How to Get a PFA Order in Pennsylvania: Filing, Hearing, Duration

To get a PFA in Pennsylvania, you file a Protection From Abuse petition at your county courthouse, at no cost, describing the abuse and the person you need protection from. A judge reviews it the same day and can issue a temporary order on the spot if you’re in immediate danger. A final hearing follows within ten business days, and a judge who grants the order can put it in place for up to three years.

Who Can File and Against Whom

Any adult or emancipated minor can file for themselves. A parent, adult household member, or guardian ad litem can file on behalf of a minor child, and a court-appointed guardian can file for an incompetent adult.¹

A PFA only works against someone with a specific relationship to you. Pennsylvania’s definition of “family or household members” covers spouses and former spouses, people who live or lived together as spouses, parents and children, anyone related by blood or marriage, current or former sexual or intimate partners, and people who share a biological child.² Sharing a child qualifies you even without a prior romantic relationship. A PFA is not available against a coworker, neighbor, stranger, or casual acquaintance with no domestic or intimate connection to you.

What Qualifies as Abuse

You do not need visible injuries to qualify. Under the Protection From Abuse Act, abuse includes causing or attempting to cause bodily injury; rape, sexual assault, or incest; placing someone in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury; false imprisonment; physical or sexual abuse of minor children; and a repeated pattern of conduct that puts you in reasonable fear of bodily injury, including stalking or following you without authority.²

Repeated threatening messages, showing up uninvited at your workplace, or a pattern of intimidation that makes you genuinely fear for your safety can meet the definition.

Prepare Before You Go to the Courthouse

Gather the facts you’ll need for the petition. Write down dates, times, locations, and what happened during each incident of abuse. Pull together anything that backs up your account: photographs of injuries, screenshots of threatening messages, medical records, and police reports. Have the abuser’s full name ready, and if you know them, their address, date of birth, and employer.

Petition forms are available at your county courthouse, usually in the family court or prothonotary’s office, and many counties also post them online. When you describe the abuse, use concrete facts rather than general conclusions. “On March 5 he grabbed me by the throat and shoved me into a wall” carries more weight than “he is often violent.” Courthouse staff and victim advocates can help you complete the paperwork, but they cannot give legal advice.

Filing Costs Nothing

Pennsylvania law prohibits charging any fees or costs to a person filing for a PFA. That covers the filing fee, service of the petition and order, copies, modifications, withdrawals, and appeals, with no surcharges or computer fees permitted.¹ If an order is granted, costs are assessed against the defendant.

Same-Day Temporary Order

Once you file, a judge reviews the petition the same day. If the judge finds you’re in immediate and present danger, a temporary PFA order can be issued right then, without the abuser present. This is an ex parte proceeding, designed to protect you without warning the abuser in advance.³

A temporary order can direct the abuser to stop the abuse, give you exclusive possession of a shared home, prohibit contact with you and stay away from your workplace or school, and require temporary firearms surrender when the abuse involved a weapon or there is an immediate danger of further abuse.³ The sheriff or other law enforcement agency then serves the order on the abuser along with notice of the final hearing.¹ The temporary order stays in effect until the court modifies or terminates it after the hearing.

Emergency Orders on Nights, Weekends, and Holidays

When the court of common pleas is closed, you can file an emergency petition with a magisterial district judge, sometimes called a hearing officer. If that judge finds immediate and present danger, a limited emergency order can be issued on the spot.⁴

Emergency orders can direct the abuser to stop the abuse, stay away, and leave a shared residence, but they cannot address custody or financial support. The order expires at the end of the next business day the court of common pleas is available, so you’ll need to go to the courthouse then and file a regular PFA petition to continue protection. The hearing officer must give you instructions before you leave.⁴

The Final Hearing

A final hearing must be held within ten business days of filing.³ Both sides can present evidence, call witnesses, and be represented by a lawyer.

Your burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence, meaning you need to show the abuse more likely than not occurred. That is a lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard in criminal cases, but vague or unsupported claims often fall short. Bring every piece of evidence you have. Bring witnesses who are willing to testify. Medical records, police reports, photographs, and message screenshots all carry weight.

