To file a temporary restraining order in Hawaii, you go to Family Court if the person harming or threatening you is a family or household member, and to District Court if they are anyone else. You fill out a Petition for Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order, swear to what happened, and hand it to the clerk. A judge reviews it the same day without the other person present. If the judge signs the order, it takes effect immediately, but it cannot be enforced until the respondent is personally served, and a full hearing is set within 15 days.
Which Court You File In
The first decision is the one that controls everything else: which statute your situation falls under.
Family Court handles domestic abuse cases under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 586. “Family or household member” covers current or former spouses, reciprocal beneficiaries, parents, children, blood relatives, people who live or have lived together, people who share a child, and anyone in a current or former dating relationship.1Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-1 – Definitions The statute specifically excludes adult roommates whose only connection is an economic or contractual arrangement, such as a lease.2Hawaii State Judiciary. Requesting a Family Court Protective Order
District Court handles everyone else under HRS Section 604-10.5: neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, strangers, roommates connected only by a lease. The statute defines harassment as physical harm, assault, or a threat of imminent physical harm, or an intentional pattern of conduct that seriously alarms another person, serves no legitimate purpose, and would cause a reasonable person emotional distress. You can file where you live or are temporarily staying, where the respondent lives, or where the harassment happened.3Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 604-10.5 – Power to Enjoin and Temporarily Restrain Harassment
The two tracks use different forms, different courtrooms, and different fee rules, so getting this right at the start saves a return trip.
What to Bring With You
Before you go to the courthouse, gather as much identifying information about the respondent as you can. The court needs a full legal name and a current address (home or work) where the papers can be delivered. Date of birth, physical description, and vehicle information help law enforcement locate the person.
Then think about your evidence. If any of the abuse or harassment happened through text messages, social media, email, or voicemail, preserve it before you file. Take screenshots showing the sender’s name or phone number, the date and time, and the full content, and don’t crop or edit them. Keep the originals on your device as well; a judge may want to see them or ask how you preserved them. Organize everything chronologically so you can walk a judge through it in order.
If you are filing a domestic abuse petition and share minor children with the respondent, bring each child’s name, age, and current living situation. The court can issue temporary custody and visitation orders as part of the protective order, and having that information ready lets the judge address the children’s safety on the same day.4Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-5.5 – Protective Order
Filling Out the Petition
The main document is the Petition for Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order.5State of Hawai’i Judiciary. 3DC51 Petition for Ex Parte Motion for Temporary Restraining Order You can pick it up at the TRO coordinating office in your local courthouse or download it from the Hawaii State Judiciary website.
The heart of the petition is the declaration section, where you describe what happened. Write it chronologically and stick to concrete actions: specific dates, exactly what the respondent did or said, any physical contact, any threats, stalking behavior, or property destruction. Vague statements are hard for a judge to act on; specific facts are what get an order signed. Because the petition is sworn under oath, everything must be truthful and based on what you saw, heard, or experienced firsthand.
Think about what protection you actually need and check the corresponding boxes on the petition. In a domestic abuse case, the court can order the respondent to stop all abuse or threats against you and anyone in your household, have no contact with you by phone, text, email, social media, or through third parties, stay away from your home, surrender any firearms and ammunition to law enforcement, and follow a temporary custody and visitation arrangement for any shared children.4Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-5.5 – Protective Order A District Court harassment TRO typically includes similar no-contact and stay-away provisions but does not address custody or property.
Filing and the Same-Day Review
Bring your completed petition to the clerk in the correct court. Domestic abuse petitions in Family Court have no filing fee; Hawaii law does not require abuse victims to pay for protection. Harassment petitions in District Court cost $15.00 to file.6Hawaii State Judiciary. About Filing for Your Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) If you can’t afford the fee, ask for the application to proceed without prepayment of costs.
Once the clerk has your paperwork, a judge reviews it on an ex parte basis, meaning the judge reads it and decides without the respondent being present or notified. If the petition shows a risk of immediate harm, the judge signs the TRO and it takes effect right away. If the judge is not convinced there is immediate danger, the petition may be denied, though the court can still set a hearing where both sides appear.
Getting the Respondent Served
A signed TRO is not enforceable until the respondent has been personally served. Until someone physically hands the papers to the respondent, police generally cannot arrest them for violating the order.7Judiciary. Serving Your Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) Service is the step that most often trips people up, so build it into your plan the same day you file.
How service works depends on which island you are on:
- On Oahu (First Circuit), take the TRO papers to the police station in the area where the respondent lives. Police serve the papers at no charge.
- On Maui and Hawaii Island (Second and Third Circuits), contact a process server from the list the court provides. The fee is $25.00 per document served plus $0.40 per mile. Alternatively, any adult 18 or older who is not a party to the case can serve the papers.
- On Kauai (Fifth Circuit), take the papers to the Lihue Police Station. Police will serve the respondent for $15.00 per respondent.7Judiciary. Serving Your Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Give the server the respondent’s exact addresses and the times they are usually there. Follow up to confirm service was completed, because the court needs proof of service before the hearing. If the respondent is actively avoiding service or cannot be located, Hawaii law allows for substituted service, but you have to ask the court for permission and show that you tried to serve the respondent personally first.8Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 634-27 – Substituted Service of Process
The Hearing Within 15 Days
After a TRO is granted, the court schedules a hearing within 15 days.9Hawaii State Judiciary. About Filing for Your Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)About Filing for Your Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) In Family Court it is called an Order to Show Cause hearing; in District Court it is called a TRO/Injunction hearing. Both sides appear and present evidence.
Bring everything: screenshots, photos, medical records, police reports, and any witnesses who can testify about what they saw. The respondent has the right to attend, present their own evidence, and cross-examine witnesses. You can bring a lawyer or represent yourself. If you do not show up, the temporary order typically expires and the case is dismissed. The TRO only lasts until the hearing date unless the court extends it.
If the judge decides continued protection is warranted, the length of the follow-on order depends on the court. A Family Court protective order can run for any reasonable period the judge sets, and can include everything the TRO contained plus additional relief like ordered participation in a domestic violence intervention program.10Hawaii State Judiciary. Protective Orders4Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-5.5 – Protective Order In District Court, a harassment injunction can last up to three years when the harassment involves physical harm, assault, or threats of imminent physical harm.3Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 604-10.5 – Power to Enjoin and Temporarily Restrain Harassment The initial District Court TRO itself lasts up to 90 days.6Hawaii State Judiciary. About Filing for Your Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
If the Respondent Violates the Order
Call 911 immediately. Then document the violation: save messages, take photos, or write down exactly what happened and when, so you can report it to both the police and the court.
Under Chapter 586, knowingly or intentionally violating an order for protection is a misdemeanor.11Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-11 – Violation of an Order for Protection A second or subsequent conviction carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence.12Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-4 – Temporary Restraining Order Violations of a District Court harassment injunction are punishable under HRS Section 604-10.5.
Firearms and Travel Out of State
A domestic abuse protective order in Hawaii can require the respondent to surrender all firearms and ammunition and prohibit them from possessing or acquiring any while the order is in effect.4Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 586-5.5 – Protective Order Federal law separately bars firearm possession by people subject to certain protective orders, but that federal ban only applies after the respondent has had a hearing with notice and the opportunity to participate, so it does not attach to the initial ex parte TRO.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
If you travel to another state or the respondent moves away, your Hawaii order still applies. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state must give full faith and credit to a protection order issued elsewhere and enforce it as its own.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders You do not have to register the order in the other state, though doing so can help if you need to call police there. Carry a copy of your order with you.