To file a restraining order in Idaho, you go to the clerk’s office at your county courthouse, submit a petition for a Civil Protection Order, and see a judge the same day. Idaho’s “restraining order” for personal safety is formally called a Civil Protection Order (CPO), and the court charges nothing to file, serve, or hear it.1Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6305 – Fees Waived If the judge finds you face immediate danger, a Temporary Protection Order can be in place within hours; a full hearing follows within 14 days and can produce an order lasting up to a year.
One quick boundary before the steps: if the person has already been arrested and charged with a crime against you, the judge in that criminal case can issue a No Contact Order on their own. You cannot request one of those. The process below is the one you can start yourself.
Who Can File
For a domestic violence CPO, your relationship with the respondent must fit one of the categories the statute recognizes:
- Household members, meaning people who live together or have lived together, and people who share a child whether or not they ever married or lived together.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6303 – Definitions
- Family members, meaning spouses, former spouses, and people related by blood or marriage.
- Dating partners, current or former. The court weighs how long the relationship lasted, how often you interacted, and how recently it ended.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6303 – Definitions
A parent or guardian, custodial or noncustodial, can file on behalf of a minor child.3Idaho Supreme Court. Civil Protection Orders Bench Cards
If the person threatening you is not a partner, relative, or household member, you can still seek a protection order under Idaho’s stalking or malicious harassment statutes. Those orders do not require any particular relationship.
What Conduct Qualifies
Idaho defines domestic violence as physical injury, sexual abuse, forced imprisonment, or a credible threat of any of those acts against a family member, household member, or dating partner.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6303 – Definitions There is no deadline for filing based on domestic violence. Older incidents still count, though recent ones strengthen the petition.
Stalking means repeated, unwanted contact that would cause a reasonable person serious alarm or emotional distress, or make them fear death or physical injury to themselves or a family member. For a stalking-based petition, the conduct must have occurred within the 90 days before you file, and you have to show it is likely to continue. Earlier incidents can still come in as evidence of a pattern.3Idaho Supreme Court. Civil Protection Orders Bench Cards
Malicious harassment covers threats or intimidation targeting someone because of race, color, religion, ancestry, or national origin, and carries the same 90-day filing window.
What to Gather Before You Go to the Courthouse
Bring the full legal name, date of birth, and current address for yourself and for the respondent. Any physical description that helps officers identify the respondent is worth noting.
Write out what happened, organized by date, with specific times and locations. Say what was done, what was said, and who else was there. The petition is sworn, and the judge is working from your words. “He threatened me” carries far less weight than “on March 14 at approximately 8 p.m. at my apartment, he said he would hurt me if I tried to leave.”
Collect anything that corroborates the account:
- Photos of injuries or property damage
- Screenshots of threatening texts or emails
- Call logs showing patterns of harassing calls
- Police report numbers from any related incidents
If other people saw or heard what happened, write down their names and contact information so you can ask them to appear at the full hearing.
Filing the Petition and Getting a Temporary Order
Go to the clerk’s office at your county courthouse and ask to file a petition for a protection order. Idaho waives all filing fees, service fees, hearing fees, and bond requirements for these cases.1Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6305 – Fees Waived You do not need an attorney, though one can help if custody or complicated facts are involved.
After you file, the clerk sends you to a judge for an immediate ex parte hearing. The respondent will not be there. The judge reads your petition, may ask questions, and decides whether you face immediate danger. If so, the judge can issue a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) that lasts up to 14 days.4Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6308 – Ex Parte Temporary Protection Orders The TPO does not take effect against the respondent until they have been served. Local law enforcement handles service at no cost to you.
The Full Hearing
A full hearing is set within 14 days of the TPO.4Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6308 – Ex Parte Temporary Protection Orders Both sides can attend, bring evidence, call witnesses, and testify. The respondent may hire an attorney and contest the petition, so bring your strongest evidence to this hearing rather than holding anything back. If the judge finds that domestic violence occurred and that protection is necessary, a full CPO issues for a term up to one year.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6306 – Hearing on Petition for Protection Order If the petition is denied, the TPO expires.
What the Order Can Require
Idaho judges have broad authority to shape the order to your situation. A CPO can include any combination of the following:
- A prohibition on contact of any kind, direct or indirect, including through third parties.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6306 – Hearing on Petition for Protection Order
- A stay-away distance, with 1,500 feet available from your home, workplace, your children’s school, or any other place the court specifies.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6306 – Hearing on Petition for Protection Order
- An order excluding the respondent from a shared residence, with a peace officer available to help you take possession.6Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6309 – Issuance of Order
- Temporary custody of minor children, consistent with Idaho’s jurisdictional rules and any prior custody orders.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6306 – Hearing on Petition for Protection Order
- Participation in counseling or a batterer intervention program.
- Reimbursement of your costs, including reasonable attorney fees.
A CPO cannot change ownership of real property. If the respondent is on the deed or lease, the order can exclude them from the home for its duration but does not touch their ownership interest.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6306 – Hearing on Petition for Protection Order
The Firearms Consequence You Should Know About
A full CPO involving an intimate partner typically triggers a federal firearms prohibition against the respondent. Under federal law, anyone subject to a qualifying protection order cannot possess firearms or ammunition.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The order qualifies if it was issued after a hearing with notice and a chance to be heard, it restrains the respondent from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or child, and it either includes a finding of credible threat or expressly prohibits physical force. A temporary ex parte order does not trigger this ban; the full order issued after the 14-day hearing generally does. Violation is a federal felony.
If the Order Is Violated
Violating any provision of a protection order in Idaho is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000, so long as the respondent had notice of the order.8Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6312 – Violation of Order, Penalties This applies to both temporary and full orders.
If the respondent contacts you, comes to your home, or breaks any other term, call 911. Do not respond to the contact and do not try to handle it yourself. Save the voicemail, text, screenshot, or video. When officers arrive, show them your copy of the order and point to the specific provision that was violated. Each separate act of contact can be charged as a separate offense. Keep a certified copy of the order with you; officers can look it up, but the physical document moves things along, especially in another jurisdiction.
Renewing or Changing the Order Later
A full CPO runs for the term the judge sets, up to one year. Before it expires, you can file a motion to renew for up to another year. Renewal requires good cause, meaning the threat has not gone away. If the respondent does not object in time, the court can grant the renewal without a hearing, and there is no cap on the number of renewals.9Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 39-6311 – Order, Transmittal to Law Enforcement
Modifications are possible if circumstances change. You can consent to waive provisions, but only voluntarily and without duress; a court will not honor a request made under pressure from the respondent. Until the order either expires or the court terminates it, it stays in force.