Protective orders and restraining orders in Florida

Who can ask for one

The relationship test lives in two places. Section 741.30(1)(e) says who may bring the action; s. 741.28(3) defines the term it uses. The closing sentence of s. 741.28(3) is the part that decides most questions: apart from people who have a child in common, the two people must be living together in the same single dwelling unit now or have lived together that way in the past. Section 741.30(1)(d) adds that "A person's right to petition for an injunction shall not be affected by such person having left a residence or household to avoid domestic violence." Section 741.30(1)(j) provides that "Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 47, a petition for an injunction for protection against domestic violence may be filed in the circuit where the petitioner currently or temporarily resides, where the respondent resides, or where the domestic violence occurred. There is no minimum requirement of residency to petition for an injunction for protection."

What you have to show

temporary injunction ex parte — before any hearing

This is the order a court can make without the other person present. It is short by design: it holds until a hearing, and the hearing is where the longer order is decided.

The evidence rule at the ex parte stage is set out in s. 741.30(5)(b): "Except as provided in s. 90.204, in a hearing ex parte for the purpose of obtaining such ex parte temporary injunction, no evidence other than verified pleadings or affidavits shall be used as evidence, unless the respondent appears at the hearing or has received reasonable notice of the hearing. A denial of a petition for an ex parte injunction shall be by written order noting the legal grounds for denial. When the only ground for denial is no appearance of an immediate and present danger of domestic violence, the court shall set a full hearing on the petition for injunction with notice at the earliest possible time. Nothing herein affects a petitioner's right to promptly amend any petition, or otherwise be heard in person on any petition consistent with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure." Section 741.30(4) provides that "Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall set a hearing to be held at the earliest possible time. The respondent shall be personally served with a copy of the petition, financial affidavit, Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act affidavit, if any, notice of hearing, and temporary injunction, if any, prior to the hearing." The 15-day period may be extended for the length of any continuance.

How long it lasts, and whether it can be extended

Section 741.30 sets no maximum length for a final injunction and contains no renewal or extension procedure for one. Instead, s. 741.30(6)(c) provides that the restraining terms "shall remain in effect until modified or dissolved" and that "Either party may move at any time to modify or dissolve the injunction. No specific allegations are required." Because nothing in the statute makes a final injunction expire on its own, there is no statutory renewal provision to quote. A particular judge may still write an end date into a particular injunction; the statute does not require one. Two kinds of relief are given their own end points inside the statute: a temporary parenting plan and temporary support each remain in effect "until the order expires or an order is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction" in a later proceeding on those subjects, under s. 741.30(6)(a)3. and 5.

The statutory list

What Florida’s own law says

The state firearm and ammunition ban is written to attach to a final injunction, not to the 15-day temporary one. Section 790.233(1) applies to a person who "has been issued a final injunction that is currently in force and effect," and s. 741.30(6)(g) requires the final judgment to carry that warning on its face. Section 741.30 itself contains no provision requiring a respondent to surrender firearms or ammunition, and no deadline or procedure for surrender. The only surrender language in these statutes is in s. 741.31(4)(a)8., which makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to refuse "to surrender firearms or ammunition if ordered to do so by the court" — that is, it assumes a court order made under the general relief power in s. 741.30(6)(a)9. rather than creating a surrender requirement of its own. Section 790.233(3) exempts certified state and local officers possessing a firearm or ammunition for official duties unless their employing agency prohibits it. Separate federal law may also apply to a person subject to a qualifying order; that is not addressed in these Florida sections.

Fees

Florida's own statute forbids charging a filing fee for a petition for protection against domestic violence and forbids requiring a bond. The costs are handled on the other side of the counter: the clerk may seek $40 per petition in reimbursement from the Justice Administrative Commission and must pay the serving law enforcement agency out of that reimbursement, capped at $20. Nothing in s. 741.30 authorizes charging the petitioner for service of the injunction.

What a violation is, and what it carries

Five different injunctions, one of them narrower than people expect. Section 741.30 is only for "family or household member[s]" as s. 741.28(3) defines that term, and that definition closes with the sentence that decides most cases: "With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit." A dating partner who never shared a home with the respondent and shares no child with the respondent does not fit s. 741.30. Florida puts that situation in the dating violence injunction under s. 784.046, which also carries the repeat violence and sexual violence injunctions; stalking and cyberstalking have their own injunction under s. 784.0485.

A final domestic violence injunction in Florida does not expire on its own. Section 741.30(6)(c) says the restraining terms "shall remain in effect until modified or dissolved," and adds that "Either party may move at any time to modify or dissolve the injunction. No specific allegations are required." There is no statutory maximum term and no renewal step. Summaries that report a fixed number of years for Florida are describing what an individual judge may have written into an individual order, not what the statute says.

The firearm ban follows the final injunction only. Section 790.233(1) reaches a person who "has been issued a final injunction that is currently in force and effect," and s. 741.30(6)(g) requires the final judgment to say so on its face. Section 741.30 does not require surrender of firearms, and sets no surrender deadline; the only surrender language is s. 741.31(4)(a)8., which punishes "Refusing to surrender firearms or ammunition if ordered to do so by the court."

The felony trigger for repeat violations has changed and many summaries are behind it. As the Legislature currently prints s. 741.31(4)(c), it begins: "A person who has one or more prior convictions for a crime of domestic violence or violation of an injunction or foreign protection order, and who subsequently commits a violation of any injunction or foreign protection order against the same victim, commits a felony of the third degree." The 2025 published edition of the same paragraph read "two or more prior convictions for violation of an injunction or foreign protection order."

