NH Civil Restraining Orders: Filing, Hearings, and Enforcement

An NH civil restraining order is a Superior Court injunction you can seek against anyone whose conduct threatens your safety, regardless of your relationship to them. You file a Complaint for Restraining Order in the Superior Court for the county where you or the other person lives, pay the $325 filing fee (or ask the court to waive it), and show the judge that the person’s behavior puts you at real risk of harm that no other remedy can fix.¹

When a Civil Restraining Order Is the Right Tool

New Hampshire has two faster and cheaper protective orders that come first if you qualify. A domestic violence protective order under RSA 173-B is available when the person is a current or former spouse, romantic or sexual partner, someone you dated, someone you live or lived with in that kind of relationship, a co-parent, or a family member by blood or marriage. A stalking protective order under RSA 633:3-a covers anyone, without a relationship requirement, but you have to show a course of conduct — at least two acts — that fits the stalking statute.² Both are filed in circuit court and neither carries a filing fee.¹

A civil restraining order in Superior Court is the option when neither statute fits: a neighbor, coworker, landlord, acquaintance, or stranger whose conduct is harmful but doesn’t line up with the stalking definition, and where you have no qualifying relationship for a domestic violence order. The trade-off is that Superior Court runs a more formal process and charges a filing fee.

What You Have to Show the Court

Because a civil restraining order is an injunction, the judge applies standard injunction principles. To get emergency relief without notice to the other side, your papers have to demonstrate a real risk of irreparable harm before the court can hold a hearing — meaning money damages or later legal action would not undo what could happen to you in the meantime.¹

For a final order after a full hearing, you have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not — that the other person’s conduct justifies court-imposed restrictions and that you would suffer ongoing harm without them. Judges look at the pattern and severity of the behavior, whether the respondent has ignored prior warnings, and how likely future contact is. Repeated harassment, credible threats, or conduct that would make a reasonable person fear for their safety carries the most weight. A single argument or a personal dispute will not support an order.

How to File

Superior Court civil cases in New Hampshire are filed electronically through TurboCourt, accessible from the Judicial Branch website.³ File in the county where you live or where the respondent lives. The standard filing fee is $325.⁴ If you can’t afford it, file an affidavit of indigency and ask for a fee waiver before you assume the cost is a barrier.

The complaint itself is where cases are won or lost. Describe the respondent’s actions with specifics: dates, locations, exactly what was said or done, and how it affected you. General statements like “they keep bothering me” will not support an order. Include every incident you can document, because if you are asking for emergency relief the judge will decide from your written submission alone whether to grant it.

Getting Emergency Protection Before the Hearing

If waiting for a full hearing would put you at risk, the court can issue a temporary restraining order the same day, without the respondent present or notified. This is called ex parte relief, and it requires the showing of irreparable harm described above.¹ If the judge grants it, law enforcement serves the respondent with notice and the court schedules a hearing where both sides appear. If the judge denies emergency relief, your case still moves toward a hearing on the merits, but you are unprotected in the interim.

The Hearing and Evidence That Carries Weight

At the hearing, both sides can present evidence, call witnesses, and cross-examine. You carry the burden of proof — preponderance of the evidence — which is a lower bar than the criminal standard but still requires more than accusation.

The strongest evidence is usually material the respondent produced themselves: text messages, emails, voicemails, social media posts, letters. Screenshot conversations so timestamps and identifying information are visible. Print copies for the hearing, arranged in chronological order, and prepare a short timeline. Bring police reports for any incidents you reported, even if officers took no action at the time — an official record demonstrates a pattern. Witnesses who saw or heard the conduct add independent corroboration. Medical or counseling records showing the impact on you can help but are not required.

Two practical points make a real difference at the hearing. Don’t initiate contact with the respondent while your case is pending; any message from you can be used to argue the situation is mutual rather than one-sided. And organize your evidence for a judge who is working through a full docket — clarity is persuasive.

What the Order Can Require

If the court is satisfied, it issues an order with specific restrictions. Typical provisions bar the respondent from contacting you in person, by phone, by text or email, or through third parties; require the respondent to stay a set distance from your home and workplace; and prohibit further harassment or threatening behavior. Because a Superior Court civil restraining order is an injunction, the judge has broad discretion to tailor the terms to your situation.

One boundary matters here. The mandatory firearm-surrender rule under RSA 173-B applies to final domestic violence orders, and stalking orders follow the same framework.⁵⁶ A Superior Court civil restraining order may include firearm restrictions at the judge’s discretion, but the automatic statutory surrender does not attach.

How Long It Lasts and Changing It Later

The duration of a civil restraining order is what the judge writes into the order. These are injunctions, not statutory protective orders with a fixed one-year term, so the court has discretion over how long the restrictions run and what would justify modification.

Either party can move to modify. You might ask for stricter terms if the respondent tries indirect contact through friends or social media. The respondent might seek changes if circumstances have shifted. Until a judge signs off on a modification, the original terms remain in full force.

Enforcing the Order

Enforcement of a Superior Court civil restraining order runs through the court’s contempt power. If the respondent violates the order, you file a motion for contempt with the court that issued it. The judge can impose fines, jail time for contempt, or modify the order with tighter restrictions.

This is a different enforcement path from domestic violence and stalking protective orders, which the criminal code backs with specific arrest authority and Class A misdemeanor penalties.⁷ For your civil order, effective enforcement depends on documenting each violation as it happens: save messages, note dates and times, and file a police report even if officers take no immediate action. The stronger the record you bring back, the more the court can do.

Protection Across State Lines

If you move or travel after obtaining the order, federal law requires other jurisdictions to honor it. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2265, a protection order issued by a court with proper jurisdiction, where the respondent had notice and an opportunity to be heard, must receive full faith and credit from every other state, tribal government, and U.S. territory.⁸ Law enforcement in the new state must treat the order as though a local court had issued it.

Registration in the new state is not required for enforceability, but registering can smooth things over if you ever call the police. Keep a certified copy of the order with you. Ex parte temporary orders also qualify for interstate enforcement, provided the respondent received notice and a hearing within the time your state’s law requires.⁸

1
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Orders of Protection and Restraining Orders
2
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 633:3-a – Stalking
3
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Civil Restraining Orders in New Hampshire Superior Court
4
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Superior Court Filing Fees
5
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:5 – Relief
6
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Chapter 14 – Firearms and Other Deadly Weapons in Civil Protective Order Cases
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New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:9 – Violation of Protective Order; Penalty
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders