If you or your child may be in danger right now, stop reading and call 911.
Text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org. Free, confidential, 24 hours, 200 languages. They help with safety planning, not only emergencies.
Call or text, 24 hours, for anyone worried about a child. childhelphotline.org
For you, when it is too much. Nobody there will judge a parent for needing to talk. 988lifeline.org
State-by-state explanations of protective orders, custody, and how to represent yourself, written for people, not lawyers. Open to everyone. womenslaw.org/laws
Every state has a civil order (called a protective order, restraining order, order of protection, or abuse prevention order, depending on the state) that a judge can issue quickly, often the same day, without the other person present at first. You do not need a lawyer to ask for one, and there is no filing fee for a domestic violence petition in most states. The courts publish the forms and instructions themselves; the table below links to each state's official page.
What the court will ask for. Your name and the other person's, the children, what happened and when, and any messages, voicemails, or photos that show threats or harassment. Judges want dates and exact words, in order. This is what Amicable's record is for.
Amicable is a communication and record-keeping tool, not a law firm. Nothing here is legal advice, and whether a record is admitted is for the court to decide. If you can, talk to a legal aid office or a domestic violence advocate before you file; the hotline above can connect you to one near you.
These are the court system's own self-help pages (or, where the courts have none, the state government's). No lawyer marketing. If a link changes, the state's court website and the search term "protective order forms" will get you there.
| State | What the order is called | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Protection From Abuse Order (PFA) | Court self-help |
| Alaska | Domestic Violence Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Arizona | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| Arkansas | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| California | Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) | Court self-help |
| Colorado | Civil Protection Order | Court self-help |
| Connecticut | Restraining Order (Relief from Abuse) | Court self-help |
| Delaware | Protection From Abuse Order (PFA) | Court self-help |
| District of Columbia | Civil Protection Order (CPO) | Court self-help |
| Florida | Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence | Court self-help |
| Georgia | Temporary Protective Order (TPO) | State page |
| Hawaii | Order for Protection (Family Court Temporary Restraining Order) | Court self-help |
| Idaho | Civil Protection Order | Court self-help |
| Illinois | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| Indiana | Order for Protection | Court self-help |
| Iowa | Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Kansas | Protection From Abuse Order (PFA) | Court self-help |
| Kentucky | Domestic Violence Order (DVO) | Court self-help |
| Louisiana | Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Maine | Protection From Abuse Order (PFA) | Court self-help |
| Maryland | Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Massachusetts | Abuse Prevention Order (209A) | Court self-help |
| Michigan | Personal Protection Order (PPO) | Court self-help |
| Minnesota | Order for Protection (OFP) | Court self-help |
| Mississippi | Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) | State page |
| Missouri | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| Montana | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| Nebraska | Domestic Abuse Protection Order | Court self-help |
| Nevada | Temporary Protection Order (TPO) | Court self-help |
| New Hampshire | Domestic Violence Order of Protection (RSA 173-B) | Court self-help |
| New Jersey | Temporary Restraining Order / Final Restraining Order (TRO/FRO) | Court self-help |
| New Mexico | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| New York | Order of Protection | State page |
| North Carolina | Domestic Violence Protective Order (DVPO / 50B) | Court self-help |
| North Dakota | Domestic Violence Protection Order | Court self-help |
| Ohio | Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order (CPO) | Court self-help |
| Oklahoma | Protective Order (Victim Protective Order / VPO) | Court self-help |
| Oregon | Family Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA) Restraining Order | Court self-help |
| Pennsylvania | Protection From Abuse Order (PFA) | Court self-help |
| Rhode Island | Domestic Abuse Restraining Order | Court self-help |
| South Carolina | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| South Dakota | Protection Order | Court self-help |
| Tennessee | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
| Texas | Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Utah | Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Vermont | Relief from Abuse Order | Court self-help |
| Virginia | Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Washington | Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) | Court self-help |
| West Virginia | Domestic Violence Protective Order | Court self-help |
| Wisconsin | Domestic Abuse Restraining Order / Injunction | Court self-help |
| Wyoming | Order of Protection | Court self-help |
Links checked September 2026. Tell us at hello@amicablehq.com if one is broken.
If you share a phone or think someone can see it: Amicable can lock behind Face ID or a fingerprint after a few minutes away (Security in your dashboard), and you can sign out every other device from there. The record itself lives on Amicable's servers, not on your phone, so losing the phone does not lose the record. Photos and voicemail are stored encrypted. Nothing in the record can be edited or deleted after it arrives, by you or by anyone else.