There is no filing fee and no bond. Section 741.30(2)(a) states flatly that "the assessment of a filing fee for a petition for protection against domestic violence is prohibited," and s. 741.30(2)(b) that "No bond shall be required by the court for the entry of an injunction." Section 741.30(1)(f) adds that the action "shall not require that either party be represented by an attorney," and s. 741.30(1)(j) that "There is no minimum requirement of residency to petition for an injunction for protection."

Mutual orders are forbidden. Section 741.30(1)(i): "The court is prohibited from issuing mutual orders of protection. This does not preclude the court from issuing separate injunctions for protection against domestic violence where each party has complied with the provisions of this section. Compliance with the provisions of this section cannot be waived." Section 741.30(6)(f) adds that "The fact that a separate order of protection is granted to each opposing party is not legally sufficient to deny any remedy to either party or to prove that the parties are equally at fault or equally endangered."

A denial at the ex parte stage is not the end. Section 741.30(5)(b): "A denial of a petition for an ex parte injunction shall be by written order noting the legal grounds for denial. When the only ground for denial is no appearance of an immediate and present danger of domestic violence, the court shall set a full hearing on the petition for injunction with notice at the earliest possible time."

The petition is signed under penalty of perjury. Section 741.30(3)(c) requires, directly above the signature line, in capitals and bold: "UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY, I DECLARE THAT I HAVE READ THE FOREGOING DOCUMENT AND THAT THE FACTS STATED IN IT ARE TRUE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS PETITION ARE BEING MADE UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY, PUNISHABLE AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 92.525, FLORIDA STATUTES."

Florida does not require firearm surrender — and that surprises people

We looked for a surrender provision in § 741.30 and there is none. The word does not appear in the section. There is no deadline, no receipt requirement, no exemption process. The entire firearms content of § 741.30 is a labeling requirement, at subsection (6)(g):

“A final judgment on injunction for protection against domestic violence entered under this section must, on its face, indicate that it is a violation of s. 790.233, and a first degree misdemeanor, for the respondent to have in his or her care, custody, possession, or control any firearm or ammunition.”

So the prohibition is real — it lives in § 790.233, and breaching it is a first degree misdemeanor — but Florida gives the court no machinery to make it happen. Nobody is required to hand anything over, and nobody checks. Compare Illinois, which now issues search warrants, or California, which requires a receipt filed in two places within 48 hours.

What that means for you, practically: if firearms are a concern in Florida, the order alone will not move them. Tell the officers what exists and where. And note that the federal prohibition at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) may attach independently once you have a final injunction made after a hearing.

The eleven factors, as expanded on 1 July 2026

Section 741.30(6)(b) tells the judge what to weigh in deciding whether you have “reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence.” Two of the eleven were widened by chapter 2026-86. The additions are shown in bold:

“4. Whether the respondent has intentionally injured or killed or threatened to injure or kill a family pet, including a service animal as defined in s. 413.08(1) or an emotional support animal as defined in s. 760.27(1).”

“8. The existence of a verifiable order of protection issued previously or from another jurisdiction, including a military protective order.”

The first is the significant one. Until 1 July 2026 a Florida judge weighing this factor was looking only at an animal already harmed. A threat now counts — which matters, because threatening a pet is a classic method of control that rarely gets carried out and, until this year, therefore rarely got weighed. Service animals and emotional support animals are named for the first time.

The other nine factors cover the history between you including threats, harassment, stalking and physical abuse; attempts to harm you or people close to you; threats to conceal, kidnap or harm your children; use or threatened use of weapons; physical restraint from leaving or from calling law enforcement; a criminal history involving violence; destruction of personal property “including, but not limited to, telephones or other communications equipment”; a “pattern of abusive, threatening, intimidating, or controlling behavior composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, which evidences a continuity of purpose and which reasonably causes the petitioner to believe that the petitioner or his or her minor child or children are in imminent danger of becoming victims of any act of domestic violence”; and a catch-all. The list closes by saying the court “is not limited to those factors enumerated.”

Factor 10 deserves a note of its own: “however short” forecloses the argument that a pattern needs years to establish — but read the rest of the factor too. The pattern still has to show a continuity of purpose and has to reasonably cause you to fear an act of domestic violence against you or your children. It is one factor the judge weighs, not a rule on its own. And factor 9 is why you should photograph a smashed phone.

An asymmetry worth knowing if you are filing a stalking injunction instead

The expanded pet factor exists only in § 741.30, the domestic violence injunction statute. Florida’s stalking injunction statute, § 784.0485, still lists on its petition form only “Intentionally injured or killed a family pet” — no threats, no service or support animals. And that list is a petition checklist, not a set of factors the court must consider; § 784.0485 has no counterpart to § 741.30(6)(b), and § 784.046 (repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence) has no factors list at all.

How long a Florida injunction lasts — § 741.30(6)(c)

“The terms of an injunction restraining the respondent under subparagraph (a)1. or ordering other relief for the protection of the victim under subparagraph (a)9. shall remain in effect until modified or dissolved. Either party may move at any time to modify or dissolve the injunction. No specific allegations are required.”

Indefinite by default. Florida is unusual and generous here: your final injunction does not expire unless a court ends it. None of the five amendments since 2024 changed this.

The flip side is in the same sentence. Either party may move at any time, and “no specific allegations are required” to file such a motion. There is no waiting period as in Colorado and no once-a-year limit as in Washington. The threshold to ask is low; what protects you is what happens at the hearing, not a filing barrier.

An order from one state works in all of them

This is federal law and it does not change at a state line. An order issued by one state, tribe or territory must be enforced by every other as if that state had issued it. And you do not have to register it in the new state first — registration is optional, not a precondition to enforcement.

The same section also says the enforcing state must not tell the restrained person that the order has been registered there unless the protected person asks it to, and must not publish anything online that would be likely to reveal the protected person’s identity or location.