Orders Of Protection

Protection Orders can be obtained at the Maricopa County Superior Court or at any Justice or Municipal Court.

Injunctions Against Harassment and Orders of Protection can be issued by any court in Arizona regardless of the location of the plaintiff and defendant. They can be issued either ex parte (with only one person present) or after a hearing. Both are good for one year after service on the defendant. Only the judge can terminate or change them.

Click here for link to Maricopa County Superior Court Protective Order Center (Opens in New Window)
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/SuperiorCourt/ProtectiveOrderCenter/index.asp

You can also obtain a protection order from the Phoenix Municipal Court.

Click here for link to City of Phoenix Protection Orders (Opens in New Window)
https://www.phoenix.gov/court/protection-orders

The Phoenix Municipal Court Order of Protection office is located at:
Phoenix Municipal Court building
300 West Washington Street
6th floor in Room 608
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Hours: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If you have questions, please call the Order of Protection office at 602-262-7120.

Advocates are also available to help victims obtain a Protection Order by calling 602-261-8192.

NOTE: There is no fee to file an order of protection.

Orders of Protection
The purpose of an Order of Protection is to restrain another person from committing an act of domestic violence, as defined in (ARS 13-3601A). To be granted an order, one of the following must apply: The relationship is one of marriage or former marriage or of persons residing or having resided in the same household.

  • You are a parent of a child of the defendant.
  • You are pregnant by the defendant.
  • You are related to the defendant or the defendant's spouse by blood or court order as a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister by marriage, parent-in-law, grandparent-in-law, stepparent, step-grandparent, stepchild, step-grandchild, brother- in-law or sister-in-law.
  • A child who resides or has resided in the same household as the defendant and is related by blood to a former spouse of the defendant or to a person of the opposite sex who resides or who has resided in the same household as the defendant.
  • The relationship is currently or was previously a romantic or sexual relationship. The following factors may be considered in determining whether the relationship between the victim and the defendant is currently or was previously a romantic or sexual relationship:
    • The type of relationship.
    • The length of the relationship.
    • The frequency of the interaction between the victim and the defendant.
    • If the relationship has terminated, the length of time since the termination.

The clerks at any Justice Court will provide you with the Petition for Order of Protection. You may request that information regarding your current address, phone number and employment be kept confidential and not be disclosed to the defendant.

Injunction Against Harassment
The purpose of an Injunction Against Harassment is to restrain a person from committing acts of harassment. Harassment, as defined by (A.R.S. 12-1809R), is a series of acts over any period of time directed at a specific person that would cause, or has caused, a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed and that serves no legitimate purpose. Justices of the Peace will sign Orders of Protection at any time during normal business hours. You do not need an appointment or pre-scheduled time though you should call the court in advance to confirm that the judge will be available when you wish to appear.

Injunction Against Workplace Harassment
The Injunction Against Workplace Harassment is very similar to an Injunction Against Harassment but there are two basic differences. A person petitions for a regular injunction, while a business or employer petitions for a workplace injunction. Also, a regular injunction protects and follows a person, whereas a workplace injunction protects a location and protects the business or employer, employees and any other person who enters the protected property.

How to File an Order of Protection
Once you download the form, you may either fill it out on your computer or print out the blank form and fill it in by hand at a later time. These forms can be used to petition for a new Order or to amend an existing Order or Injunction. Complete both the General Petition form and the Plaintiff's Guide Sheet for Protective Orders form. The forms are fairly self-explanatory. Just follow the instructions on the form closely. If you fill out the form on a computer, you will only be able to fill out areas that require information from you. Please note, you cannot save completed forms to your computer's hard drive, you can only print them out. Take the completed forms to the court. At the court, using your forms as a reference, you will be asked to enter the information into an automated system or give it to the clerk for that purpose. The reset button at the bottom of the form will clear all of the fields.

NOTE: If you wish to keep an address private or confidential closely read the instructions on that part of the form.