How to Fill Out and File the NC 50B Restraining Order Form (AOC-CV-303)

To fill out North Carolina Form AOC-CV-303, you complete a three-page civil complaint identifying yourself, the person who harmed you, your qualifying relationship, and the specific incidents of domestic violence you want the court to act on; you then file it, along with a short packet of companion forms, at the Clerk of Superior Court at no cost. A judge can issue a temporary emergency order the same day.

Before You Start: Who Can Use This Form

Chapter 50B is limited to violence between people in specific personal relationships. If your situation does not fit one of the categories below, the clerk cannot process a 50B and you would need to look at a civil no-contact order under Chapter 50C instead.

You can file against someone who is your:

Current or former spouse.
Opposite-sex person you live with or have lived with.
Parent, child, grandparent, or grandchild, including someone acting in a parental role. No order can be entered against a child or grandchild under 16.
Person you share a child with.
Current or former household member, with no gender restriction. This category covers roommates, same-sex partners who share a home, and other household members regardless of romantic involvement.¹
Opposite-sex person you are dating or have dated. Casual acquaintances and ordinary socializing do not qualify.

The conduct itself has to involve one of the following: the defendant attempted or caused you bodily injury, placed you or a family member in fear of serious bodily injury, committed a sexual offense against you, or engaged in ongoing harassment that caused substantial emotional distress.²

The Packet AOC-CV-303 Belongs To

When you tell the clerk’s office you want to file for a domestic violence protective order, they hand you a packet. You can also download the forms from the North Carolina Judicial Branch website. The core documents are:

AOC-CV-303, Complaint and Motion for Domestic Violence Protective Order. The main form. Bring three copies.³
AOC-CV-312, Identifying Information About the Defendant. Physical description, vehicle, and anything else that helps law enforcement serve the defendant.
AOC-CV-317, Civil Summons, Domestic Violence. The formal notice of the case and hearing.
AOC-CV-304, Ex Parte Domestic Violence Order of Protection. The temporary order the judge fills in if emergency relief is granted.
AOC-CV-305, Notice of Hearing on Domestic Violence Protective Order. Sets the date for the full hearing.

Two more forms apply in specific situations. If you are asking for temporary custody of your children, add AOC-CV-609, an affidavit about the status of minor children. If either you or the defendant is under 18 and unmarried, the court must appoint a guardian ad litem using AOC-CV-318.³

You will fill out AOC-CV-303, AOC-CV-312, and, if applicable, the custody affidavit. The clerk and the judge handle the summons, the ex parte order, and the notice of hearing.

Filling Out AOC-CV-303, Page by Page

Caption and Parties

At the top, write the county where you are filing. You are the plaintiff; write your full legal name. The defendant is the person who harmed you; write their full legal name and current address. Accuracy on the defendant’s address matters because that is where the sheriff will try to serve them.⁴

Your Relationship to the Defendant

The form lists the qualifying relationships as check boxes. Check every box that applies. If you were married and are now separated, you may be both a current spouse and a household member. If you share a child, check that too. Checking more than one does not weaken your complaint; it gives the court more than one basis to find you eligible.

What the Defendant Did

This is the most important section of the form, and the one judges focus on at the ex parte stage. Describe each incident in concrete detail: the date, the location, exactly what the defendant did, any injuries, and any witnesses. Specific facts carry the complaint; general statements do not. “On March 12, 2026, the defendant hit me in the face with a closed fist at our apartment on Elm Street” is far stronger than “the defendant has been violent toward me.” The statute requires the judge to find danger from specific facts, so give the judge specific facts to work with.

Request for Immediate (Ex Parte) Relief

On page two, you are asked whether you want the judge to act immediately without first notifying the defendant. If you are in danger now, check that box. Without it, you may still get a hearing, but not a same-day emergency order.

The Relief You Want

The form has a list of specific protections you can request. Check every one you need:

No contact and stay-away from you, your home, and your workplace.
Exclusive possession of a shared residence, even if the defendant owns or leases it.
Alternate housing provided by the defendant for a spouse and children.
Temporary custody and set visitation terms, including supervised visitation.
Child support and spousal support.
Possession of personal property and custody of household pets.
Prohibition on the defendant purchasing firearms during the order.
Completion of an abuser treatment program approved by the Domestic Violence Commission.

