Help for people served with an order of protection
If you have been served, you will have a chance to respond before a plenary order is entered: the petitioner must have served notice of the hearing on you, among other requirements (750 ILCS 60/219). An emergency order can be entered earlier, without prior notice to you, when, for each remedy requested, the petitioner meets the Act's requirements and shows good cause to act without notice (750 ILCS 60/217(a)). That is why you may first learn of the case when you are served.
Chicago Family Attorneys LLC represents respondents in the civil case. The firm can:
- review the petition, any emergency order and the notice of hearing with you;
- explain what the order requires while it is in effect;
- ask the court to re-hear an emergency or interim order when the law allows it;
- prepare and present your evidence and testimony at the plenary hearing; and
- handle related divorce, parentage and parenting time issues.
The firm practices family law only and does not handle criminal charges. If the same events led to a criminal charge, that case needs a criminal defense lawyer. No lawyer can promise how a judge will rule. Consultations are by phone; a free weekend consultation is available by Zoom.
The firm's order of protection lawyer page explains the process for both sides, and how to respond to an order of protection in Illinois walks through the first steps.
What to do in the first days after service
Read every page, follow every term and write down the next court date. The order lists what you must not do, the places to stay away from, any terms about children or the home, and when it ends.
Follow every term, even if you disagree
Knowingly violating the order's core terms, such as the ban on abuse, a stay away term, exclusive possession of the home or a firearms ban, is a Class A misdemeanor once you have been served or otherwise know what the order says. It is a Class 4 felony with certain prior convictions, including domestic battery or an earlier violation (720 ILCS 5/12-3.4(a) and (d)).
Disagreeing with the order does not change it. If the petitioner contacts you or invites contact, the order still applies until a judge changes it. Avoiding service does not help: the court can extend an emergency order (750 ILCS 60/220(e)), and it can enter an interim order while the petitioner is still diligently trying to have you formally served, provided notice of that hearing was given to you as the Act requires (750 ILCS 60/218(a)).
Do not contact the petitioner
Unless the order allows it, do not contact the petitioner in person, by phone, by text, by email or on social media, and do not ask friends or family to pass along a message. Under 720 ILCS 5/12-3.4(f), a person who directs someone else to do what the order prohibits is treated as having done it personally. If the petitioner contacts you, keep a record of it and do not reply unless the order allows it.
Your belongings and the home
If the order gives the petitioner exclusive possession of the home or orders you to stay away, the court may allow you one visit to collect clothing, medications and other items it directs. An agreed adult or a law enforcement officer must be present (750 ILCS 60/214(b)(3)(A)). Do not go back to collect anything on your own.
How can a respondent contest an order of protection?
You can ask the court to re-hear an emergency or interim order, and you can present your side at the plenary hearing. In both, the decision rests on the evidence and the requirements of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act.
Re-hearing an emergency or interim order
A respondent under an emergency or interim order can appear and petition the court to re-hear the original or amended petition on 2 days' notice to the petitioner, or shorter notice if the court allows. The petition must be verified. It must allege that you did not receive prior notice of the hearing where the order was entered, and that you had a meritorious defense or that the order or one of its remedies was not authorized by the Act (750 ILCS 60/224(d)).
If the order gave the petitioner exclusive possession of the home and your petition seeks to reopen or vacate that grant, the court must set a hearing on the possession issues within 14 days (750 ILCS 60/224(e)). If you appear at the hearing for an emergency or interim order, you may file a general appearance and testify. At an emergency hearing the court can then enter a 30-day interim order, and at an interim hearing a plenary order, if all the requirements for that order are met (750 ILCS 60/217(b) and 218(b)). Come prepared to present your side.
The plenary hearing
The case follows the rules of civil procedure, and the petitioner must prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence (750 ILCS 60/205(a)). If the court finds that the petitioner was abused by a family or household member, an order prohibiting the abuse issues, provided the requirements for that type of order are also met (750 ILCS 60/214(a)). For each remedy requested, the petitioner must establish its requirements (750 ILCS 60/219).
A plenary order also requires that the respondent has answered or is in default (750 ILCS 60/219). If you do not appear, the court can enter the order without hearing from you, so plan to attend, in person or remotely as the court directs.
At the hearing, both sides can testify and offer evidence. Organize yours by the dates in the petition: messages, call logs, photos, records that show where you were, and the names of people who saw the events. Either side may ask for more time to prepare, and the judge decides whether to continue the hearing.
If you believe the petition is untrue
Show it through evidence at the hearing, not through contact with the petitioner. A petition for an order of protection must be in writing and verified or supported by an affidavit, and must allege abuse by a family or household member (750 ILCS 60/203(a)). Under 735 ILCS 5/1-109, a person who makes a material false statement that the person does not believe to be true, in a court document certified under that section, is guilty of a Class 3 felony. The rule applies to both sides, including a respondent's verified petition to re-hear. The judge weighs the testimony and evidence from both sides.
Effects on parenting time, the home and firearms
An order of protection can limit parenting time, give the petitioner the home and bar firearm possession, so prepare for these issues along with the allegations.
