Protection Orders
ORC 2919.27 — five ways to get one, one way to break any of them
Ohio has several kinds of protection order and people use one word for all of them, which is where most of the confusion starts. They come from different statutes, are issued by different courts, and require different things. Breaking any of them is the same offense.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
| What it is | Section | What it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| What it isDomestic violence civil protection order | SectionORC 3113.31 | What it turns onA family or household member, or a person in a dating relationship |
| What it isCivil stalking or sexually oriented offense protection order | SectionORC 2903.214 | What it turns onThe conduct, with no relationship between the parties required |
| What it isTemporary order in a criminal domestic violence case | SectionORC 2919.26 | What it turns onAn existing criminal case, lasting as long as that case |
| What it isTemporary order in a menacing or stalking case | SectionORC 2903.213 | What it turns onThe same, for that set of charges |
| What it isJuvenile protection order | SectionORC 2151.34 | What it turns onIts own section, in juvenile court |
On the civil side an order can be issued without the other person present, where the court finds immediate and present danger. That is an ex parte order. A full hearing follows, with both sides, and it is at the full hearing that a longer order is decided.
The protected person cannot give permission. This is the single most misunderstood thing here. An order is a court's order, not an agreement between two people. Nobody protected by one can authorize a change to its terms or consent to contact that breaks it, and doing what the protected person asked is not a defense to having broken it. Only the court that issued the order can change it. An invitation, a text back, a reconciliation, a shared address: none of them move the order.
Dismissing a petition before a full hearing is a different act from modifying an order after one. A petitioner can ask the court to dismiss the petition before the hearing starts. Once an order exists, it exists until the court says otherwise.
| Violating a protection order | Degree | What puts it there |
|---|---|---|
| Violating a protection orderThe ordinary case | DegreeM-1 | What puts it thereRecklessly violating the terms of an order or consent agreement |
| Violating a protection orderWith a qualifying prior | DegreeF-5 | What puts it thereA previous violation of an order under any of the five sections, or two or more menacing, stalking or aggravated trespass convictions involving the same protected person |
| Violating a protection orderWhile committing a felony | DegreeF-3 | What puts it thereThe violation happens in the course of a felony offense |
The enhancement reaches across the whole family of orders. A prior violation of a juvenile order, a temporary order in a criminal case, or a civil stalking order all count towards the same escalation, which is why the section that matters is the one that punishes the violation rather than the one that created the order.
The Supreme Court of Ohio publishes the standard forms for these orders and every common pleas court handles the filings. This section describes what the statutes say the orders are and what breaking one carries. It does not describe anyone's situation, and a licensed Ohio attorney is who reads a specific order and says what its terms actually require.
Sources for this section (7)
- ORC 2919.27 — Violating a protection order or consent agreement
- ORC 3113.31 — Domestic violence civil protection order
- ORC 2903.214 — Civil stalking protection order and sexually oriented offense protection order
- ORC 2919.26 — Temporary protection order in a criminal domestic violence case
- ORC 2903.213 — Temporary protection order in a menacing or stalking case
- ORC 2151.34 — Juvenile protection orders
- ORC 2903.211 — Menacing by stalking
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.