Family & Safety

The first thing you need to do is make sure you are safe. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. You can also call a domestic violence hotline:

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 or text START to 88788.
• The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline at 877-863-6338 (877-TO END DV) or text.

For longer-term safety, read more about Domestic violence safety planning common questions.

Second, consider getting free legal assistance to help you navigate the process. There are several domestic violence victim organizations throughout the state of Illinois, as well as free legal aid organizations that can help you both with getting a domestic violence Order of Protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties and safety planning.

If you want to file the petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court yourself, you will need to fill out these forms to ask for a domestic violence Harm by one household or family member against another household or family member. Harm may be an emotional, mental, or physical injury Order of Protection:

• Petition for Order of Protection: gives the court information needed to decide if you can get an Order of Protection. This petition will include specific remedies (what you are asking for) and the allegations of abuse (why you are requesting the Order of Protection).
• Order of Protection: There are two kinds of orders. You can ask for one or both.
  • An Emergency Order of Protection gives protection up to three weeks. The court can grant this without the abuser knowing about your petition. After three weeks, the Emergency Order of Protection can be extended by the judge until the judge decides if you should be granted a Plenary Order of Protection.
  • A Plenary Order of Protection A long-term order granted by a judge telling an abuser to stop further domestic abuse. Done after both parties had a chance to present their case. gives protection up to two years. The court can grant this once the abuser knows about your petition and has the opportunity to appear.
• Summons A notice to a defendant that a lawsuit against them was filed in a court and that the defendant has to show up in court : gives the sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. information to deliver the petition and Order of Protection, if granted, to the abuser.
• Letter to the Sheriff: asks the sheriff to deliver the documents to the abuser.

You can use the Order of Protection program to fill out your forms. The Illinois Courts also have forms online. Once the forms are completed, sign them and make three extra copies of each form.

Your petition tells the judge what you are asking for and why. You must write about the abuse you experienced. Include as many details as you can remember. Make sure to include details about what has happened recently that made you feel like you need an order. The judge will use the information in your petition to decide whether to give you the order. Include in the description of the abuse:

• What the abuser did and said,
• The dates and time of day of the abuse (if you do not remember, then give an estimate),
• Where the abuse happened,
• Who saw or heard the abuse. Be sure to mention if your children were there,
• If you were hurt by the abuse,
• If the police were called,
• How the abuse made you feel, and if there was anything that stopped you from coming to court sooner.

It can be helpful to look back at pictures and messages in your phone to help yourself remember incidents and dates. Make sure to save photos or screenshots of anything you are including in your petition.

If you believe giving your home address will put you or any people you live with at risk of abuse, you do not have to put your address on your court papers. You do have to put an address where you can receive mail. You can use a P.O. Box Post office box, an individual box for mail at a post office , work address, or the address of a family member or friend that the abuser knows.

File the forms with the circuit clerk The office that takes care of files and documents for circuit court cases at the courthouse in the county where you live, where the abuser lives, where the events happened, or where you are temporarily staying to avoid further abuse. You may file in person or online.

• E-filing: You have the option to file your forms and documents electronically. See E-Filing basics for more information.
  • Some Illinois counties offer forms and direct e-filing through the Protective Order System. Learn more at “If someone is filing for an Order of Protection by themselves, how do they find the forms to file?”
• Paper filing: You can also file in person. Take your completed forms to the circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerk's office in the courthouse. The clerk will stamp your forms. This stamp is important. It is proof that you filed the form with the court. They will give you a copy for your records.

The clerk will tell you which judge will hear Listen to and judge a case  your request for an Emergency Order of Protection. You will then go to their courtroom for your hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer .

The judge will hear your case for an Emergency Order  without the abuser present. The judge will read your Petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court for an Order of Protection. The judge may ask you questions about the abuser, about details of the abuse, and about your children. The judge will then decide if an Emergency Order is necessary. The judge will then set a date for you to return to court, three weeks or less after entry, to try to serve Giving court documents to someone the abuser with the petition and Emergency Order of Protection . They will set a hearing date for a Plenary Order of Protection A long-term order granted by a judge telling an abuser to stop further domestic abuse. Done after both parties had a chance to present their case.

File the forms with the circuit clerk The office that takes care of files and documents for circuit court cases at the courthouse in the county where you live, where the abuser lives, where the events happened, or where you are temporarily staying to avoid further abuse.

