Protection Orders
Court staff is available to help with filing a protection order weekdays from 8AM to 11AM, and from 1 PM to 3 PM. For questions not answered below, you can contact the Capital University Family Advocacy Clinic at (614) 645-7480, or Project Dignity of the Legal Aid Society of Columbus at (614) 645-1597.
- What is a Protection Order?
- A protection order is a court order designed to stop violent or harassing behavior, and to offer protection from the abuser.
- What is the difference between a Civil Protection Order and a Civil Stalking Protection Order?
- If the abuser is:
- related to you by blood or marriage
- a spouse or ex-spouse
- someone with whom you have had a child
- someone who has lived in your home within the past five years
... you will need to file a Civil Protection Order. - If the abuser is:
- someone you do not know
- someone with whom you have no relationship or with whom you have had no relationship within the past five years
... you will need to file a Civil Stalking Protection Order. - What is the process for filing a protection order? Where do I go?
- Civil Protection Orders (CPO's) are filed on the 4th Floor of the Franklin County Courthouse, 373 S. High Street.
As you exit the elevator, the CPO desk and a private area for consultation will be located directly in front of you. Once you arrive
at our office, one of our Civil Protection Order Liaison Clerks will guide you through filling out the necessary paperwork to request
the order of protection from the Court. This process takes about an hour. After you have completed the necessary paperwork,
the CPO Liaison will take you to the courtrooms to speak to a Judge.
The entire procedure takes a minimum of 2 hours, so try to arrive at the Clerk's office before 3:00 PM. If you arrive after 3PM, your request will not be processed until the next business day, due to the time it takes to fill out the forms, see a judge, and have the sheriff issue the order.
An ex-parte hearing-a hearing in which only you are present-will be held. If the judge finds reasonable cause, he/she will issue a temporary order commanding the respondent (the person you are asserting is causing or may cause you physical harm) to maintain a certain distance from you, vacate the shared residence, or to take (or not take) certain actions as deemed applicable.
A copy of this order will be delivered to the Franklin County Sheriff's office (or mailed to a foreign sheriff's department) who will attempt to serve a copy the order to the respondent that same day.
A full, or final hearing will be set for seven to ten days after the petition is filed. The temporary order will remain in effect until this hearing. At the final hearing, the judge will decide whether to put a full civil protection order into effect for five years. - Civil Stalking Protection Orders (CSPO's) are filed on the 3rd Floor of the Hall of Justice Building, 369 S. High Street. Follow the Clerk of Court's sign to either the Civil or the Criminal Section. Tell the customer service clerk at the front counter that you would like to file a Civil Stalking Protection order, and they will contact the Court’s Protection Order Liasion. The Liasion will guide you through filling out the necessary paperwork to request the order of protection from the Court. This process takes about an hour. After you have completed the necessary paperwork, the Liaison will escort you to the courtroom to speak to a Judge.
An ex-parte hearing--a hearing in which only you are present--will be held. If the Judge finds reasonable cause, he/she will issue a temporary order commanding the respondent (the person you are asserting is causing or may cause you physical harm) to maintain a certain distance from you, vacate the shared residence, or to take (or not take) certain actions as deemed applicable.
A copy of this order will be delivered to the Franklin County Sheriff's office (or mailed to a foreign sheriff's department) who will attempt to serve a copy the order to the respondent that same day.
The entire procedure takes a minimum of 2 hours, so try to arrive at the Clerk's office well before 3 PM. If you arrive after 3 PM, your request will not be processed until the next business day, due to the amount of time it takes to fill out the forms, speak to the Judge, and have the sheriff issue the order.
A full (or final) hearing will be set for seven to ten days after the petition is filed. The temporary order will remain in effect until this hearing. At the final hearing, the Magistrate will decide whether to put a full civil protection order into effect for five years.