Walk through each step of asking a Colorado court for a civil protection order, from filling out forms to your final hearing.
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If you are reading this guide, you may be feeling scared and overwhelmed. This guide is to help you understand your options for a civil protection order, which is a legal way to protect against abuse, violence, or stalking. It explains what a civil protection order is and who can apply. This guide does not cover criminal protection orders, also sometimes called mandatory protection orders.
For detailed instructions on how to ask for a civil protection order, see Step-by-Step Guide: Asking for a Civil Protection Order.
If you need help right now, call 911 or go to your nearest courthouse. You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
What is a civil protection order?
A civil protection order, sometimes informally called a restraining order, is a court order. It tells a person to stay away from you and stop contacting you. You can ask for one even when police have not become involved in your situation.
A civil protection order is part of a legal process that starts with the person needing protection asking for help by filing paperwork at a courthouse. It is not the same as a criminal protection order or an emergency protection order, which starts with the police or a judge taking action in a criminal case.
A civil protection order begins as a temporary protection order. You can then request that it become a permanent protection order. A permanent protection order does not expire.
Will a judge grant me a protection order?
A judge may grant you a civil protection order if they find there is a threat of physical, emotional, or psychological harm. This includes:
- Assault or threats of physical harm
- Domestic abuse and domestic violence
- This includes violence, attempted violence, threats, stalking, harassment, coercive control, economic abuse, and human trafficking against someone with whom they have had an intimate relationship or against a family member, including a child
- It can also include harm or threats against property or pets when used to control, punish, or intimidate you
Important
When a protection order involves domestic violence with threats or use of physical force, the restrained person must give up all their firearms and ammunition. This is not optional.
The restrained person has 24–48 hours to turn in any firearms and ammunition and they have to file paperwork with a court confirming they have done it. If the restrained person does not give up their firearms and ammunition, the judge can issue a warrant for their arrest.
The court will schedule a "compliance hearing" within 8–12 business days of the date the protection order is issued, which is a hearing the restrained person has to go to and confirm to the judge that they have given up all their firearms and ammunition. If the restrained person does not go to the compliance hearing, the judge can issue a warrant for their arrest.
- Emotional abuse if you are an elderly person (60 or older) or an adult considered “at-risk” due to physical or mental limitations. Emotional abuse includes:
- Repeated verbal threats or yelling
- Harassment or bullying
- Misusing medications or threatening to do so
- Improperly using physical or drug restraints
- Abusing legal powers (like power of attorney) to unfairly restrict your freedom
- Hurting, threatening, or taking your pet to scare or control you
- Sexual violence
- Any unwanted or non-consensual sexual act, threat, or attempt, no matter the relationship between the people involved
- Stalking
- Repeated or threatening behavior that makes someone feel scared or unsafe, as defined in Colorado law
What can a protection order do?
A civil protection order can:
- Order the person to stop contacting you or your child (by phone, text, email, or social media).
- Remove the person from your shared home.
- Keep the person away from your job or school.
- Protect your children and pets.
- Require no contact or limited contact with joint children for a short period of time.
- Order the person to give up their guns if domestic violence with physical force is involved.
- Prevent the restrained person from buying guns in the future.
- Transfer your phone number to your own account if you are the main user but not the account holder. Available in domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking cases.
What happens if a protection order is violated?
A violation of a protection order should be reported to the police and is a criminal offense.
Will I have to pay to apply for a civil protection order?
Not if you’re applying for a protection order to protect you from domestic abuse, stalking, sexual assault, or unlawful sexual contact. For all other protection orders, the filing fee is $97. If you are unable to pay this fee, you can ask the court to waive it by filling out and filing JDF 205: Motion to Waive Fees.
Should I get a lawyer?
If you can afford it, hiring a lawyer is a good idea, especially if:
- The other person has a lawyer
- Children are involved
- You have other court cases that may be related to this one
- You are not sure which court to file in
Note:
Legal aid may be able to help at no cost. If you are low-income, a senior, or a veteran, you may qualify for free legal help from Colorado Legal Services (CLS).
Need more help?
If you are low-income, a senior, or a veteran, you may qualify for free legal help from Colorado Legal Services (CLS). To apply or ask if you might qualify, go to the CLS website and find the office that serves your area. If you call or visit, CLS can help you in your native language.
You can get help from the courts. Every judicial district has staff called “Sherlocks” to help people with their legal questions. To find the Sherlock in your county, visit the Judicial Department’s Sherlock webpage.