Parenting time
When the order gives the petitioner physical care of a child or temporary decision-making, the court decides the respondent's parenting time. It must restrict or deny that parenting time if it finds that the respondent has done, or is likely to do, any of these:
- abuse or endanger the child during parenting time;
- use parenting time to abuse or harass the petitioner or the petitioner's family or household members;
- improperly conceal or detain the child; or
- otherwise act against the child's best interests.
Any parenting time the court grants must be spelled out with dates and times or other specific conditions (750 ILCS 60/214(b)(7)). Either side can ask the court to modify an order's custody, visitation or support remedies under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 60/224(b)). See orders of protection in Illinois child custody cases.
The home
An order can bar the respondent from a residence the petitioner has a right to live in, even one the respondent owns or leases, without changing who owns it (750 ILCS 60/214(b)(2)). When both have a right to live there, the court balances the hardships. The statute presumes the balance favors the petitioner. The respondent can overcome that presumption only by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the respondent's hardships substantially outweigh the hardships to the petitioner and to any minor child or dependent adult in the petitioner's care (750 ILCS 60/214(b)(2)(B)).
Firearms
When an order prohibits firearm possession under 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(14.5), the court orders the respondent to surrender firearms and firearm parts that could be assembled into a working firearm. Those on the respondent or at the place of service go to the serving officers at the time of service, and any others go to local law enforcement within 24 hours of service. With limited exceptions, the court also orders the respondent's Firearm Owner's Identification Card and any concealed carry license turned over. You may not give them to another person instead of surrendering them. After they are surrendered, the court can approve a transfer to a qualified third party on your motion (750 ILCS 60/214(b)(14.5)(C)(i) and (E)).
How long the order lasts
An emergency order lasts 14 to 21 days and an interim order up to 30 days, unless it is reopened, extended or replaced by a longer order (750 ILCS 60/220(a)). A plenary order is valid for a fixed period of up to two years. A plenary order entered as preliminary relief in a divorce or other civil case lasts until final judgment in that case, and one incorporated into the final judgment lasts until it is vacated or modified (750 ILCS 60/220(b)). More than 30 days after a plenary order is entered, the court may modify it only when changes in the law or the facts since its entry warrant it (750 ILCS 60/224(c)). This does not limit other ways the law allows an order to be vacated or modified (750 ILCS 60/224(f)).
The rules for extending an order change on January 1, 2027. Under the current text, an uncontested extension that seeks no change to the order can rest on the petitioner's motion or affidavit stating that there has been no material change in relevant circumstances and the reason for the extension. Under P.A. 104-754, from January 1, 2027, the court must grant a motion to extend a plenary order if the requirements of Section 219 are met and there has been no material change, and it may not deny the motion solely because there was no violation of the order or new incident of abuse. If you are served with that motion and do not contest it, the court may grant it based only on the petitioner's motion and affidavit (750 ILCS 60/220(e)).
If the same events led to a criminal charge, the criminal case runs separately, and what you say in the civil case can matter there, so talk with a criminal defense lawyer about that case.
Where are order of protection cases heard in Cook County?
In Chicago, the Domestic Violence Division hears civil orders of protection at the Domestic Violence Courthouse, 555 W. Harrison St. When a divorce or other domestic relations case is pending, the Domestic Relations Division hears civil orders of protection filed in conjunction with it.
The court's suburban municipal districts hear orders of protection too; the Fourth Municipal District at the Maywood Courthouse, for example, lists them among its cases. Your summons and notice of hearing show the courthouse, courtroom and date, and the court decides whether you appear in person or remotely.
Fees for order of protection defense
Attorney fees depend on the help you need:
- Limited scope help: drafting from $500; one hearing appearance from $1,200.
- Full representation: an initial payment of $1,500 to $2,500, then $500 to $650 per month beginning 30 days after the initial payment while representation remains active.
Any court costs that apply, service costs and the fees of outside professionals are separate; the client pays them and the firm does not advance them. Your fee and scope are confirmed in writing before you engage the firm. See order of protection lawyer cost in Chicago and limited scope fees.
Talk with a family law attorney
Consultations are by phone; a free weekend consultation is available by Zoom. If it is not safe for someone to see your messages or call history, tell us the safest way to reach you.
To make the call useful, have ready:
- the petition, any emergency order and the notice of hearing, with any proof of service you received;
- a dated outline of the events in the petition, written from your own memory and records;
- messages, call logs, photos or other records connected to those dates, and the names of witnesses; and
- any divorce, parentage, parenting or support orders, and the number of any criminal case.
Call 312-965-5618 or book a consultation online.
If you are in danger now
Call 911 if you are in immediate danger.
The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338, or TTY (877) 863-6339, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is (800) 799-7233, or TTY (800) 787-3224. Both answer 24 hours a day. The Circuit Court of Cook County notes that domestic violence advocacy organizations may help people seeking or responding to orders of protection, and that the Illinois hotline takes calls and texts 24 hours a day, with help in more than 240 languages.