No Contact Order in Indiana: Types, Penalties, and Enforcement

A no contact order in Indiana is a court order that prohibits one person from communicating with or coming near another. It can arise in a civil case brought by the person seeking protection, or in a criminal case as a condition the court attaches to bail, pretrial release, or probation. Violating one is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, and the consequences reach into firearms rights, custody, and future criminal exposure.¹

Civil Protection Orders and Criminal No Contact Orders

Indiana treats these as two different tracks, and which one applies changes how the order starts, how long it lasts, and how it ends.

Civil protection orders come from the Indiana Civil Protection Order Act. The protected person files a petition. In domestic violence cases, the court can grant an emergency ex parte order right away, before the respondent has any notice, and then set a hearing. In harassment cases the court cannot issue an ex parte order and must hold a hearing within 30 days of the petition.²

Criminal no contact orders are not something the victim files. A court imposes them when releasing a defendant on bail, under Indiana Code 35-33-8-3.2, if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant poses a physical danger.³ The same kind of order can be attached to probation after sentencing.

Who Can Petition for a Civil Order

A victim of domestic or family violence can file against a family or household member who committed the violence, or against someone who stalked or committed a sex offense against them.⁴ A person subjected to repeated harassment can also file, whether or not any domestic relationship exists. Parents, guardians, or other representatives can file on a child’s behalf, including in cases involving stalking, sex offenses, or grooming conduct.

How to Get a Civil Protection Order

The petitioner files a petition with the court describing the violence or harassment, usually supported by a sworn statement. Indiana charges nothing for the filing, service of process, witnesses, or subpoenas in protection order cases.⁵ If the court issues the order, it can shift costs to the respondent.

In a domestic violence case, the court reviews the petition and may issue an ex parte order immediately, then set a hearing where both sides present evidence. In a harassment case, the hearing is the first opportunity for the court to act. The petitioner has the burden of showing the violence or harassment occurred. If the court finds grounds, the order can prohibit contact, require the respondent to stay away from the petitioner’s home and workplace, and grant other specific relief.²

How Long the Order Lasts

A civil protection order runs for two years from the date of issuance, unless the court sets a different end date. One exception: if the respondent is a registered lifetime sex or violent offender and the petitioner was the victim of the crime that required registration, the order lasts indefinitely.²

A criminal no contact order tied to pretrial release lasts until the case resolves. When the order is imposed as a probation condition, it runs for the length of probation.

Penalties for Violating a No Contact Order

A knowing or intentional violation of any no contact order is the crime of invasion of privacy. That covers civil protection orders, criminal no contact orders, pretrial bail conditions, and probation conditions. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.¹⁶

The charge becomes a Level 6 felony if the person already has an unrelated conviction for invasion of privacy or stalking.¹ A Level 6 felony carries six months to two and a half years in prison, an advisory sentence of one year, and a fine of up to $10,000.⁷ A felony conviction affects employment, housing, and professional licensing long after the sentence ends.

The statute also reaches beyond Indiana orders. Orders from other states and from tribal courts that are substantially similar to Indiana’s are covered, so someone subject to an out-of-state protection order who violates it while in Indiana faces the same Indiana criminal penalties.¹

Firearms Consequences

Federal law prohibits anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protection order from possessing firearms or ammunition. The order qualifies if it was issued after a hearing where the respondent had notice and a chance to participate, and it either includes a finding that the respondent poses a credible threat to an intimate partner or child, or explicitly prohibits the use or threatened use of physical force.⁸

Ex parte orders issued without a hearing generally do not trigger the federal firearms ban, because the respondent had no opportunity to participate. Once the court holds a full hearing and issues the order, the prohibition applies. Violating the federal firearms ban is a separate federal crime, on top of any Indiana penalty for violating the no contact order itself.

Effect on Custody and Visitation

When parents are on opposite sides of a no contact order, custody and visitation are almost always affected. Indiana courts decide custody on the child’s best interests, and one factor a judge must weigh is any pattern of domestic or family violence by either parent.⁹ A protection order tied to domestic violence is direct evidence of that pattern.

A no contact order can lead to suspended or restructured visitation if the respondent poses a threat to the child or the custodial parent. Courts frequently order supervised visitation as a middle ground, keeping the parent-child relationship intact while managing risk. The respondent usually bears the cost.

Modifying or Dismissing an Order

Either party can ask the issuing court to modify a protection order based on changed circumstances. Modification runs through the same procedural framework as the original issuance under IC 34-26-5-9.² Reconciliation, changes in custody arrangements, or a reduced threat level are common grounds.

Dismissal is different. If the petitioner asks for dismissal in writing or on the record in open court, the court must dismiss the case without delay and without conditions. The Indiana Court of Appeals confirmed in Spencer v. Spencer that a trial court has no discretion to refuse a petitioner’s dismissal request, even if the respondent has pending criminal charges for violating the order.¹⁰ The statute’s use of “shall” makes it mandatory.

Defenses if You’re Accused of Violating the Order

Because the invasion of privacy statute requires a knowing or intentional violation, accidental contact is a defense.¹ Running into the protected person at a grocery store, by itself, does not meet the mental state the prosecution has to prove. A defendant can also challenge whether the underlying order was properly served or whether its terms were clear enough to give fair notice of what was prohibited.

A trickier situation is when the protected person initiates contact. If the petitioner calls or texts first, a respondent may argue there was no knowing violation. That defense is weaker than many people assume. The order restricts the respondent’s conduct regardless of who reached out, and the safer course is to refuse the contact and document that the petitioner initiated it. Respondents who engage in back-and-forth after the petitioner reaches out are routinely charged anyway.

Enforcement Across State Lines

An Indiana protection order does not lose its force at the state line. Under the Violence Against Women Act, any protection order issued by one state must be given full faith and credit by every other state, Indian tribe, and U.S. territory, and law enforcement in the enforcing state must treat it as if it were issued locally.¹¹

For that federal enforcement to apply, the issuing court must have had jurisdiction over the parties, and the respondent must have received reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard. Ex parte orders qualify as long as the issuing state’s law provides notice and a hearing within a reasonable time after issuance.¹¹

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-46-1-15.1 – Invasion of Privacy; Offense; Penalties
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-26-5-9 – Ex Parte Orders; Relief After Notice and Hearing
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-33-8-3.2 – Bail Conditions
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-26-5-2 – Persons Eligible to File Petition for Order for Protection
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-26-5-16 – Fees
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-2 – Class A Misdemeanor
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2-8 – Custody Order
10
FindLaw. Spencer v Spencer – Indiana Court of Appeals
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders