Georgia Restraining Order Laws (2026): How to Get a Protective Order

In Georgia, the primary civil order protecting domestic violence victims is called a Family Violence Protective Order (FVPO). Any family or household member who has experienced family violence may petition the Superior Court in the respondent's county. A temporary protective order is issued the same day; a standing order after the hearing lasts up to one year and may be converted to an order of up to three years or a permanent order.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For confidential help 24/7, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788).

Types of restraining orders in Georgia

Georgia provides three main civil order tracks for victims of violence and harassment.

The Family Violence Protective Order (FVPO) under O.C.G.A. 19-13-1 through 19-13-6 is for victims of family violence committed by a family or household member. "Family violence" under Georgia law includes a broad set of conduct: battery, simple battery, assault, simple assault, stalking, criminal trespass, criminal damage to property, unlawful restraint, and felony criminal offenses committed by one family or household member against another.

The Dating Violence Protective Order under O.C.G.A. Title 19, Chapter 13A is for victims of dating violence. It is available to a person who is, or within the last 12 months was, in a dating relationship with the respondent, or who shares a current pregnancy with the respondent, and covers any felony or the offenses of simple battery, battery, simple assault, or stalking between the parties. No cohabitation is required.

The Stalking Protective Order under O.C.G.A. 16-5-94 is for victims of stalking by any person regardless of relationship. A person does not need to have any prior connection to the stalker to pursue this order. Georgia also recognizes an Employer Protective Order for workplace violence situations, which allows an employer to seek an order protecting employees from threats or violence at the workplace.

If your situation involves a family or household member, the FVPO is typically the appropriate track. Read that category carefully before ruling it out: O.C.G.A. 19-13-1 includes persons who are parents of the same child, so if you and the respondent share a child you qualify for an FVPO even if you never married and never lived together. If you are or were in a dating relationship with the person harming you, you never shared a household, and you do not share a child, the Dating Violence Protective Order may apply. If the person causing harm is not a family member or dating partner, the stalking protective order provides a civil remedy.

Who can get a restraining order in Georgia?

To petition for a Family Violence Protective Order, you must have a qualifying family or household relationship with the respondent. Under O.C.G.A. 19-13-1, qualifying relationships include:

• Past or present spouses
• Persons who are parents of the same child, whether or not they ever married or lived together
• Parents and children, and stepparents and stepchildren
• Foster parents and foster children
• Other persons living in the same household, or who formerly lived in the same household

"Family violence" in Georgia specifically does not require physical injury. It encompasses assault, stalking, criminal trespass, unlawful restraint, and criminal damage to property by a family or household member.

Note the shared-child category, because it is easy to miss. A partner you never married and never lived with is still a qualifying FVPO respondent if the two of you are parents of the same child. Only a dating partner who never shared a household with you and does not share a child with you falls outside the FVPO. Those victims are instead covered by Georgia's separate Dating Violence Protective Order under O.C.G.A. Title 19, Chapter 13A, available to a person who is, or within the last 12 months was, in a dating relationship with the respondent, or who shares a current pregnancy with the respondent, for conduct including any felony, simple battery, battery, simple assault, or stalking. No cohabitation is required.

For the Stalking Protective Order under O.C.G.A. 16-5-94, any victim of stalking may petition regardless of the relationship. This order does not require a prior connection to the respondent.

How to file for a restraining order in Georgia

To file for an FVPO, you submit a petition to the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the respondent resides (O.C.G.A. 19-13-2). You may also file in the county where you reside or where the family violence occurred in certain circumstances; check with the clerk's office in your county for current venue options.

Filing is free. Georgia does not charge the petitioner a filing fee or a service fee for a family violence protective order. The federal mechanism behind that is a funding condition rather than a direct command to state courts: under 34 U.S.C. 10450, a state is not entitled to STOP grant funds unless it certifies that its laws and practices do not require the victim to bear the costs of filing criminal charges, or of the filing, issuance, registration, modification, enforcement, dismissal, withdrawal, or service of a protection order. Georgia certifies compliance, so the petitioner pays nothing to file or to have the respondent served.

After you submit the petition, a judge reviews it the same day. If the judge finds grounds for immediate relief, a Temporary Protective Order (TPO) is issued ex parte and law enforcement serves the respondent. A full hearing is then scheduled within 30 days of filing.

If you need assistance completing the forms, the Superior Court clerk's office can direct you to self-help resources. Georgia's domestic violence coalitions and certified family violence centers also provide free advocates who can help you navigate the process and accompany you to court. You can locate your county's resources through the Georgia Commission on Family Violence at gcfv.georgia.gov.

Temporary vs. final orders: how long they last

Georgia uses two primary stages: the Temporary Protective Order (TPO) and the standing (final) order issued after a hearing.

Under O.C.G.A. 19-13-3(b), the ex parte TPO remains in effect until the court dismisses it or the hearing occurs, whichever comes first. Subsection (c) requires that hearing within 30 days of the filing of the petition, and provides that if no hearing is held in that window the petition stands dismissed unless the parties agree otherwise. That 30-day window is notably longer than the 10 to 15 days many other states allow, which gives more time to schedule the hearing and get the respondent properly served.

There is an important exception worth knowing before the deadline arrives. Under O.C.G.A. 19-13-3(e), if the court finds that a party is avoiding service in order to delay the hearing, the court may delay dismissal of the petition for an additional 30 days. Protection does not automatically lapse at day 30 when the respondent is the reason the hearing has not happened. If the respondent is dodging the sheriff, tell the court or your advocate before the 30 days run, and ask the court to make that finding.

After the hearing, the court issues a standing order, which under O.C.G.A. 19-13-4(c) remains in effect for up to one year. That same subsection supplies the only statutory route to a longer order: upon the motion of the petitioner, after notice to the respondent and a hearing, the court may in its discretion convert the order to one effective for not more than three years, or to a permanent order. The statute leaves that decision to the court's discretion and does not set out a checklist of required factors, so the practical task is showing the judge why the risk to you is continuing. If one year is not enough, ask a Georgia family lawyer for a free case evaluation on extending the order to three years or making it permanent (attorney advertising).

Firearms and a Georgia protective order

Georgia has no state statute that strips firearm rights automatically when a civil protective order issues, and none that requires a judge to order surrender. The Georgia Commission on Family Violence describes this as an unclosed gap, reporting that Georgia is among the minority of states that have not matched their protective-order firearm law to the federal standard.

A Georgia judge may nonetheless write firearm terms into an order. O.C.G.A. 19-13-4(a) authorizes the court to "grant any protective order or approve any consent agreement to bring about a cessation of acts of family violence," and the terms that follow are introduced as provisions the orders "may" contain rather than as an exclusive list. Practice varies widely by circuit and by individual judge. The Commission's regional review found Georgia counties where courts specifically prohibit firearm possession under an order of protection and add surrender conditions, alongside judges who decline to include any firearm restriction at all. If firearms are part of your situation, raise it directly and ask the court to include a no-possession and surrender term.

Separately, a final protective order can trigger the federal firearm ban under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), but only when the order satisfies that statute on its own terms. The order must have been issued after a hearing of which the respondent received actual notice and at which the respondent had an opportunity to participate. It must restrain the respondent from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or a child of that partner. And it must either include a finding that the respondent is a credible threat to that person's physical safety, or by its terms expressly prohibit the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. "Intimate partner" is defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(32) as a spouse, a former spouse, a person who is a parent of a child of the respondent, or a person who cohabits or has cohabited with the respondent.

That distinction matters in Georgia, because the FVPO reaches relationships the federal ban does not. An order protecting a petitioner from a parent, a stepparent, an adult child, a foster parent, or a roommate who was never an intimate partner is a fully valid Georgia FVPO that triggers no federal firearm prohibition. An ex parte TPO does not trigger it either, since it is issued before the hearing the federal statute requires. Do not assume a firearm ban is in force because an order exists; read the terms of your own order, and ask the court or your advocate which prohibitions actually apply to your respondent.

If you have reason to believe the respondent has not complied with a firearm prohibition, contact law enforcement and inform the court at your next scheduled proceeding.

What happens if someone violates the order?

Violating a Family Violence Protective Order or Dating Violence Protective Order in Georgia is a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. 16-5-95, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. That statute does not cover stalking protective orders; violating a Stalking Protective Order in a way that meets the stalking elements is instead prosecuted as felony aggravated stalking under O.C.G.A. 16-5-91, described below.

In addition to the misdemeanor charge, if the violation involves stalking conduct, the conduct may be charged as aggravated stalking under O.C.G.A. 16-5-91, which is a felony. Aggravated stalking carries a prison term of 1 to 10 years. Other criminal offenses committed during the violation, such as battery or criminal trespass, carry their own separate penalties.

