Lisa’s Law in Michigan: PPO Types, Penalties, and Firearm Rules

In Michigan, “Lisa’s Law” is the informal name for the state’s personal protection order system, built on MCL 600.2950 and MCL 600.2950a. It gives people facing domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or serious harassment a way to ask a circuit court for an order restricting the person threatening them. A PPO issued under these statutes can be enforced by warrantless arrest, and a violation is criminal contempt punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.¹

The Three Types of PPOs

Michigan recognizes three separate PPOs, and choosing the wrong one can delay protection or lead to a denied petition.

Domestic relationship PPO under MCL 600.2950. Available against a spouse or former spouse, someone you share a child with, a current or former household member, or a current or former dating partner.²
Nondomestic stalking PPO under MCL 600.2950a(1). No relationship is required. It covers conduct qualifying as stalking, aggravated stalking, or cyberstalking under Michigan’s penal code.²
Nondomestic sexual assault PPO under MCL 600.2950a(2). Available to victims of sexual assault or people placed in reasonable fear of it. If the respondent has already been convicted of sexually assaulting the petitioner, the court must grant the order.²

None of the three can issue between a parent and their own unemancipated minor child. The respondent must be at least ten years old. For a nondomestic stalking PPO, the petitioner cannot be incarcerated.²

What You Have to Prove

For a domestic relationship PPO, you need to show the respondent poses a credible threat of violence, harassment, or interference with your personal liberty. The court weighs the totality of the circumstances, including any history of violence.

For a nondomestic stalking PPO, the threshold is more specific. You must show a pattern of at least two separate incidents of unwanted contact that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.³ A single frightening encounter, however serious, does not meet the statutory bar. Document at least two distinct acts with dates and locations.

For a sexual assault PPO, a prior conviction for sexually assaulting the petitioner requires the court to grant the order. Without a conviction, you have to show conduct that placed you in reasonable fear of sexual assault.²

Useful supporting evidence includes police reports, witness statements, text messages, screenshots of electronic communications, and affidavits describing the respondent’s behavior. Specificity moves cases.

Filing and Ex Parte Orders

Petitions go to the family division of circuit court in your county. No attorney is required. Forms are available from the clerk’s office and online. Your petition needs to describe specific incidents in enough detail for the judge to evaluate the threat.

In many cases the court can issue a PPO ex parte, meaning without notifying the respondent first, if the judge finds that waiting for a hearing would expose you to immediate and irreparable harm. An ex parte order takes effect when signed, though it must still be served on the respondent before a violation can be enforced.¹

If law enforcement encounters the respondent before formal service, an officer can give oral notice of the order, its terms, and the penalties for violation, then file proof with the court. A respondent who has received no notice at all must be given a chance to comply before being arrested for a violation. After service, the respondent has 14 days to move to modify or rescind the order; if a motion is filed, the court sets a hearing within 14 days, or within 5 days when the order includes a firearm prohibition and the parties are in a domestic relationship.¹

What a PPO Can Prohibit

Restrictions are tailored to the case. Under MCL 600.2950a, the court can bar the respondent from:

Contacting the petitioner by phone, mail, electronic message, or by delivering objects to their property.
Approaching the petitioner in public or on private property, appearing at their home or workplace, following them, or coming within their sight.
Entering or remaining on property the petitioner owns, rents, or occupies.
Threatening to kill, physically injure, or sexually assault the petitioner.
Purchasing or possessing firearms.
Attending school in the same K–12 building as a minor petitioner.
Interfering with the petitioner’s employment or educational environment.

The court can also impose any other restriction it finds necessary to protect the petitioner’s safety and personal liberty.⁴ A domestic relationship PPO under MCL 600.2950 can go further, including ordering the respondent to vacate a shared home even if the respondent co-owns it.

How Long a PPO Lasts

The order runs until the expiration date it states. Under MCL 600.2950, the minimum duration is 182 days, roughly six months.¹ Many courts issue orders lasting a year or longer depending on the severity of the threat.

To extend a PPO, file a motion with the court at least 28 days before it expires.⁵ Don’t wait until the last week. If the order lapses before a judge acts on the extension, protection ends during the gap. Either party can also ask the court to modify the terms if circumstances change.¹

Penalties for Violating a PPO

A respondent 17 or older who fails to comply with a PPO faces criminal contempt of court. The statute directs mandatory imprisonment of up to 93 days and a possible fine of up to $500.¹ Jail time is not discretionary on a criminal contempt finding.

Contempt stacks on top of charges for whatever the respondent actually did. Show up at the petitioner’s home and assault them, and you face both the contempt penalty and separate assault charges with their own sentencing range.¹ Officers can make an immediate arrest without a warrant when they have reason to believe a PPO has been violated, and they do not need to have witnessed the violation themselves.

The conduct behind a PPO often qualifies as a crime on its own. Misdemeanor stalking carries up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, and up to five years of probation. Aggravating factors, including violating an existing PPO or other court order, a prior stalking conviction, threats to kill or physically harm the victim, or targeting a minor when the stalker is at least five years older, elevate the offense to aggravated stalking. That is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, and probation that can extend to a lifetime term.⁶ A single incident can therefore produce three layers of exposure at once: contempt, a standalone stalking charge, and any additional charges for specific acts like assault or trespassing.

Firearm Restrictions

Michigan courts can prohibit a PPO respondent from purchasing or possessing firearms as part of the order.⁴ Petitioners can request it directly on the petition form, and judges frequently grant it when the respondent has made threats of physical violence.

Federal law adds a separate layer. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), it is a federal crime to possess a firearm or ammunition while subject to a qualifying protection order. The federal bar applies when three conditions are met: the order was issued after a hearing where the respondent had notice and an opportunity to participate; the order restrains the respondent from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or that partner’s child; and the order either includes a finding of credible threat or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force.⁷

An ex parte PPO issued before any hearing does not trigger the federal ban on its own. A PPO that remains in force after the respondent has had a hearing (or let the 14-day window pass without contesting) likely does, assuming the relationship qualifies. The federal penalty is far more serious than state contempt, so ignoring a firearm restriction carries real risk.

LEIN Enforcement and Out-of-State Recognition

Once issued, a PPO is entered into Michigan’s Law Enforcement Information Network, a statewide database accessible to every law enforcement agency in the state.⁸ When an officer runs a name during any encounter, an active order shows up. Enforcement does not depend on you carrying a paper copy, though keeping one is still sensible. The court clerk is responsible for updating LEIN when a PPO is rescinded, modified, or extended.¹ If your order does not appear in the system, call the clerk right away; officers in the field cannot enforce what they cannot verify.

A Michigan PPO also travels. The Violence Against Women Act requires every state, tribal government, and territory to recognize and enforce valid protection orders from other jurisdictions. To qualify, the issuing court must have had jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter, and the respondent must have received reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard. Ex parte orders qualify as long as notice and a hearing opportunity are given within the time Michigan law requires. The enforcing state must honor the order’s terms even if those specific restrictions are not part of its own law. Registration in the new state is not required, but it can make local enforcement smoother.⁹

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2950
2
Michigan Courts. Types of PPOs
3
Alger County. Michigan Court Form CC 377 – Petition for Personal Protection Order (Nondomestic)
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2950a
5
State of Michigan. PPO Brochure
6
State of Michigan. Stalking – Understand Your Rights
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 Section 922
8
State of Michigan. Personal Protection Orders
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 Section 2265