If you are filing in Cook county, you have different filing options:

• E-filing: You have the option to file your forms and documents electronically through the E-file system. See E-Filing basics for more information.
  • The documents you should file are:
    • Cover Sheet,
    • Summons,
    • Petition for Order of Protection, and
    • Emergency Order of Protection.
  • After you e-file your documents, you will receive back stamped copies. You should then email the stamped copies to: [email protected]. The clerk will then respond with instructions on when to present your case to the judge.
• Paper filing: You can also file in person. Cook County has a Domestic Violence Courthouse at 555 W. Harrison in Chicago.  Afterwards, take your completed forms to the circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerk's office in the courthouse. The clerk will stamp your forms. This stamp is important. It is proof that you filed the form with the court. They will give you a copy for your records.

If you already have a domestic relations case pending in Cook County against the abuser, your Order of Protection can be filed under that case number A number assigned to a case that is on every paper filed in the case and combined with that case.

If you need help filling out the forms, you can get help over the phone from an advocate by calling (708) 689-3422 or Ascend Justice at (312) 239-0413, Monday-Friday, from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. They can also help you work with the court to do a video hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer via Zoom with a judge.

If you file your case during regular business hours before 3:00 pm, you should receive instructions to present your case via Zoom that same day. Even if you receive an email back that says your case will be heard the next day, you should check your email until 5:00 pm. You may still get instructions to appear in court via Zoom on the same day. If you do not show up remotely for your Zoom hearing, your case may be dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated. .

If you need an immediate Emergency Order of Protection outside of regular business hours, then the Emergency Order of Protection in Cook County form must be used. The form can be emailed to the court clerk either during the after-hours times or in the hour before it opens, and a remote hearing will be scheduled. After-hours court clerks and judges are available:

• Monday to Friday: 9:00 pm through 3:00 am and
• Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 pm through 6:00 pm

The clerk will take the court documents to the sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. 's office or ask you to do so. The sheriff will serve Giving court documents to someone the petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court and summons A notice to a defendant that a lawsuit against them was filed in a court and that the defendant has to show up in court to the abuser, along with the Emergency Order of Protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties , if one was granted. The sheriff won't charge you to deliver a copy of your court papers to the abuser. The sheriff's office keeps a copy of the order on file. 

The abuser (respondent A person who has a petition filed against them ) must obey the order once they receive it from the sheriff. If they violate it, you can report the violation to the police.

If the sheriff cannot serve the petition and summons to the abuser, the judge may talk to you about other addresses for the abuser. The judge may extend your Emergency Order of Protection while the Sheriff tries the new address. If this does not work, the judge may allow you to serve the abuser by publication. 

If you have already received an emergency order, it will say when you must go to court for a hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer regarding the plenary order. If you live in a county with a population above 250,000, you can request a remote hearing. The judge has discretion to approve or deny To refuse or say no your request.

If you do not show up to the hearing, the judge may cancel the petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court and you will have to start over. The judge may not be as willing to grant you a plenary (long-term) order if you miss your first court date.

Once the abuser is served, they have an obligation to appear in court. If they do not appear, you may request an Order of Protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties “by default.” If they do appear, the judge will give them the option to either agree to the Plenary Order of Protection A long-term order granted by a judge telling an abuser to stop further domestic abuse. Done after both parties had a chance to present their case. or have a hearing regarding the allegations in your petition.

At your final hearing, you and the abuser will be allowed to talk to the judge. You can bring witnesses or evidence Anything used to show that something is true to help you explain why you need a Plenary Order of Protection. Examples of evidence are:

• Text messages,
• Voicemails,
• Medical records from an emergency room visit, or
• Pictures showing abuse, like holes in a wall or bruises. 

If you win the hearing, the judge will enter a Plenary Order of Protection. The end date will be listed on your Order of Protection.  If the judge decides to grant your order, read the order before you leave the courthouse. If something is wrong or missing, ask the clerk to correct the order before you leave. 

If your order is granted, make copies of the order and always keep one with you. You should also give a copy of the order to anyone who is named in and protected by the order. You can notify your local police precinct A district of a city or town that you have the order. You can also leave copies of the order:

• Your workplace,
• At your home,
• At your children's school or daycare,
• In your car, or
• With a neighbor.

The court will tell the sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. 's department about the order, which will be posted so all law enforcement agencies in Illinois know that it must be given to your abuser. The order can only be enforced after your abuser has been notified that the order exists. If the abuser has not been notified about the order, and you see them, you can call the police to ask them to inform the abuser about the order.

If your abuser violates the order, call the police immediately and make a police report When a police officer writes a description of what happened at an accident . If you do not have a copy of the order with you, an officer can check their computer system and see if there is an order. However, it is best to keep a copy of the order with you at all times.

An abuser who disobeys an Order of Protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties can be arrested and charged with a crime.