Georgia law enforcement officers may make a warrantless arrest when they have probable cause to believe a protective order has been violated. If the respondent contacts you, comes to your home or workplace, or otherwise violates the order's stay-away, distance, or no-contact terms, call 911 immediately. Document every violation, including dates, times, and any messages, photographs, or witnesses, and bring that information to your next court date or provide it to your advocate.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and it is not a safety plan. Protective-order rules vary by state and change. If you are in danger, call 911. For help with your specific situation, contact your local court's self-help center, a domestic-violence advocate, or a licensed attorney.

For general information on how all 50 states handle protective orders, see our guide: Restraining Order Laws by State.

For information on Georgia's recording consent laws and how documentation may be relevant to establishing a record of harassment, see our Georgia Recording Law page.

More Georgia Laws

• Georgia Child Custody Laws
• Georgia Divorce Laws
• Georgia GPS Tracking Laws
• Georgia Self-Defense Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a restraining order in Georgia?

In Georgia, you file a petition for a Family Violence Protective Order (FVPO) with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the respondent resides. A judge reviews the petition the same day. If immediate danger is found, a Temporary Protective Order is issued right away without the respondent being present. A full hearing must be held within 30 days of filing, though the court may allow an additional 30 days if it finds the respondent is avoiding service to delay the hearing. Filing is free.

How long does a restraining order last in Georgia?

A Temporary Protective Order runs until the court dismisses it or the full hearing takes place, and that hearing must be held within 30 days of filing. Under O.C.G.A. 19-13-3(e), the court may delay dismissal for another 30 days if it finds the respondent is avoiding service to delay the hearing. After the hearing, a standing order lasts up to one year. O.C.G.A. 19-13-4(c) then allows one conversion: on the petitioner's motion, after notice to the respondent and a hearing, the court may make the order effective for not more than three years or make it permanent. The statute provides that single conversion route rather than a general right of renewal.

How much does a restraining order cost in Georgia?

Filing for a Family Violence Protective Order in Georgia is free, and there is no charge to have the respondent served. Federal law reaches this indirectly rather than by prohibiting state courts outright: under 34 U.S.C. 10450, a state is not entitled to STOP grant funds unless it certifies that victims are not required to bear the costs of filing criminal charges or of filing, issuing, registering, modifying, enforcing, dismissing, withdrawing, or serving a protection order. Georgia certifies compliance, so there is no cost to the petitioner.

Can I get a restraining order without a police report?

Yes. A police report is not required to file an FVPO petition in Georgia. The petition is a civil proceeding based on your sworn statement describing the family violence. A police report or other evidence can strengthen your case, but its absence does not prevent you from filing.

Can I get a Family Violence Protective Order against my child's other parent if we never lived together?

Yes. O.C.G.A. 19-13-1 lists persons who are parents of the same child among the qualifying relationships for a Family Violence Protective Order, alongside past or present spouses, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, and persons living or formerly living in the same household. Sharing a child is enough on its own. You do not need to have married the respondent or ever shared a household, and you do not need to use the separate Dating Violence Protective Order track.

Does a restraining order take away gun rights in Georgia?

No Georgia statute automatically strips gun rights when a protective order issues, and none requires a judge to order surrender. A judge may still include firearm terms, because O.C.G.A. 19-13-4(a) lets the court grant any protective order that will bring about a cessation of family violence; some Georgia circuits write no-possession and surrender conditions into orders, while other judges decline to. The federal ban in 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8) can also apply, but only to a final order issued after notice and a hearing that restrains the respondent as to an intimate partner or that partner's child and that either finds a credible threat or expressly bars the use of physical force. Because a Georgia FVPO can protect relatives and household members who were never intimate partners, and because an ex parte TPO precedes the required hearing, many valid Georgia orders trigger no federal ban.

What happens if the abuser violates the order?

Violating a protective order in Georgia is a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. 16-5-95, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. If the violation involves stalking conduct, it may be charged as aggravated stalking, a felony. Police may arrest without a warrant on probable cause. Call 911 and document every violation.

What is the difference between a Family Violence Protective Order and a Stalking Protective Order in Georgia?

The Family Violence Protective Order (FVPO) requires a qualifying relationship under O.C.G.A. 19-13-1, which includes past or present spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, and persons living or formerly living in the same household. Georgia also has a separate Dating Violence Protective Order under O.C.G.A. Title 19, Chapter 13A for dating partners who fall outside those categories, which does not require cohabitation. The Stalking Protective Order under O.C.G.A. 16-5-94 requires no relationship and is available to any victim of stalking. If you share a child with the person harming you, the FVPO applies even if you never married or lived together; if there is no family, shared-child, dating, or household relationship, the stalking order may be the appropriate civil remedy.