A Protective Order
IC 34-26-5-9 — an order lasts two years unless the court sets another date
These may petition for an order for protection.
Who handles this in Indiana: Indiana Legal Help and Indiana Self-Service Legal Center; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Indiana directory.
- A victim of domestic or family violence, against the family or household member who committed it, or against anyone who committed stalking or a sex offense against the petitioner.
- A person subjected to repeated acts of harassment, against the person who committed them.
- A parent, guardian or other representative on behalf of a child.
Where domestic or family violence appears from the petition, the court may issue an order at once without notice or a hearing. For harassment, it may not; it holds a hearing within 30 days of the petition.
Even without notice, an order may include the following.
- Barring violence, threats, harassment, contact and communication, and the use of a tracking device.
- Removing the respondent from the petitioner's residence whoever owns it, and ordering the respondent to stay away from home, school and work.
- Giving the petitioner the residence, a car, essential belongings and pets.
After notice and a hearing, the court may also set or deny parenting time, order the respondent to pay fees, rent or a mortgage, support and expenses the violence caused, and prohibit the respondent from having firearms for the order's duration.
An order is effective for two years from issue unless the court sets another date, and indefinitely where the respondent is a lifetime registered sex or violent offender and the petitioner was the victim of that crime.
Sources for this section (2)
- IC 34-26-5-2 — Persons eligible to file petition for order of protection; petition on behalf of a child; prohibition on mutual orders; jurisdiction for order sought against a minor
- IC 34-26-5-9 — Ex parte orders; relief after notice and hearing; duties of issuing court; effective dates; burden of proof; superseding orders; presumptions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Indiana attorney.