How to Get a Restraining Order in El Paso County

To get a restraining order in El Paso County, you file a civil protection order petition at the Fourth Judicial District courthouse in Colorado Springs, a judge reviews it the same day and can issue a temporary order on the spot, and the court holds a full hearing within 14 days to decide whether to make the order permanent. You do not need a lawyer, a police report, or criminal charges against the other person to start. The process below walks through each stage.

What Colorado Calls It, and Who Can File

Colorado’s term for a restraining order you file yourself is a civil protection order. It covers domestic abuse, stalking, sexual assault, and situations involving at-risk adults or elders. The statute specifically removes any requirement that you have reported the conduct to police, that charges be filed, or that you be cooperating with a prosecution.¹

A separate type of order, the mandatory protection order, is one the court imposes automatically when someone is charged with a crime. You do not file for it. If an arrest has already happened and you’re wondering about court-imposed restrictions on the defendant, that is a different track handled through the criminal case.²

What To Prepare Before You Go to the Courthouse

Two forms do the work: JDF 402, the Verified Complaint/Motion for Civil Protection Order, and JDF 401, the Incident Checklist. Both are available for download from the Colorado Judicial Branch website, so you can fill them out at home instead of in a courthouse lobby.³

Gather as much identifying information about the respondent as you can: full name, aliases, address, phone number, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, and any distinguishing marks like scars or tattoos. The more detail you put down, the easier it is for the sheriff or process server to find the right person.

The written account of what happened is the single most important part of your filing. Judges read these quickly and look for specifics. Write down dates, times, and locations. Describe exactly what the respondent said or did, not how it made you feel or what you believe about their intent. “On March 12, he showed up at my workplace parking lot and said he would hurt me if I didn’t come home” gives the judge something concrete. “He has been threatening me lately” does not. A pattern of escalating incidents, each one specific, is what moves a judge to grant a temporary order the same day.

Filing the Petition and Getting a Temporary Order

Take your completed forms to the clerk’s office at the El Paso County courthouse in Colorado Springs. If you are filing because of domestic abuse, domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or sexual abuse, there is no filing fee and you also receive certified copies at no charge.³ Other civil protection order filings may carry a fee. If you cannot afford it, file form JDF 205 to request a waiver, available to households earning below 125 percent of the federal poverty line or enrolled in certain public benefits.⁴

After the clerk accepts your paperwork, you’ll go to a courtroom where a judge reads your complaint. The judge may ask you questions, then decides whether to issue a temporary protection order. If granted, it takes effect immediately and lasts until the permanent hearing, which must be scheduled within 14 days.¹ If the respondent can’t be served in that window, the court extends the temporary order and reschedules the hearing. You can keep requesting extensions as long as you show reasonable efforts to serve or evidence that the respondent is avoiding service.

Getting the Respondent Served

A temporary order is not enforceable against the respondent until they have been personally served with the complaint, the temporary order, and an affidavit of service. Arranging that service is your responsibility, and it has to happen before the permanent order hearing.³

You have three choices for who delivers the papers: the sheriff’s office, a private process server, or any person at least 18 years old who is not a party to the case and understands the rules of service. Whoever serves the papers has to return a completed affidavit of service to you, which you then file with the court. If your filing fee was waived as a victim of domestic violence or a related crime, the court can order the respondent to pay the filing fee, service costs, and attorney fees at the permanent hearing.

The Permanent Order Hearing

At the hearing, both sides present their case. The respondent has the right to attend, testify, and challenge your allegations.¹ Bring whatever supports your account: screenshots of threatening texts or social media messages, photos of injuries or property damage, medical records, police reports, and witnesses who can corroborate specific incidents.

The burden of proof is on you. You have to show the judge that the respondent did what you described and that a permanent order is necessary to keep you safe going forward. Judges weigh the likelihood of future harm, not only what already happened. If the evidence is sufficient, the temporary order becomes permanent, meaning it has no automatic expiration date. If the respondent was properly served and doesn’t show up, the judge can still make the order permanent based on your evidence alone.