Many cases don’t reach a contested decision. The defendant can agree to the terms of a PFA without admitting abuse, and the court can approve that as a consent agreement, which carries the same legal force and the same penalties for violations.⁵ Don’t accept a consent agreement with terms that leave gaps in your protection just to avoid a hearing. If you have a lawyer or victim advocate, review the proposed terms first.

What a Final Order Can Include

The relief available goes well beyond a simple stay-away directive. A judge can order any combination of the following:

A directive to stop abusing you and any minor children.
Exclusive possession of a shared home, even if the defendant co-owns or co-leases it.
No contact with you, your children, or others you designate, including at your workplace, school, or specific locations.
Temporary custody of minor children or temporary visitation terms.
Child support, spousal support, and continued rent or mortgage payments where the defendant has a duty to support you.
Restitution for medical and dental bills, moving expenses, counseling, lost earnings, damaged property, and reasonable attorney fees.
Prohibition on possessing firearms, with an order to surrender all firearms, ammunition, and firearms licenses.
A directive to stop stalking or harassing you.
Temporary ownership of a shared pet, with a stay-away order for the animal.

Restitution is a provision people often overlook. Hotel costs after fleeing, a phone the abuser destroyed, medical bills from an assault — those can go into the order.⁵

When a final order includes firearms, the defendant must surrender all firearms, other weapons, ammunition, and any firearms license to the sheriff or another appropriate law enforcement agency within the time the court sets.⁵ Failing to relinquish as ordered is a second-degree misdemeanor, separate from any contempt charge.

How Long the Order Lasts

A final PFA order or consent agreement lasts for a fixed period set by the judge, up to three years.⁵ Either party can petition to modify the order during that period.

As expiration approaches, you can petition for an extension. Grounds include:

The defendant committed further abuse after the original order, or engaged in a pattern of behavior indicating continued risk of harm.
A contempt petition was filed but not yet resolved before the order expires; the order is automatically extended at least until the contempt proceeding is finished.
The defendant is scheduled for release from incarceration within 90 days, or was released within the past 90 days. In that situation, you don’t need to show new abuse.

There is no cap on how many times an order can be extended.⁵ Each extension requires a new petition, notice to the defendant, and a hearing.

Enforcement and Violations

A PFA is enforceable by law enforcement the moment it’s served. If the abuser violates any term, police can make an arrest. The charge is indirect criminal contempt, which carries a fine of $300 to $1,000 plus up to six months in jail, or the same fine with up to six months of supervised probation. The defendant has no right to a jury trial on the contempt charge but is entitled to a lawyer. If the defendant is convicted, you can ask the court to extend the PFA on top of any remaining time. Consent agreements carry the same enforcement power.⁶

If the abuser contacts you, shows up at your home, or otherwise breaks the order, call 911. Document every violation, including small ones. A pattern strengthens any future contempt case and supports an extension.

The order also travels. Under federal law, a protection order issued in one state must be enforced by every other state, tribe, and territory as if it were a local order, with no registration required in the new state.⁷ If you relocate or travel, carry a copy of your PFA. Local law enforcement is required to enforce it, and the physical document speeds that up.

Free Legal Help

You do not need a lawyer to file a PFA, and many people successfully represent themselves. Help improves your odds, especially at a contested final hearing where the abuser has an attorney. The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence operates a legal helpline that connects victims with licensed attorneys for free legal information, referrals, and guidance on PFA cases and related issues like custody, divorce, and immigration. County-based domestic violence programs also offer victim advocates who can accompany you to court, help you fill out paperwork, and connect you with local legal aid.

If you’re in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) provides 24/7 crisis support and safety planning.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23-6106 – Commencement of Proceedings
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23-6102 – Definitions
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23-6107 – Hearings
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23-6110 – Emergency Relief by Minor Judiciary
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23-6108 – Relief
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23-6114 – Contempt for Violation of Order or Agreement
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders