How to Get a Protective Order in Texas: Who Can Apply, the Steps, How Long It Lasts, and Where to Get Help Now

If you are in danger right now, call 911. For confidential support at any hour, the National Domestic Violence Hotline (opens in a new tab) answers at 800-799-SAFE (7233), by text (send START to 88788) and by live chat.

A Texas protective order starts with an application filed with a court clerk under Family Code § 82.001 (opens in a new tab). Who may apply depends on the relationship and the conduct: an adult family or household member, a member of a dating relationship, any adult protecting a child, or a prosecutor or the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in specified cases. A judge may sign a temporary ex parte order the same day, without notice to the other person, only after finding a clear and present danger of family violence (§ 83.001 (opens in a new tab)). The full hearing is generally set no later than the 14th day after filing (§ 84.001 (opens in a new tab)).

Where to get help right now in Texas

You can contact more than one of these at the same time.

• Emergency: The Texas Council on Family Violence (opens in a new tab) (TCFV) advises calling 911 in an emergency.
• Confidential support, day or night: The National Domestic Violence Hotline (opens in a new tab) at 800-799-SAFE (7233), text START to 88788, or chat online. TCFV also lists the Hotline's TTY line, 800-787-3224.
• Local shelters and family-violence programs: TCFV's statewide Family Violence Service Directory (opens in a new tab) lists organizations by area. TCFV itself refers people to the Hotline and the directory for individual services.
• Free legal help: The Texas Advocacy Project (opens in a new tab) provides free legal and social services to survivors of dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, stalking and human trafficking.
• Help filing in your county: Many county and district attorney offices take protective-order applications. In Harris County, for example, the District Attorney's Protective Orders Section (opens in a new tab) is at 713-274-0212.
• Keeping your address private: The Texas Attorney General's Address Confidentiality Program (opens in a new tab) can be reached at 888-832-2322 or 512-936-1750.

What a Texas protective order can do

A protective order is a civil court order that tells the respondent (the person the order is against) what conduct is prohibited. Under Family Code § 81.001 (opens in a new tab), a court shall render a protective order if it finds that family violence occurred. The order is not a criminal conviction, but violating it can lead to arrest, criminal charges and contempt of court, as explained further down.

A judge chooses the terms from the options the statute allows, so read every line of your own order and keep a copy with you.

Which law fits your situation?

Texas has two main routes, and the right one depends on what happened and your relationship with the other person.

Family Code protective orders cover family violence, which Family Code § 71.004 (opens in a new tab) defines as an act by one family or household member against another that is intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, assault or sexual assault, or that puts the person in fear of imminent harm of that kind. It also includes certain child abuse and dating violence. "Family" includes relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, former spouses, parents of the same child, and foster parents and children (§ 71.003 (opens in a new tab)). A "household" means people living together in the same home regardless of relationship, and a former household member counts too (§§ 71.005 and 71.006 (opens in a new tab)).

A dating relationship under § 71.0021 (opens in a new tab) is a current or past continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The court looks at its length, its nature and how often the two people interacted. A casual acquaintance or ordinary social or business contact does not qualify.

Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7B orders are available to certain victims of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, stalking, trafficking and, since 2025, some habitation-burglary offenses, without regard to any relationship with the offender (art. 7B.001 (opens in a new tab)). If someone you have never dated or lived with is stalking you, this is the route to ask about.

Who may apply

Under Family Code § 82.002 (opens in a new tab), the applicant can be:

• An adult member of the family or household, to protect themselves or another family or household member.
• A member of the dating relationship or marriage, for their own protection from dating violence.
• Any adult, to protect a child from family violence.
• A prosecuting attorney, on behalf of an alleged victim.
• DFPS, in the circumstances the statute lists.

You do not need a lawyer to apply. The Office of Court Administration (OCA), which publishes the forms, directs people filing on their own to the local district attorney's office, the Texas self-help e-filing application and TexasLawHelp (opens in a new tab). Local offices handle intake differently; in Harris County, a caseworker prepares the file and a prosecutor reviews it before filing.

Where to file and which form to use

You can file in the county where you live, the county where the respondent lives, or the county where the family violence happened (§ 82.003 (opens in a new tab)). The clerk, the county attorney or the district attorney's office may each handle part of the local process, so call ahead and ask which office takes applications, whether an interpreter is available and how service is arranged in that county.

Texas requires the standardized application form created by the OCA (§ 82.004 (opens in a new tab)). The OCA standardized protective-order forms (opens in a new tab) include the application, temporary ex parte and final orders, and instructions, in English and Spanish. It asks about you, the respondent, your relationship, what happened and the protections you want.

What it costs

Nothing, for the services the law lists. As the statute reads on October 1, 2026, Family Code § 81.002 (opens in a new tab) bars a district or county clerk, sheriff, constable or other public official from charging the applicant or the applicant's attorney any fee, cost, charge or expense for filing, service, entry, certified copies, comparing copies, court reporters, judicial-fund fees, modification, dismissal, withdrawal or transfer of a protective order.

Keeping your address and information confidential

You can ask the court to keep certain information, such as your address, out of the application and the order. Family Code § 82.011 (opens in a new tab) and § 85.007 (opens in a new tab) allow a confidentiality request supported by the required affidavit. Ask the clerk or prosecutor's office to walk through the form with you before you file.

For longer-term privacy, the Attorney General's Address Confidentiality Program (opens in a new tab) gives eligible survivors a substitute post-office-box address and forwards their mail. Eligibility requires a protective order or temporary injunction, or documentation of the crime, and participation lasts three years at a time with renewal available.

Temporary ex parte orders, service and the hearing

"Ex parte" means the judge acts on the application without first hearing from the respondent. A court may issue a temporary ex parte order when the application shows a clear and present danger of family violence (§ 83.001 (opens in a new tab)). It is not automatic; the judge has to make that finding. The temporary order lasts for the period the court states, no more than 20 days, and can be extended for additional 20-day periods (§ 83.002 (opens in a new tab)).

The respondent must then be served or given notice as Family Code § 85.041 (opens in a new tab) and the procedural rules require. The court must set the hearing no later than the 14th day after the application is filed, unless a later date is requested or an extension applies (§ 84.001 (opens in a new tab)). In some district-court counties, the prosecuting attorney can ask for a hearing date up to the 20th day (§ 84.002 (opens in a new tab)). At the hearing, the judge decides whether family violence occurred (§ 85.001 (opens in a new tab)).

What a final order can require

If the judge finds family violence, the order can include provisions that apply to either party under Family Code § 85.021 (opens in a new tab), such as terms about children, jointly owned or leased property, pets and assistance animals, exclusive use of a residence, or an order that one person move out. A court is not required to give anyone the home; it decides which of these terms fit the case.

Under § 85.022 (opens in a new tab), the court can prohibit the person found to have committed family violence from:

• Committing family violence.
• Communicating with a protected person, directly or through someone else.
• Going to or near named homes, workplaces, schools or child-care facilities.
• Following, stalking or watching a protected person, as the statute describes.
• Possessing a firearm or ammunition, when the statutory conditions apply.
• Harming, threatening or interfering with a protected person's pet or assistance animal.

Federal law can also bar firearm possession by someone subject to a qualifying order when the federal conditions in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) (opens in a new tab) are met. Orders can also address possession of and access to children and child support where the Family Code allows. If a divorce or a child support case is also underway, our guides on how to file for divorce in Texas and child support in Texas explain those separate proceedings.

How long the order lasts and how it can change

A Texas Family Code protective order lasts for the period stated in it, up to two years, or until the second anniversary if no period is stated (§ 85.025 (opens in a new tab)). A court can make it last longer than two years if it finds the respondent committed a felony involving family violence, caused serious bodily injury, or was the subject of two or more earlier protective orders protecting the same person after findings of family violence. Special timing rules apply when the respondent is involved in a divorce, a parent-child case or certain criminal cases.

The person subject to the order may ask the court to review it, but not before the first anniversary. Other Family Code provisions govern modifying, suspending, ending or transferring an order, and the court that issued it is the place to ask about them. Chapter 7B orders can last for the lives of the offender and victim or a shorter stated period, and default to two years if no period is stated (art. 7B.007 (opens in a new tab)).

What happens if the order is violated

Knowingly or intentionally violating key terms of a protective order is a crime under Penal Code § 25.07 (opens in a new tab), including terms about communication, distance, the residence, children and firearms. The offense level depends on the conduct. Texas peace officers have arrest authority for these violations under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 14.03 (opens in a new tab), and having a copy of the order to show officers helps.

A violation can also be enforced through contempt. An enforcement motion may be filed in the county where the order was made, where either party lives, or where the violation happened (Family Code § 81.010 (opens in a new tab)). The order's own warning states that no one, including the protected person, can give permission to ignore it while it is in effect.

Does a Texas order work in other states?

Generally, yes. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2265 (opens in a new tab), a qualifying protection order from one state must be given full faith and credit in another when the issuing court had jurisdiction and the respondent had notice and a chance to be heard. Registering the order in the new state is not required before it can be enforced.

Other protections that may apply

Emergency orders after an arrest. When someone is arrested for an offense involving family violence, sexual assault, stalking or certain other conduct, a magistrate may issue an order for emergency protection under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.292 (opens in a new tab). For orders issued on or after September 1, 2025, TexasLawHelp (opens in a new tab) describes a length of 61 to 91 days, or 91 to 121 days when a deadly weapon was used.

Breaking a lease. Property Code § 92.016 (opens in a new tab) lets a qualifying tenant end a lease and move out without owing future rent when the statute's conditions and documentation rules are met. Our guide to security deposit return in Texas covers what happens to the deposit after a move-out.

Crime Victims' Compensation. The Attorney General's victim services (opens in a new tab) program may help with certain crime-related costs such as medical bills, counseling, lost wages and child care, subject to program rules.

Immigration. USCIS (opens in a new tab) describes VAWA self-petitions for certain abused spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and T and U visas for qualifying crime victims. A protective order may serve as evidence, but it does not decide immigration eligibility on its own.

Frequently asked questions

These questions often come up once an application is filed.

Will the respondent see what I wrote in the application?

The respondent is served with the application and any temporary order so they can respond at the hearing. You can ask the court to keep your address and other identifying information confidential through the affidavit process in Family Code § 82.011 (opens in a new tab) and § 85.007 (opens in a new tab). Ask the clerk or prosecutor's office how that works in your county before you file.

Are the forms available in Spanish?

Yes. The OCA publishes the mandatory application, temporary and final order forms and instructions in Spanish. TexasLawHelp also has a Spanish page on emergency protective orders (opens in a new tab).

What should I keep after the order is signed?

Keep copies of the application, every order, notices and proof of service. Review each restriction in the order, and carry a copy so you can show law enforcement if the order is violated.

Next step

When you are ready to talk with a law firm about a protective order, divorce or custody matter, you can find family law firms in the Counselado directory, starting with Texas. The statutes and figures cited are current as of October 1, 2026.