Orders of Protection, Injunctions Against Harassment

The purpose of an Order of Protection and an Injunction Against Harassment (collectively, a Protective Order) is to restrain a person from committing an act of domestic violence or harassment against others.

To obtain a Protective Order, a petition must be filed with the court. Requested petitions are typically reviewed and heard by a judge and ruled on the same day.

Any court in Arizona can review a petition and issue a Protective Order. There may be a court closer to your location than the Phoenix Municipal Court, from which to obtain a Protective Order. Specific courts should be contacted to obtain information about those courts' Protective Order process.

If there is an action for maternity, paternity, annulment, legal separation or dissolution of marriage pending between a person seeking a Protective Order and the person the order is sought against, the petition must be filed in the Superior Court.

Maricopa County Justice Courts

Maricopa County Superior Court

There are two types of Protective Orders

Order of Protection
Injunction Against Harassment

Order of Protection

An Order of Protection (A.R.S. § 13-3602) is a court order seeking protection from a person you live with, now or in the past, or is an immediate family member. Examples of a requested Order of Protection would be filed against:

your current or former spouse
someone with whom you live or have lived
someone with whom you are having a romantic or sexual relationship
one party pregnant by the other party or someone with whom you have a child in common
your relative, or your current spouse's relative (contact the Court for specific relatives)
one of the parties is a parent, grandparent, in-law or sibling

Injunction Against Harassment

An Injunction Against Harassment (under A.R.S. § 12-1809) is a court order seeking protection from a person other than someone you live with, a person with whom you have no relationship, or a current or former non-family member. Injunctions Against Harassment can be issued for individuals and in the workplace setting. To have an injunction granted or issued:

the defendant must have committed acts of harassment in the last year.
"harassment" means either of the following: (a) a series of acts over any period of time that is directed at a specific person and that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed and the conduct in fact seriously alarms, annoys or harasses the person and serves no legitimate purpose; (b) one or more acts of sexual violence as defined by A.R.S. § 23-371.

Conduct, that if established, allows for the issuance of a Protective Order:

Assault
Aggravated assault
Aggravated harassment
Aggravated domestic violence
Child or vulnerable adult abuse
Criminal damage
Criminal trespass - first, second or third degree
Crimes against children
Custodial interference
Disobeying a court order
Disorderly conduct
Endangerment
Harassment
Kidnapping
Stalking
Surreptitious videotaping
Threatening and intimidating

What a Protective Order Does

A Protective Order is a court order that:

Orders a person from coming near a home, work site, school, or other locations listed in the order.
Orders a person from contacting the person(s) protected under the order by phone, email, text, mail, or any other means listed in the order.
Provides the person(s) protected under the order with legal recourse if the person served with the order violates it.

What a Protective Order Does Not Do

A Protective Order has the purpose of protecting people from acts of domestic violence and harassment. Protective Orders do not:

Resolve landlord/tenant disputes
Change custody or visitation orders
Guarantee your safety

The process for seeking a Protective Order follows:

Choose to proceed online using AZPoint

Go to Protective Order Center on the 2nd floor of the Phoenix Municipal Court, or if you choose,
Phoenix Municipal Court staff will help you determine which Protective Order to seek in relation to your situation.
The petition for the order will need to be completed.
Once the petition is properly completed, a judge will hear (meet with you, ask questions) and consider your petition requesting the Protective Order.

Information that is needed:

Name, date of birth, and address of the person you are seeking protection from
Past or present court proceedings involving yourself and the person from whom you seek protection
Address and phone number of the person where the Protective Order can be served

Additional considerations:

Separate paperwork is required for each person from whom you are seeking protection.
Your address and contact information may be kept confidential (meaning only available to court staff).
Not all requests (petitions) for Orders of Protection or Injunctions Against Harassment are granted and some may require a court hearing with the person you are seeking protection from before issuance.

Service of an Order of Protection

If the judge grants your petition for an Order of Protection the court will immediately send the Order of Protection and a copy of the petition for service on the defendant. You may request a delay in service up to 72 hours from the time the Order of Protection is granted. The law enforcement agency closest to the defendant’s address will be assigned to serve the Order of Protection. There is no charge for service of an Order of Protection.

Service of an Injunction Against Harassment

If the judge grants your Injunction Against Harassment or an Injunction Against Workplace Harassment, you—not the court—must arrange for service of the injunction. The court will give you information on how to arrange for service of the injunction. If the injunction is based on sexual violence, there is no fee for service. Ask the court about fee deferral or waiver if you cannot afford to pay a fee for service. The court will decide whether you are eligible for a fee deferral or waiver.

NOTE - The Protective Order (either the Order of Protection, or the Injunction Against Harassment) is not valid until it has officially been served by police, or a process server. The more detailed and accurate information you can provide regarding the location(s) where the defendant can be served greatly increases the likelihood the order will be successfully served. This type of information includes complete and correct addresses as well as the locations of where the defendant lives, works and frequents and the times the defendant might be present there.

Order of Protection and Injunction Against Harassment Time Periods

Please be aware of the following time periods as related to serving Protective Orders:

If the Order of Protection is not served within one year, it automatically expires
If the Injunction Against Harassment is not served within one year, it automatically expires.
Protective Orders served before 9/24/22 are in effect for one year from date of service.
Protective Orders served on, or after 9/24/22, are in effect for two years from date of service.
Injunctions Against Harassment are in effect for one year from date of service.

The person you filed and obtained a Protective Order against can request a hearing anytime prior to the expiration of the order. If this occurs, the hearing will be set 5 to 10 days from the date of request and you will be notified by the Phoenix Municipal Court. It is critical that you keep the Court's Protective Order Center informed of any change in telephone or address.

If you fail to appear for the hearing, the Protective Order may be dismissed.

Protective Order (Orders of Protection, Injunctions Against Harassment) can only be dismissed by a judge. If you successfully obtained a Protective Order and would like the Court to consider dismissing the order, you must go to the Court's Protective Order Center with a valid picture I.D. and complete the required paperwork provided by court staff.

Phoenix Police Department