To file a no contact order in Georgia, you petition the Superior Court Clerk in the county where the person you need protection from lives, appear before a judge the same day for an ex parte hearing, and if the judge finds enough evidence of danger, you leave with a Temporary Protective Order that becomes enforceable once the sheriff serves it. A full hearing follows within 30 days, and the judge can then convert the temporary order into one lasting up to a year, up to three years, or permanent. There is no filing fee for family violence petitions, and court staff can help you complete the paperwork.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-3 – Petition Seeking Relief From Family Violence
Pick the Right Type of Order First
Georgia doesn’t have a single “no contact order.” It has two separate tracks, and you have to file on the one that matches your relationship with the respondent.
Family Violence Protective Order
This track is for violence between people with a domestic connection: current or former spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, and people who currently or previously lived in the same household. The conduct must involve a felony or one of these specific offenses: battery, simple battery, assault, simple assault, stalking, criminal damage to property, unlawful restraint, or criminal trespass.2Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-1 – Family Violence Defined
Stalking Protective Order
If you have no domestic relationship with the person, this is your track. It’s available to anyone being stalked, which Georgia defines as following, surveilling, or contacting you without consent in a pattern of harassing and intimidating behavior that places you in reasonable fear for your safety or an immediate family member’s safety. Contact counts whether it comes by phone, mail, computer, social media, or any other electronic device.3Justia. Georgia Code 16-5-90 – Stalking Petition forms for a stalking order are available through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority.4Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Petition for Stalking Temporary Protective Order
Write the Petition Carefully
The petition is what the judge reads at the ex parte hearing, and it drives the whole outcome. Get the form from the Superior Court Clerk’s office in your county. Court staff and family violence shelter advocates can help you fill it out at no cost.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-3 – Petition Seeking Relief From Family Violence
The form asks for identifying information about both you and the respondent: full legal names, dates of birth, addresses, and contact details. Include the respondent’s workplace and a physical description if you have one, because the sheriff’s department uses this to find and serve the papers.
The core of the petition is a written narrative describing what happened. Draft it before you sit down with the official form. For each incident, write the date, time, location, and a plain description of what the respondent did. Specifics matter. “He threatened me multiple times” is weak. “On March 12 at approximately 9 p.m. in the kitchen of our apartment, he grabbed my arm and said he would kill me if I tried to leave” is the kind of detail that gets a temporary order granted. The petition must show that family violence has occurred and may happen again.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-3 – Petition Seeking Relief From Family Violence
Bring Evidence That Backs Up Your Account
Photographs of injuries or property damage, screenshots of threatening texts or social media messages, voicemails, emails, and police report numbers all strengthen your petition. For digital evidence, make sure screenshots clearly show the sender’s name or phone number, the message content, and the date and time. Capture the full conversation thread when you can, because context matters when a judge evaluates whether a message was a threat.
Where and How to File
File the completed petition with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the respondent lives.5Georgia.gov. Get a Protective Order The clerk assigns a case number. For family violence petitions, there is no filing fee, and all assistance provided through the court is free.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-3 – Petition Seeking Relief From Family Violence
The Same-Day Ex Parte Hearing
After you file, you appear before a judge the same day. Only you are in the room; the respondent isn’t notified and doesn’t attend. The judge reads your petition and asks about the incidents you described. If the judge finds sufficient evidence of danger, they issue a Temporary Protective Order on the spot.
The TPO becomes enforceable only once law enforcement serves the respondent. Until that happens, keep following your safety plan.
Service and the Full Hearing Within 30 Days
The clerk sends the order and a hearing notice to the local sheriff’s department, and a deputy personally delivers them to the respondent. Don’t deliver the papers yourself or tell the respondent about the order. It carries no force until officially served.
The court schedules a full hearing within 30 days of the date you filed.5Georgia.gov. Get a Protective Order If your county can’t schedule it in that window, the hearing can be held in another county within the same judicial circuit.1Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-3 – Petition Seeking Relief From Family Violence The hearing date appears in the documents served on the respondent.
Both sides present their case at the full hearing. You and the respondent can testify, bring witnesses, and submit evidence. The judge then dismisses the temporary order or converts it into a longer-term protective order. You must attend. If you don’t show up, the temporary order expires and you lose protection.
Ask for Everything You Need in the Order
A protective order can do much more than bar contact, but the judge can only grant what you ask for. The family violence statute lets a judge include any combination of these:6Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-4 – Protective Orders and Consent Agreements
- An order to stop all acts of violence and refrain from harassing or interfering with you
- Exclusive possession of the shared residence, even if the respondent owns it, and an order for the respondent to leave
- A requirement that the respondent provide suitable alternate housing for a spouse, former spouse, or parent and the children
- Temporary custody of minor children and visitation terms
- Child support and spousal support payments
- Rulings on specific personal property, including law enforcement help retrieving your belongings
- An order for the respondent to attend psychiatric or psychological counseling
- Attorney’s fees and costs
Request everything you need in the petition itself. Leaving something out often means not getting it.
How Long the Order Lasts
A final protective order issued after the full hearing lasts up to one year. You can file a motion asking the judge to extend it for up to three years or to make it permanent with no expiration. The respondent must be notified of that motion and given a chance to be heard.7Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-4 – Protective Orders and Consent Agreements If your order is approaching expiration and you still feel unsafe, file the motion well in advance. Letting the order lapse means starting over with a brand new petition.
If the Respondent Violates the Order
A protective order is a court order, not a suggestion. If the respondent contacts you, comes to your home, or breaks any term of the order, there are two enforcement paths. The court can hold the respondent in contempt, or the respondent can be charged criminally.8Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-6 – Violation of Temporary or Permanent Protective Order A criminal conviction for violating a stalking-related protective order is a misdemeanor.9Justia. Georgia Code 16-5-95 – Restraining Orders for Stalking Offenses
Call 911 immediately when a violation happens. Don’t engage, negotiate, or respond to the contact. Keep a record of every violation, including screenshots, call logs, and the names of any witnesses. Each violation becomes evidence for enforcement and can also support a later motion to extend the order or make it permanent.
Keeping Your Address Off the Paperwork
Court paperwork usually requires your home address, and the respondent sees it. Georgia has created a victim-centered address confidentiality program through the Secretary of State’s office under O.C.G.A. ยง 50-18-151, with an effective date of July 1, 2026. The program lets eligible people designate the Secretary of State’s office as their agent for receiving mail and service of process, keeping their actual address out of public records.10Justia. Georgia Code 50-18-151 – Victim Centered Address Confidentiality Program
To apply, you submit an affidavit stating that disclosure of your address would increase the risk of being threatened or physically harmed, or that you’ve been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking. The application requires your legal name, date of birth, and a letter from a victim advocate or provider confirming you’ve received services.10Justia. Georgia Code 50-18-151 – Victim Centered Address Confidentiality Program A domestic violence shelter advocate or your local legal aid office can help you enroll, which matters especially if you are relocating to escape the respondent.
Georgia also runs a separate program called VoteSafe through the Secretary of State, which keeps your residential address confidential on voter registration records if you hold a protective order or live in a family violence shelter.11Georgia Secretary of State. VoteSafe You can apply for both.