Restraining Orders

There are two types of civil no contact orders, which are described below.

Emergency no contact order: An emergency no contact order can be issued if, after reading your petition and possibly questioning you, the judge believes:

• you are the victim of non-consensual sexual conduct or non-consensual sexual penetration; and
• there is “good cause” to grant you immediate protection without notifying the abuser beforehand because the abuser would likely harm you if s/he were notified ahead of time that you were going to come to court to ask for a civil no contact order.¹

An emergency order can last for between 14 and 21 days.²  Note: If you need an emergency order when the court is closed, you can request an emergency order from any available circuit judge or associate judge.  There is also supposed to be one judge in each county who is available to issue an emergency order by phone or fax at any time when the courts are closed.³

Plenary no contact order: A plenary no contact order can be issued after the abuser receives notice of the case and both you and the abuser have a chance to appear in court and present your witnesses and evidence.  The judge can issue a plenary no contact order if s/he believes:

• you are the victim of non-consensual sexual conduct or non-consensual sexual penetration;
• the abuser was properly served with notice of the case; and
• the abuser has responded or failed to appear.  Note: If the abuser receives notice of the case but does not appear in court (also known as being “in default”), the judge can issue you an order in the abuser’s absence.⁴

A plenary no contact order can last up to two years and can be extended more than once.⁵  See Can I extend my civil no contact order? for more information.

The judge cannot deny you a civil no contact order based on any of the following:

• you (the petitioner) are a minor;
• the abuser (the respondent) is a minor;
• the fact that you do not have physical injury from the abuse;
• the abuser had a reason to use force, unless his/her use of force was legally justified;
• the abuser was voluntarily intoxicated;
• you acted in self-defense or in the defense of another, as long as your use of force was justified, or you did not act in self-defense or another; or
• whether or not you left the house to avoid further abuse.⁶

¹ 740 ILCS 22/214(a)
² 740 ILCS 22/216(a)
³ 740 ILCS 22/214(c)
⁴ 740 ILCS 22/215
⁵ 740 ILCS 22/216(b),(c)
⁶ 740 ILCS 22/213(a),(c)