The court also has catch-all authority to add anything else it considers necessary to protect you or your children.⁵ One limit worth knowing at the ex parte stage: temporary custody requires the judge to find that the children face a substantial risk of physical or emotional injury or sexual abuse.

Signature

Sign and date the last page. You are signing under oath that the facts you have written are true, so review the narrative one more time before you sign.

Filling Out AOC-CV-312 and the Custody Affidavit

AOC-CV-312 collects everything that helps the sheriff find the defendant. Include height, weight, hair color, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, vehicle make and model, license plate, and employer. Fill in whatever you know and leave the rest blank. A photograph helps if you can attach one. The more detail you give, the faster service happens, and the ex parte order is not enforceable until the defendant has been served.³

If you checked the box asking for temporary custody, complete AOC-CV-609. It asks where each child has lived for the past five years, who they lived with, and whether any other custody case is pending anywhere. Answer each question; incomplete answers can delay the custody portion of your order.

Where and When to File

Take the completed packet to the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where you live, where the defendant lives, or where the violence happened. There is no filing fee, service fee, or court cost at any stage. That prohibition comes from both state law and the federal Violence Against Women Act.⁶

If you need protection outside business hours, you can file with a magistrate when district court is not in session and no judge will be available for four or more hours. A magistrate can accept the complaint and hear your request for emergency relief. Any order a magistrate enters expires at the end of the next day the district court is in session, when a judge takes over the case.

The Same-Day Ex Parte Hearing

After the clerk accepts your paperwork, you go in front of a judge, or a magistrate after hours, for a short hearing where only you are present. The judge reads your complaint and asks questions about what happened and why you need immediate protection. To grant an emergency order, the judge has to find from specific facts that you face a danger of further domestic violence.⁶

If the judge grants the ex parte order on AOC-CV-304, it takes effect immediately on service. If the judge denies ex parte relief, your case is not over. The court still schedules the full hearing, where both sides appear and you can bring witnesses and evidence. Many orders are granted at that hearing even when ex parte relief was denied.

Service and the 10-Day Hearing

The defendant must be personally served with the summons, the complaint, the notice of hearing, and any ex parte order before the case moves forward. How that happens varies by county. In some, the clerk sends the paperwork to the sheriff; in others, you carry it over yourself. Ask the clerk or a local domestic violence advocate how your county handles it.⁷

If an ex parte order was issued, the full hearing is scheduled within 10 days from the date of the order or within 7 days from the date the defendant is served, whichever comes later.⁶ Continuances are limited to one extension of no more than 10 additional days unless both parties agree or the court finds good cause.

At that hearing, both sides can testify, call witnesses, and submit evidence such as photographs, text messages, medical records, or police reports. If the court finds that domestic violence occurred, it enters a final protective order that can last up to one year.⁵ If you do not appear, the case will be dismissed and any ex parte order expires.

Common Mistakes That Sink a Petition

Wrong relationship type. Same-sex dating partners who have never lived together, for example, do not qualify under the current statute, though same-sex partners who are current or former household members do.
Vague allegations. “The defendant has been abusive” gives the judge nothing to act on. Dates, locations, and descriptions of specific incidents do.
Thin identifying information. If the sheriff cannot find the defendant, the hearing gets reset and any ex parte order sits unenforceable in the meantime.
Missing the full hearing. Not showing up ends the case.
Confusing a casual acquaintance with a dating relationship. Courts look at how long the relationship lasted, how often you interacted, whether either party considered it romantic, and whether you presented yourselves as a couple. Ordinary socializing is not enough.

Getting Help Filling Out the Forms

Local domestic violence programs across North Carolina help survivors complete the 50B packet, go with you to court, and arrange emergency shelter. The clerk’s office can tell you which program serves your county. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is staffed around the clock at 800-799-7233; you can also text START to 88788 or use the online chat at thehotline.org.⁸ If you are in immediate physical danger, call 911 first. A protective order is a legal tool, and law enforcement can respond faster than any court process.

1
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 50B-1 – Domestic Violence Definition
2
North Carolina Judicial Branch. How to Get a Protection Order
3
UNC School of Government. Instructions for Domestic Violence Forms
4
North Carolina Judicial Branch. AOC-CV-303 – Complaint for Domestic Violence Protective Order
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 50B-3 – Relief
6
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 50B-2 – Institution of Civil Action
7
WomensLaw.org. Restraining Orders – Step 3 Service of Process
8
The National Domestic Violence Hotline. Domestic Violence Support