A Louisiana restraining order starts with a petition filed in district civil court, and if you can show immediate danger, a judge can sign a temporary order the same day without the other person present. The petition is free. A full hearing follows within a short window, and if the judge grants a final protective order it can last up to 18 months and cover contact, housing, custody, support, and firearms.
Which Type of Order Fits Your Situation
Louisiana has four separate protective order statutes, and the right one depends on your relationship with the person you need protection from.
The Domestic Abuse Assistance Act (RS 46:2131 et seq.) covers abuse between family members, household members, and dating partners, and it handles the majority of protective order cases. It also reaches abuse of a parent or grandparent by an adult child or grandchild.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2132
The Protection from Stalking Act (RS 46:2171 et seq.) is the track to use when the person harassing you is a stranger or acquaintance rather than someone in a domestic relationship.2Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 46 RS 46:2171 The Protection from Dating Violence Act (RS 46:2151) fills the gap for dating partners who don’t live together and therefore may not qualify under the domestic abuse statute. The Protection for Victims of Sexual Assault Act (RS 46:2181 et seq.) is available to sexual assault victims regardless of any relationship with the offender.
The stalking and sexual assault statutes use a similar petition-and-hearing structure to the domestic abuse framework, with their own eligibility criteria.
Where and How to File
You file in district court in the parish where you live, where the abuser lives, or where the abuse happened. The petition should describe specific incidents in detail and explain why you need protection now. Police reports, medical records, photos, texts, and witness statements help, but you can still get a temporary order without them if your petition shows immediate danger.
Filing costs nothing. Louisiana law bars the court from charging you filing fees, service costs, or subpoena fees for a domestic abuse protective order petition, and the waiver applies both to filing and to the order itself.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2133 You don’t need a lawyer to file, though having one helps at the hearing stage.
Same-Day Temporary Restraining Orders
When your petition shows an immediate and present danger of abuse, the judge can issue a temporary restraining order the same day in an ex parte proceeding, meaning the other party doesn’t need notice or an appearance. Any showing of immediate and present danger qualifies as good cause, and the court must consider the full history of abuse or threats when deciding. The abuse doesn’t have to be recent.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2135
A TRO can do far more than order the person to stay away. Depending on what you ask for and what the judge grants, it may:
- Order the defendant to stop abusing, harassing, or interfering with you, and to stay away from your home and workplace.
- Evict the defendant from a shared home or restore your possession of the residence, even where the defendant is the sole owner, if they owe you a duty of support.
- Award you temporary custody of minor children.
- Restore your possession of personal property, including phones, computers, medications, identification documents, and vehicles.
- Prohibit either party from transferring or disposing of jointly owned property outside the ordinary course of business.
The TRO holds until the court holds a full hearing on a longer-term order. No bond is required.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2135
The Hearing and Full Protective Orders
After the TRO, the court sets a contradictory hearing where both sides can present evidence, testify, and cross-examine witnesses. This is where the case is decided. The judge weighs the severity and frequency of the abuse, any history of violence, and the credible threat of future harm. You carry the burden of showing that continued protection is warranted.
A final protective order can include everything a TRO can, plus temporary support for you or your children, possession of the home even when the defendant owns it solely (if you have custody), and temporary visitation conditions.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2136
The respondent has the right to appear, present evidence, and argue against the order. If the respondent was properly served and doesn’t show up, the court can proceed on your evidence alone.
How Long the Order Lasts and How to Extend It
A final protective order runs for a fixed period set by the judge, up to 18 months. After a contradictory hearing, the court can extend it if circumstances warrant continued protection. The no-abuse portion, the piece that directs the defendant to stop abusing, harassing, or interfering with you, can be made effective for an indefinite period at the judge’s option. The indefinite duration applies only to that no-abuse provision, not to custody, support, or other relief.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2136
If you need an extension, file the request before the current order expires. Once it lapses, you’re generally starting over and will need new allegations or evidence to get a new order. Calendar the expiration date and file well in advance. On an extension request the judge looks at the defendant’s behavior since the original order, any new incidents, and whether they’ve complied with its terms.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2136
Getting the Order Served and Into the Registry
The order isn’t enforceable until the respondent has been served. The sheriff handles service. If the sheriff hasn’t completed service within ten days or returns the order unserved, the court can appoint a private person to serve it, and licensed private investigators are presumed qualified.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 1293
Once served, whoever made service must transmit proof to the Judicial Administrator’s Office of the Louisiana Supreme Court no later than the end of the next business day, including the case caption, docket number, type of order, serving agency and officer, and the date and time of service.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 1293
That proof feeds the Louisiana Protective Order Registry, a statewide database maintained by the Supreme Court that stores orders arising from domestic abuse, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Law enforcement anywhere in the state can pull up your order and confirm it is current, which matters if you have to call police in a parish other than the one that issued it.7Louisiana Supreme Court. Louisiana Protective Order Registry
Firearms Restrictions
State and federal law both restrict firearms once a qualifying protective order is in place. Under Louisiana law, a person subject to a permanent protective order can’t possess a firearm for the order’s duration if the order includes a finding that the respondent is a credible threat to the physical safety of a family member, household member, or dating partner, and the order tells the respondent about the prohibition.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2136.3
Federal law, at 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(8), makes it a federal crime to possess any firearm or ammunition while subject to a qualifying order. The federal prohibition applies when the order was issued after a hearing with notice and an opportunity to participate, restrains the person from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or child, and either includes a credible-threat finding or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
When the order includes a firearms prohibition, the respondent must disclose the number and location of all firearms they possess, surrender them to the sheriff within 48 hours, and file a proof of transfer form with the clerk of court within 10 days. Failing to surrender or file is punishable as contempt, and possessing a firearm in violation of a protective order is itself a violation of the order under RS 14:79.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 46:2136.3
Penalties for Violating a Protective Order
A first conviction under RS 14:79 carries a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both.10Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:79
A second or subsequent conviction carries a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment with or without hard labor for 14 days to two years. At least 14 days must be served without probation, parole, or suspension. If any portion of the sentence does allow probation, the court must order the offender into a court-monitored domestic abuse intervention program.10Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:79
Prohibited conduct includes possessing a firearm or carrying a concealed weapon in violation of the firearms restrictions, and purchasing or attempting to purchase a firearm while subject to a protective order.10Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14:79 Any contact with the protected person, any approach to a restricted location, and any firearm possession while the order is active can each independently trigger charges.
Defending Against a Violation Charge
If you are the person accused of violating an order, the strongest defenses are usually procedural. Improper service is the first thing to check, because the order can’t be enforced against you unless you were properly notified of its terms, and the proof of service has to be documented and transmitted to the registry.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 1293 Gaps in that chain matter.
You can also challenge the validity of the underlying order or argue that ambiguous terms didn’t clearly prohibit what you actually did. Courts do weigh whether the conduct was a knowing violation or an unintentional crossing of unclear lines. A necessity defense exists for narrow emergencies, such as a genuine crisis involving a shared child, but courts view these claims skeptically because contacting law enforcement or an attorney is almost always the correct route rather than reaching out to the protected person. An attorney makes a real difference at the hearing where evidence and cross-examination decide the case.