right one is the first decision you have to make.
Which Order You Need
People use “protective order” and “restraining order” interchangeably, but Connecticut courts don’t. The right path depends on your relationship to the person and whether a criminal case already exists.
Restraining Order Under § 46b-15
This is what most people are looking for. You file it yourself in Superior Court when you need protection from a family or household member. No arrest is required, and you don’t need a lawyer to start the process.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence Most of what follows in this article describes this order.
Criminal Protective Order
A criminal protective order is issued by the court after someone is arrested for a family violence crime or stalking. You don’t file for it; the prosecutor and the court handle it as part of the criminal case.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Protective Orders If no arrest has happened, this door isn’t open to you.
Civil Protection Order Under § 46b-16a
If the person you need protection from is not a family or household member, but you are a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse, or stalking, you can apply for a civil protection order under § 46b-16a. It covers coworkers, acquaintances, and strangers. You can only get one if no other protective or restraining order already covers the situation.3State of Connecticut State Marshal Commission Manual. Section 11 – Restraining Orders and Civil Protection Orders
Who Can File a Restraining Order
You qualify to file under § 46b-15 if you are a “family or household member” of the person you need protection from. Connecticut defines that broadly under § 46b-38a:4Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-38a – Family Violence Prevention and Response Definitions
- Spouses or former spouses
- Parents and their children
- People related by blood or marriage
- People who live together or have lived together, whether related or not
- People who share a child, whether or not they ever married or lived together
- People in or recently in a dating relationship
The dating category is the one that most often raises questions. The statute doesn’t set a rigid test, so courts look at the full picture of the relationship. If your situation doesn’t fit any category above, the civil protection order under § 46b-16a is the alternative to consider.
What Conduct the Court Will Act On
A judge can issue a restraining order if you’ve experienced a continuous threat of present physical harm, stalking, a pattern of threatening behavior, or coercive control by a qualifying family or household member. Coercive control became a standalone ground in 2021 under Public Act 21-78, known as Jennifer’s Law.5Connecticut General Assembly. Jennifers Law – Connecticut
Coercive control means a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with your free will or personal liberty. It can include isolating you from friends and family, controlling your finances or your daily movements, depriving you of basic necessities, compelling behavior through threats, threatening or harming pets to intimidate you, or forcing sexual acts. You do not have to show physical violence or a threat of it. A documented pattern of controlling behavior is enough.
How to File
Pick up two forms from any Superior Court clerk’s office or Court Service Center: the Application for Relief from Abuse (JD-FM-137) and the accompanying Affidavit (JD-FM-138). If you have children with the respondent, add the Affidavit Concerning Children (JD-FM-164).6Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut. How to Apply for a Restraining Order Under Section 46b-15
Your affidavit is a sworn statement describing what happened. Include specific dates, describe what the other person did or said, and explain why you fear for your safety. The statute requires only a “brief statement,” but at the first stage this written account is all the judge sees, so detail helps.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence
The application also asks for the respondent’s name, address, and physical identifiers (approximate height, weight, age) and asks you to list any related court cases, such as a pending divorce or custody matter.7Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut. Application for Relief From Abuse
One section of the application is marked optional but is worth completing: the questions about whether the respondent holds a firearm permit or possesses firearms or ammunition. If you indicate the respondent has firearms, the hearing timeline shortens from 14 days to 7, and law enforcement is notified before the order is served.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence
The Same-Day Temporary Order
After you file, your paperwork goes directly to a judge for an ex parte review, meaning the judge reads it without the other person present. If the judge finds an immediate and present physical danger, the court can issue a temporary restraining order that same day.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence
The temporary order holds until the full hearing, which must be scheduled within 14 days (7 days if firearms were flagged on the application).3State of Connecticut State Marshal Commission Manual. Section 11 – Restraining Orders and Civil Protection Orders If the courthouse is closed on the scheduled hearing date, the hearing moves to the next open day and the temporary order stays active until then.
Service and the Full Hearing
Once the temporary order is granted, you arrange service on the respondent through a state marshal. The marshal delivers the application, your affidavit, the ex parte order, and notice of the hearing. In-hand delivery is standard and strongly preferred, and when firearms are flagged the marshal is required to coordinate with local police and attempt in-hand service whenever possible.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence
The respondent must be served at least three days before the hearing. If the marshal can’t complete service in time, ask the court to extend the ex parte order for up to another 14 days so service can be attempted again.
At the hearing, both sides present their case. Bring witnesses, text messages, photos, medical records, and anything else that supports the facts in your affidavit. The respondent can testify and present evidence too. If the judge finds you’ve met your burden, the temporary order becomes a final restraining order.
What the Order Can Require
Judges tailor orders to the level of danger. Three common tiers:
- A limited (partial) order lets the parties keep living together but prohibits the respondent from threatening or harassing you.
- A residential (full) order requires the respondent to stay away from your home and workplace and bans contact, though it may not restrict the respondent from being in the same general area.
- A full no-contact order is the most restrictive. All communication is forbidden (calls, texts, email, social media), and the respondent must keep a specified physical distance from you at all times.
The judge can also build in provisions on child custody, visitation, and support.
How Long It Lasts and How to Extend It
A final restraining order lasts up to one year. Before it expires, you can file a motion asking the court to extend it for whatever additional time the court deems necessary. The statute sets no cap.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence
If the respondent didn’t appear at the original hearing, you can serve the extension motion by first-class mail to their last known address rather than paying a marshal. Don’t let the order lapse if you still need protection. Extending is far simpler than starting over.
If the Respondent Violates the Order
Violating a restraining order in Connecticut is a felony. A standard violation is a Class D felony carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.8Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-223 – Criminal Violation of a Protective Order Class D or Class C Felony If the violation involves physically restraining, threatening, harassing, assaulting, or attacking the protected person, it rises to a Class C felony punishable by one to ten years and a fine of up to $10,000.9Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-41 – Fines for Felonies
If a violation happens, call 911 if you’re in danger. Show responding officers a copy of your order. Police can also verify the order through Connecticut’s Protection Order Registry, which is available around the clock.10Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System. Protection Order Registry – POR You can also return to court and file a Motion for Contempt (JD-FM-173). One protection built into the law: a person listed as protected on the order cannot be charged with soliciting or conspiring in its violation.
Firearms Consequences
A final restraining order triggers a federal firearms ban automatically under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). The ban applies when the respondent had notice and an opportunity to be heard, the protected person is an “intimate partner” (spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or someone who cohabited with the respondent), and the order either prohibits the use of physical force or includes a finding of a credible threat. The order itself doesn’t have to mention firearms. Violating the federal prohibition carries up to ten years in prison.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Protection Orders and Federal Firearms Prohibitions Temporary ex parte orders do not trigger the federal ban.
Enforcement in Other States
A Connecticut restraining order follows you across state lines. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state, tribe, and territory must give full faith and credit to a valid protection order from any other jurisdiction and enforce it as a local order, as long as the issuing court had jurisdiction and the respondent received or will receive notice and an opportunity to be heard. This covers temporary, ex parte, and final orders.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders You don’t need to register your Connecticut order in another state to make it enforceable there, but carrying a copy when you travel is a sensible habit.
What It Costs
Nothing. Connecticut does not charge a filing fee for the application, and the statute requires the Judicial Branch to pay the cost of service.1Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-15 – Relief for Victim of Domestic Violence Federal law under VAWA also bars courts from charging domestic violence victims to file, issue, register, or serve a protection order. Cost should never be the thing that stops you from seeking protection.