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A Protective Order

KRS 403.730 — an emergency order the day of filing, and a hearing within 14 days

A victim of domestic violence and abuse, or an adult on behalf of a minor victim, may file a petition in the county where the victim lives or the county the victim fled to. The circuit clerk provides the form, and every petition requested, completed and signed must be accepted and filed.

  • KRS 403.725
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  • The court reviews the petition immediately on filing.
  • If it shows domestic violence and abuse, the court summons both parties to a hearing not more than fourteen days away.
  • If it also shows immediate and present danger, the court issues an emergency protective order the same day, which lasts until the hearing.
  • An unserved respondent leaves the emergency order in place, and the hearing is reset within fourteen days until service is made.
  • KRS 403.730
  • KRS 403.735

After the hearing, on a finding that domestic violence and abuse occurred and may occur again, the court may issue a domestic violence order barring contact and approach within a set distance of up to five hundred feet, ordering the respondent out of a shared home, and awarding temporary custody, temporary child support and a shared domestic animal.

  • KRS 403.740

A domestic violence order lasts as long as the court sets, up to three years, and may be reissued for further periods of up to three years each.

  • KRS 403.740
Sources for this section (4)
  1. KRS 403.725 — Petition for order of protection -- Venue -- Verified contents -- Concurrent jurisdiction -- Protocols for access and supplemental jurisdiction -- Referral
  2. KRS 403.730 — Immediate review of petition -- Summons to evidentiary hearing -- Ex parte emergency protective order
  3. KRS 403.735 — Hearing on petition for order of protection -- Criteria to assess appropriate relief and sanctions -- Continuance of hearing and emergency protective order
  4. KRS 403.740 — Domestic violence order -- Restrictions -- Temporary child support -- Expiration and reissuance

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Kentucky attorney.

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