A Protective Order
RSA 173-B:5 — relief on abuse shown by a preponderance, for up to one year, and the firearms handed over
A person who has suffered abuse from a family or household member, or a current or former sexual or intimate partner, may petition for relief in the county or district where either of them lives. Abuse is the acts the chapter lists where they amount to a credible present threat to the petitioner's safety.
Who handles this in New Hampshire: 603 Legal Aid and New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the New Hampshire directory.
On a showing of immediate and present danger of abuse, the court may enter temporary orders, with or without notice to the defendant, and may issue them by telephone through a circuit court judge.
Firearms are given up. On abuse shown by a preponderance of the evidence, the court grants the relief needed to stop it, and the order directs the defendant to give up all firearms and ammunition, and bars buying, receiving or having any deadly weapon for the order's duration.
An order is for a fixed period of no more than one year, and may be extended for good cause on the plaintiff's motion, with notice to the defendant.
A person who files a petition with false allegations of abuse is subject to criminal penalties.
Sources for this section (4)
- RSA 173-B:1 — Definitions
- RSA 173-B:3 — Commencement of Proceedings; Hearing
- RSA 173-B:4 — Temporary Relief
- RSA 173-B:5 — Relief
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Hampshire attorney.