About Orders of Protection

The information on this page answers questions about Orders of Protection and walks individuals through the process of obtaining one. An Order of Protection is a court order. It’s signed by a judge and says the person who has hurt you or threatened you cannot do that again. It can order that person from having contact with you. It is against the law for a partner or family member to cause you bodily harm or cause you to fear bodily harm. If you are being hurt or threatened with harm, your partner is breaking the law.

Please contact a local victim advocate or court to help you decide if an Order of Protection is right for you.

Relevant Resources

Resources for Crime Victims

Filing for an Order of Protection

You can ask for an Order of Protection if the person abusing you or threatening you is a family member, intimate partner, or former intimate partner. You can also ask for an Order of Protection if someone is stalking you, or has physically or sexually assaulted you, or has assaulted you, whether or not you have had an intimate relationship with that person.

First, please talk to a victim advocate. A victim advocate can help you decide if an Order of Protection is right for you. Sometimes an Order of Protection would not be in your best interest. An advocate can help you figure out if an Order of Protection would help you or not. An advocate can also give you more information about how to apply for an Order of Protection. View list of all Victim Advocates in Montana.

You file a petition for an Order of Protection in court. There is no cost. You have to sign an affidavit about what your abuser has done to you. An affidavit is a form that you swear is true and sign in front of a notary or a judge. If the court finds you are in danger of harm, you will first get a Temporary Order of Protection. Then a hearing will be set. You must attend the hearing if you want the Temporary Order of Protection to stay in place. Your abuser can attend the hearing, too. They can tell their narrative of what occurred to the judge. At the hearing, the judge will decide if you should have an Order of Protection. An Order of Protection can last a few days, months, years, or be permanent.

A petition for Order of Protection can be filed in city, justice, or district court. If you and the other party have a family law case happening in district court, the petition must be filed in district court. A family law case includes dissolution and parenting plans.

You do not need an attorney to get an Order of Protection. But it may help you to talk to an attorney before you file a petition for an Order of Protection. It may help you to talk to an attorney before your hearing or to have an attorney help you at the hearing.

Preparing for court hearing

Yes. If you are the Petitioner and do not attend the hearing, the court will dismiss your case, which means that you will not receive an Order of Protection.

If you absolutely cannot attend the hearing because of an important reason (such as sickness, job interview, family emergency, etc.), you should call the court in which your hearing is set and ask that the hearing be rescheduled. Some courts may require you to file a document called a “motion for continuance”.

Decide the relief you want the court to give you. You will be asking the judge to grant you an Order of Protection against the person who abused you or threatened to abuse you. You need to tell the judge specifically what you want the Order to say.

You can ask the judge to:

  • Order the Respondent not to hurt you.
  • Order the Respondent not to harass or otherwise disturb you (and/or your children).
  • Order the Respondent not to contact you (in person, through 3rd parties, through writing, by email, by telephone, etc.).
  • Order the Respondent to stay a specific distance from you, your residence and/or your place of employment.
  • Order the Respondent to vacate the home you are living in.
  • Order the Respondent to allow you access to your personal property.
  • Order the Respondent not to possess a gun or other dangerous weapon.
  • Order the Respondent to attend batterer’s intervention counseling or drug/alcohol counseling.

Evidence is what you present in court to prove that the Respondent has harmed or may harm you (and/or your child). Evidence can be your testimony, the testimony of witnesses, documents, photos, or objects such as torn clothing or a weapon.

OVS