Restraining Orders

You can file for an extreme risk protection order if the respondent poses a risk of causing harm to himself/herself or another person. Additionally, to file for an extreme risk protection order, you must be:

• a family member of the respondent;
• a household member of the respondent; or
• law enforcement/the licensing authority in the city or town where the respondent lives.¹

You are considered to be a family or household member if you are a person who:

• is or was married to the respondent;
• is or was living with the respondent in the same household;
• is or was related by blood or marriage to the respondent;
• has or is having a child with the respondent, even if you and the respondent were never married or living together;
• is or has been in a substantial dating relationship with the respondent; or
• is or has been engaged to the respondent.²

¹ Petition for Extreme Risk Protection Order
² MA ST 140 § 121; Massachusetts Government website