Presenting Digital Evidence

Screenshots of texts, emails, and social media posts carry weight when they clearly show the message content, the sender’s name or phone number, and the date and time. If the respondent uses a screen name, be ready to explain how you know the account is theirs. References to facts only they would know, a phone number you can tie to them, or a characteristic writing style all help. Print copies in addition to having them on your phone, because judges often prefer paper they can mark up.

What the Order Can Require of the Respondent

A protection order in El Paso County can carry several types of restrictions, and the judge chooses which to include based on your situation. Common provisions include:

No contact of any kind, whether by phone, text, email, in person, or through a third party.
Stay-away requirements that keep the respondent a court-specified distance from your home, workplace, school, or other locations.³
Temporary care, parenting time, and decision-making authority for shared minor children.
Protection for pets, including a ban on harming, hiding, or disposing of them, plus temporary care and control.
Temporary payment of marital bills or other financial obligations in domestic cases.

Every provision is a binding court order. The respondent does not get to pick which parts to follow.

Firearms

Colorado law requires the court to order respondents under a qualifying civil protection order to stop possessing or purchasing firearms and ammunition and to relinquish any they currently have.⁵ The respondent has three ways to comply: sell or transfer the firearms to a federally licensed dealer, arrange storage with a law enforcement agency or a sheriff-contracted facility, or sell to a private party who can legally possess them (which requires a background check on the buyer and a signed, dated receipt). Failing to relinquish as ordered is itself a crime.

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) adds a separate firearm ban that attaches to permanent protection orders issued after a hearing where the respondent had notice and a chance to participate, as long as the order restrains the person from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or child and includes either a finding of credible threat to physical safety or an explicit prohibition on using physical force. Most permanent orders issued after a contested El Paso County hearing meet those criteria.

If the Respondent Violates the Order

Violating any provision of a protection order is a criminal offense in Colorado. A first violation with no aggravating factors is a class 2 misdemeanor. It becomes a class 1 misdemeanor if the respondent has a prior protection order violation, if the order was a mandatory criminal protection order, if the underlying allegations involved stalking, or if the parties were in an intimate relationship.⁶ Because most El Paso County protection orders involve an intimate relationship or stalking, the class 1 classification applies in most cases.

The violation does not have to be dramatic. A single text, showing up at a prohibited location, or having someone else pass along a message all qualify. Call law enforcement right away if you believe a violation has occurred. Officers can arrest the respondent on the spot with probable cause. Keep a copy of the order with you at all times so responding officers can verify its terms without delay.

Changing or Ending the Order Later

Only the protected person can ask the court to modify or dismiss a protection order. The respondent cannot file this request. The forms are JDF 397 (Motion to Modify/Dismiss Protection Order) together with JDF 410 (Order Modifying Protection Order) or JDF 415 (Order Vacating Protection Order). There is no filing fee.⁷

One hard rule: if the respondent has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any misdemeanor or felony against the protected person after the order was issued, other than the original offense that led to the order, the court cannot dismiss or modify it. Check the respondent’s record before filing, because a new conviction will cause the court to deny the request.

If the motion moves forward, the clerk sets a hearing. You must personally serve the respondent with the motion and attachments beforehand. The judge may ask why you want the change and whether you are making the request on your own.

Local Help in El Paso County

TESSA of Colorado Springs offers confidential support, safe shelter, and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, including safety planning and help with the protection order process. You can reach them at tessacs.org or by calling their crisis line.

The Colorado Judicial Branch website hosts every form named above, along with step-by-step instructions and information about virtual courtroom options for protection order hearings in El Paso County.³ Colorado Legal Services may be able to represent you at no cost if you cannot afford an attorney.

1
Justia. Colorado Code 13-14-104.5 – Procedure for Temporary Civil Protection Order
2
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Code 18-1-1001 – Protection Order Against Defendant Definitions
3
Colorado Judicial Branch. Getting a Protection Order
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. Fee Waivers
5
Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 13-14-105.5 – Civil Protection Orders – Prohibition on Possessing or Purchasing a Firearm
6
Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-6-803.5 – Crime of Violation of a Protection Order Penalty
7
Colorado Judicial Branch. Motion to Modify or Dismiss Protection Order