Getting a Restraining Order in Oregon

Oregon has five restraining orders to help people stay safe from abuse and stalking. You may be eligible for more than one order. Each restraining order has different requirements and offers different protections. The order that is right for you will depend on your situation. The five orders are:

1. Family Abuse Restraining Order: The most common restraining order. Helps people who are being hurt by a romantic partner or family member.  
2. Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Restraining Order: This order is for people with disabilities or people 65 and older. Protects people from financial, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse.  
3. Stalking Protection Order: Protects people who are victims of serious stalking behavior.    
4. Sexual Abuse Protection Order: This order protects people who were sexually assaulted by someone, who do NOT qualify for a Family Abuse Restraining Order.  
5. Extreme Risk Protection Order: This is Oregon’s “red flag” order. This restraining order makes a person get rid of their guns if they are at risk of hurting themselves or someone else. 

For more information on each of these restraining orders, go here.

If you have questions about which restraining order is right for you, find legal help. 

There are two ways to get a restraining order in Oregon:  

1. Apply at your local courthouse: Applications for restraining orders (called Petitions) are available for free at your local circuit court. You can also find these same forms on Oregon's state court website.  
2. Apply online: In some situations, you can apply online. Not all counties allow this. Also, you can’t apply for some types of restraining orders online. Call your local circuit court to see if you can apply online and for instructions on how to apply online. If your local court will let you apply online, you can do this on Oregon's state court e-filing site. 

Oregon's state court website has free forms you can use to apply for a restraining order. You can find those forms by clicking the links below: 

1. Family Abuse Restraining Order.
2. Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Restraining Order.  
3. Stalking Protection Order.    
4. Sexual Abuse Protection Order.  
5. Extreme Risk Protection Order. 

Yes. If you are ready to apply for a restraining order, you can get free help from a domestic violence resource center. You can find a domestic violence resource center in your area using the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence referral directory.  

Advocates at domestic violence resource centers can also: 

• Connect you with financial help and other community resources;  
• Provide you with legal information; and 
• Help you make a plan to stay safe.  

Usually, no. But they can help you in two specific situations:  

• Domestic violence emergencies: The police can help you get a temporary, seven-day restraining order called an "Emergency Protection Order." But the police can only help you get this order if you are in immediate danger and an order is necessary to keep you safe.   
• Serious stalking situations: The police can start a stalking order case for you by issuing a stalking citation. The stalking citation will include a court date, usually within a few days. The police will give the stalking citation to the person stalking you. Both of you will need to show up to the court date listed in the citation. For more information on stalking orders, go here.

In most cases, you can apply for a restraining order in either:  

1. The county you live in, or  
2. The county the other person lives in.  

If you recently moved to a new county, you can apply for a restraining order in your new county. It doesn't matter if you have only been there for one day. The other person doesn't have to live in Oregon for you to get a restraining order in Oregon. 

Exceptions:  

1. Stalking Order cases: You must apply in the county where the other person lives, or in the county where the stalking occurred. For more information on stalking orders, go here.  
2. Extreme Risk Protection Order cases: You must apply in the county where the other person lives or where the other person’s violent or suicidal behaviors occurred. For more information on these orders, go here. 

Yes. Oregon restraining orders apply in all:  

• Oregon counties, 
• U.S. states and Washington D.C., 
• Reservations and tribal lands, and 
• U.S. territories. 

If you are planning to move out of Oregon, you may want to talk to an attorney or domestic violence advocate in the state you are moving to. They may recommend that you take additional steps to protect yourself in that state.    

It usually takes one to two business days, from the time you turn in your application, to get a restraining order.    

Depending on what time you turn in your application, you will be able to meet with a judge that afternoon or the next business day. If the judge approves your application, you will get your restraining order the same day that you meet with the judge.   

Yes. You must talk to a judge to get a restraining order. This is called an ex parte hearing. 

• Where is the hearing? Your hearing may be at a courthouse, or it could be remote (by phone or video). 
• When is the hearing? The same day you turn in your application or the next business day.     
• Who is at the hearing? A judge, the judge's staff, and other people waiting to talk to a judge about their restraining order applications. The other person is usually not at this hearing.       
• What happens at the hearing? The judge will review your application. The judge may ask you some questions about your application. You will speak to the judge for about 5-15 minutes. Then, the judge will decide whether to give you a restraining order.  

Special rules for stalking citation cases: If the police give the other person a stalking citation, your first hearing will be within a few days of the date the police issue the citation. The other person must attend this hearing. 

No. In Oregon, you can apply for a restraining order without telling the other person first.  

Each restraining order in Oregon has different requirements. The judge will review your application to see if you qualify for the restraining order you applied for. If you qualify, the judge will give you a restraining order. If you do not qualify, the judge will deny your application. 

For more information on the different restraining orders in Oregon, go here.  

No. It is free to get a restraining order in Oregon.   

No. If you, or the person hurting you, live in Oregon, you can apply for an Oregon restraining order. You do not have to provide citizenship information on an application for a restraining order. If you need an interpreter, you can ask your local circuit court to provide you with an interpreter.  

You can ask the court to give you a reasonable accommodation. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are usually done, so that a person with a disability can get the same services as someone without a disability.  

For example, if you have a hearing disability, you could ask the court to provide a sign language interpreter at your ex parte hearing. To ask the court for a reasonable accommodation, visit the Oregon State Court accessibility page.  

Court staff will usually send it to the sheriff's office in the county where the other person lives. The sheriff's office will go to the other person's home or work address and hand them a copy of your restraining order. Service is the process of officially giving someone court papers. Service makes sure the other person knows about your case and has an opportunity to participate in the case.  

• If you don’t want the sheriff to serve the other person: Tell the judge at your ex parte hearing. But you will need to find another way to serve that person. This Oregon State Court guide has more information on serving people.  
• If the sheriff can’t find the other person: Keep your restraining order. If you learn where the other person is staying or working, call the sheriff’s office in that county. Provide them with information about where to find the other person so they can be served.   
• If the person is in another state or county: You may need to call the sheriff’s office in that state or county to arrange for service.  

Maybe.  

If the other person disagrees with your restraining order, they can file papers with the court to say they disagree. Then the court will schedule a contested hearing. The other person will be at the contested hearing.  

Most of the time, you will only have a contested hearing if the other person requests a hearing. But, in some cases, the court will automatically schedule a hearing. This happens in Stalking Order cases. It can also happen in some Family Abuse Restraining Order cases (this is called an exceptional circumstances hearing).  

For more information on contested hearings and exceptional circumstances hearings visit the contested hearings page.  

If the court schedules a contested hearing, you must go to the hearing. If you do not go to the hearing, the court will dismiss (end) your restraining order. 

Yes.

During a criminal case, the court will usually order the other person not to contact you. This order is called a criminal no contact order. But you may also want to get your own restraining order for these reasons:   

1. You have more control over a restraining order you get on your own. You can tell the judge what protections you want, you can dismiss it early, or you can ask a judge to extend it if you need it to last longer. But you don’t have direct control over a criminal no contact order. If the district attorney dismisses the criminal case, the no contact order also goes away. You also don’t get as much input in a criminal no contact order.  
    
2. If you have shared kids with the other person, you can get temporary custody by applying for your own order. Criminal no contact orders cannot give you temporary custody of the kids you share with the other person. But if you get a Family Abuse Restraining Order, you can ask a judge to give you temporary custody of your children and to make a temporary visitation plan for the other parent.