Protective orders, state by state.
Who can ask for one, what a judge can actually order, what it costs, and what happens if it is broken — quoted from the statute, one state at a time.
Every state calls it something different — a protective order, an order of protection, an injunction for protection, a PFA — and every state writes the rules differently: who qualifies, how fast you can get one, how long it lasts, and what a judge can actually order. What does not change is federal law underneath all of it: an order from one state has to be honored in every other, and the rule about when it reaches someone’s guns is more specific, and more often misunderstood, than almost anything else on this subject. Every state page below covers all of it, quoted from the statute rather than summarized, plus that federal layer at the bottom.
States live so far
12 of 50, each built the same way: the relationship and grounds that qualify, the emergency order you can get the same day, the order after a hearing and how long it lasts, the full list of what a judge can order, firearms specifically, what it costs (almost always nothing), and what happens if it is violated — every answer quoted from the state’s own statute, with the citation. Where the statute itself we could not reached in full, that is said plainly rather than filled in with a guess.
Not built yet — 38 states
Told plainly rather than hidden: these are not up. Nothing below is a broken link waiting to happen — there is simply no page yet. California was researched and then discarded rather than published, because part of it was retrieved by a method this site does not allow; it goes back to square one rather than being patched. The rest are simply not built yet, in the order they come.
If your state is not up yet
Two places will not leave you guessing while we build it out: your state court’s self-help center (search “[your state] courts self-help protective order”) and the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, who can walk you through your specific state’s process by phone. Both are free, and neither one requires a lawyer.
If there are children involved
What your state presumes about custody, and the emergency jurisdiction that exists when someone has to leave the state.