How to Get a Restraining Order in Indiana: Filing, Hearing, and Relief

To get a restraining order in Indiana, you file a petition for an order for protection in civil court, at no cost, and a judge can sign a temporary order the same day. A full hearing follows within 30 days, and a final order lasts two years. Indiana’s official name for the document is an “order for protection,” but the process is what most people mean by getting a restraining order.

Who Can File

You can petition for an order for protection if you are a victim of domestic or family violence, stalking, or a sex offense.¹ A parent, guardian, or other representative can file on behalf of a child.

Domestic or family violence covers any attempt to cause physical harm, a threat of physical harm, conduct placing a family or household member in fear of physical harm, or sexual assault by a family or household member.²

For a domestic violence petition, you and the respondent have to be “family or household members.” Indiana reads that broadly: current or former spouses, people who are dating or have dated, people who have had a sexual relationship, blood and adoptive relatives, relatives by marriage, guardians and wards, people who share a child, and a person who adopted the other’s child all qualify.

If you’re filing based on stalking or a sex offense, the family-or-household-member requirement doesn’t apply. You can seek an order against anyone who committed those acts.

What to Gather Before You File

Pull together the full name, address, and date of birth for both you and the person you’re filing against. Write out a description of the most recent incident with the date, time, and location. Prior incidents and any police report numbers strengthen the petition, so include them.

You need two forms:

PO-0100, the Petition for an Order for Protection, where you describe what happened and request specific relief.
PO-0104, the Confidential Form, which holds your private contact information and is not part of the public record.³

Both are on the Indiana Judicial Branch website.⁴ Fill them out completely before you go to court. The address you list on the main petition becomes public, so use a mailing address you’re comfortable having on the record. Your actual home address goes on the confidential form only.

Where to File and What Happens the Same Day

Take your completed forms to the civil court clerk’s office in the county where you live, where the respondent lives, or where the abuse occurred. Indiana waives all fees for protection order proceedings, including filing, service of process, witness fees, and subpoena costs.⁵ You pay nothing to file or to have the order served.

After you file, a judge reviews the petition in an ex parte hearing, meaning the other party is not there. The judge reads what you submitted and may ask questions. If the judge finds you face an immediate threat, a temporary protection order can be issued on the spot.¹ If the judge needs more information, an ex parte hearing is typically scheduled within one to two days.⁶

Once the temporary order is signed, law enforcement serves the respondent. That service notifies them of the terms and of the date of the full hearing.

The Full Hearing

A full hearing must be held within 30 days of the ex parte order.⁶ Both sides can present testimony, witnesses, and evidence. The respondent has the right to attend and argue against the order, but does not have to appear for the judge to grant a final order.

Bring everything that supports your case: photographs of injuries, screenshots of threatening messages, police reports, medical records, and the names of anyone who witnessed the abuse. If the judge finds the abuse or threat established, a final order for protection is issued.

What the Order Can Require

Indiana’s protection orders go well beyond a simple stay-away directive. What relief is available depends on whether the court grants it immediately or after the full hearing.

Relief Available Immediately (Ex Parte)

A judge can put the following in a temporary ex parte order:⁶

No contact, direct or indirect, whether by phone, text, email, social media, or through other people.
Stay-away from your home, workplace, school, and other locations the court specifies.
No further acts or threats of violence, stalking, or sex offenses against you or your family members.

Some additional relief can be granted immediately but triggers a hearing within 30 days: evicting the respondent from your shared home regardless of who owns it, giving you possession of a shared vehicle or essential personal property, granting you custody of pets, and ordering a cell phone provider to transfer your number so the respondent can no longer control your account.⁶

Relief Available Only After the Full Hearing

Certain provisions require both parties to have notice and a chance to be heard:¹

Parenting time restrictions, supervision, or denial, and appointment of a guardian ad litem for the children.
Financial support, including child support (where a duty exists), rent or mortgage payments, attorney fees, and other expenses tied to the abuse.
Surrender of firearms, ammunition, and deadly weapons to law enforcement for the duration of the order.
Counseling, including a batterer’s intervention program or other treatment.

The custody and financial provisions in a protection order are temporary. They stay in effect for the life of the order but do not replace a formal custody or divorce case. If you need long-term custody or support, you will eventually need to file a separate family law matter.

Firearms Consequences

Firearm restrictions work on two levels in Indiana. After a full hearing, a judge can order the respondent to hand over all firearms, ammunition, and deadly weapons to law enforcement, where they stay for the duration of the order.⁶

Federal law adds a second layer. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), a person subject to a final protection order issued after a hearing with notice is banned from possessing any firearm or ammunition if the order restrains them from threatening an intimate partner or child and either includes a finding that they represent a credible threat or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force.⁷ The federal ban applies nationwide and carries its own criminal penalties. It kicks in automatically once a final order meets those criteria, even if the Indiana judge did not specifically order a firearms surrender.

How Long the Order Lasts

A final order for protection is effective for two years from the date it is issued, unless the court sets a different expiration date. If the respondent is a registered sex offender or violent offender required to register for life and you were the victim of that crime, the order lasts indefinitely.¹

If your order is approaching expiration and you still need protection, file a petition to modify or extend it before the two years are up. Don’t wait for it to lapse.

Changing the Order

If you’re the petitioner and need to adjust the terms, you can file a modification using form PO-0115.⁶ Simple changes like updating your address can be handled without a hearing. Significant changes, such as adjusting parenting time, adding a firearms prohibition, or allowing both parties to occupy the same location, require a hearing.

One point that catches people off guard: only the court can modify or dissolve the order. Even if you and the respondent reconcile and both want it lifted, the respondent cannot ignore it. Until a judge formally changes the order, its terms are enforceable and a violation is a crime.

What Counts as a Violation

Breaking any term of an Indiana protection order is a criminal offense called invasion of privacy under Indiana Code 35-46-1-15.1.⁸ Contacting you, showing up at a restricted location, or possessing a prohibited firearm all qualify.

First offense: Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
Repeat offense, or with a prior stalking conviction: Level 6 felony, six months to two and a half years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁸

Even if you (the protected person) initiate contact, the respondent can still be charged for responding. The order restricts the respondent regardless of who reaches out first. If the respondent violates the order, call 911 immediately.

If You Leave Indiana

Your order does not expire at the state line. Under federal law, every state, tribal government, and territory must honor and enforce a valid protection order from another jurisdiction.⁹ You don’t have to register it in the new state for it to be enforceable, but carrying a certified copy makes things smoother with local police. Someone who crosses state lines to violate a protection order or commit domestic violence also faces separate federal charges.¹⁰

A Note on Housing

If you live in federally subsidized housing, the Violence Against Women Act prevents you from being evicted or losing assistance because of domestic violence committed against you, and you can request a lease bifurcation that removes the abuser while you stay in the unit.¹¹ Indiana does not have a statewide law letting private-market tenants break a lease without penalty because of domestic violence. Outside federally assisted housing, there is no guaranteed statutory right to break your lease, though the protection order and related police reports can help in negotiations with a landlord.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-26-5-9 – Ex Parte Orders; Relief After Notice and Hearing
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-6-2-34.5 – Domestic or Family Violence
3
IN.gov. Petition for an Order for Protection and Request for a Hearing OJA-PO-0100
4
Indiana Judicial Branch: Office of Court Services. Protection Order Deskbook Forms
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-26-5-16 – Fees
6
Indiana Courts. Protective Order Deskbook
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-46-1-15.1 – Invasion of Privacy; Offense; Penalties
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence
11
HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)