In danger right now? Call 911. Police can reach an on-call judge
for an emergency restraining order at any hour.
Courts closed (night / weekend / holiday)? Go to or call any
police department — a municipal court judge is assigned to issue
emergency temporary restraining orders when the Family Part is closed
(N.J.S.A. 2C:25-28).
NJ Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-572-7233 (24/7, free,
confidential).
Quick exit (or press Esc twice) hides this page fast, but does not erase
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page back. If someone may check this device, a library computer or a
friend’s phone is safer.
What is true no matter which situation you are in
These facts do not change based on your answers below, so they are
here rather than three screens in.
You can file in more than one county. The Family Part where the
abuse happened, where the other person lives, or where you are
living or sheltered right now (N.J.S.A. 2C:25-28). You do not have
to go back to their county to ask for protection.
It costs nothing. There is no filing fee on the court’s fee
schedule for a domestic violence complaint, and you are never asked
to serve the papers yourself (2C:25-28).
Getting a temporary order
A temporary order can be issued without the other person there
(ex parte), including at night through a municipal judge (2C:25-28).
Who must help you, and who is not your lawyer
Court staff must help you with the forms. The clerk “shall assist
the parties in completing any forms necessary for the filing”
(N.J.S.A. 2C:25-28(c)(1)). Forms are kept at the clerk’s office, the
municipal courts, and municipal and State police stations.
The prosecutor is not your lawyer. A restraining order is a civil
case and there is usually no prosecutor in it. But if criminal charges
are also filed — for the incident itself, or later for violating your
order — the prosecutor in that case represents the State, not you.
Three things follow. They cannot give you legal advice about your own
decisions. What you tell them is not confidential the way it would be
with your own attorney: police reports and witness statements are
provided to the defendant’s lawyer in discovery (R. 3:13-3). And
New Jersey’s victim-rights law does not change that — the Crime
Victims’ Bill of Rights (N.J.S.A. 52:4B-36) and Article I, paragraph 22
of the State Constitution give you real rights to be informed, to be
heard, and to be “treated with fairness, compassion and respect,” but
neither one creates an attorney-client relationship or a privilege.
You can have your own lawyer, and for the restraining order itself
many people do.
Your address, and leaving home
Your home address stays off the complaint. The court “shall waive
any requirement that the petitioner’s place of residence appear on
the complaint” (2C:25-28(b)) — that is automatic, not something you
have to negotiate.
Leaving home does not weaken your case. The court “shall not
dismiss any complaint or delay disposition of a case because the
victim has left the residence to avoid further incidents”
(2C:25-28(a)).
You will never be asked to hand the papers to the other person.
“At no time shall the plaintiff be asked or required to serve any
order on the defendant” (2C:25-28(l)). An order is enforceable
anywhere in New Jersey (2C:25-28(p)).
The hearing within 10 days
Then there is a hearing within 10 days (N.J.S.A. 2C:25-29), in
the county where the temporary restraints were ordered. The temporary
order stays in force until then. You must prove the allegations by a
preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not, not “beyond
a reasonable doubt”. A final order, once entered, continues until a
court dissolves or modifies it on good cause shown (2C:25-29(d)).
What counts as abuse
Abuse does not have to be physical. Since 2023 the court must
consider any pattern of coercive control — isolating you from
family, transport or medical care; withholding basic necessities;
monitoring your movements, messages or money; threats based on your
immigration status; baseless reports to police or child protection;
threatening a relative or a pet; interfering with custody
(2C:25-29(a)(7)).
What the court can order
The court can order more than “stay away.” The statute directs it
to grant “any relief necessary to prevent further abuse” (2C:25-29):
exclusive possession of the home, support, custody arrangements,
firearms surrender, counselling.
The forms, in the order you meet them
Each one opens a step-by-step interview and gives you the completed
document to print. Free, no account.
- Temporary Restraining Order Process (CN 12969)
— how the temporary order is applied for and granted.
- Confidential Litigant Information Sheet (CN 10486)
— filed with the complaint; it is how the court reaches you without
putting your address in the public file.
- Preparing for a Final Restraining Order Hearing (CN 12751)
— the Judiciary’s own guide to the hearing below.
- Final Restraining Order Process (CN 12970)
— what the final hearing decides.
- Enforce or Change a Restraining Order (CN 12093)
— after a final order exists.
The final restraining order (FRO) hearing
Everything below is quoted or summarised from the Judiciary’s own
Preparing for a Domestic Violence Final Restraining Order Hearing
(CN 12751, revised 06/16/2022), linked above. It is not our advice.
Both parties must attend. The document states you “must attend the
final hearing” — the plaintiff even if they intend to dismiss the order,
the defendant even if the plaintiff is going to dismiss it.
You may bring a lawyer, and the court will not supply one. In its
words: “You have the right to bring an attorney; the court cannot
provide an attorney for you.” These are civil cases, not criminal.
Evidence has to be arranged in advance. If you want to show photos,
text messages or video, CN 12751 says you “must contact the court prior
to the hearing for instructions on providing this evidence.” Turning up
with it on your phone is not the process.
If you are asking for child support, bring your most recent pay stub,
childcare costs and tax return; if you are unemployed or on disability
benefits, bring proof. Children should not be brought to the hearing
unless a judge instructs otherwise.
If someone does not appear, the document distinguishes the two sides.
For the plaintiff: failure to appear “might result in your case being
postponed to another day and/or time, or your case might be dismissed.”
For the defendant: it “will likely result in the court proceeding without
you and an FRO being entered against you.”
The hearing may be remote. CN 12751 notes it might take place over a
video platform such as Zoom or Teams, or in person at the courthouse.
This site does not file anything for you and is not legal advice.
It explains the steps and gives you the official forms. For a hearing
already scheduled, call legal aid today, or
the hotline above to reach your county’s domestic violence agency.
Two questions, then the steps for your situation with the law behind
each one.