Illinois Orders of Protection, Stalking and Civil No Contact Orders: Which Fits?

Which Illinois protection order fits the conduct and relationship?

The names are not interchangeable. Start with what happened and your relationship to the other person, not the label “restraining order.” A lawyer can assess overlapping facts and identify the proper petition.

Order of Protection: domestic abuse and qualifying relationships

An Order of Protection commonly addresses abuse by a spouse, former spouse, dating partner, relative, someone who shares or formerly shared a home, or someone with whom a person has or allegedly has a child. The statutory definition also covers certain disability-care relationships; a casual acquaintance is not automatically a dating partner. Other protected people can include children and dependent adults. See 750 ILCS 60/103 and Section 201.

Abuse is not limited to a physical injury. The Act addresses conduct including harassment, interference with personal liberty, intimidation of a dependent and willful deprivation. But an ordinary disagreement does not automatically establish the statutory elements.

Requested remedies may concern prohibited abuse, contact, access to a residence, children, property or firearms. Each remedy has its own requirements; filing a petition does not automatically award every form of relief. Section 214 explains the available remedies. Someone facing threats from a former partner may therefore need more than a generic request to stop texting.

Stalking No Contact Order: stalking and qualifying harassment

Under 740 ILCS 21/15, this petition is available when relief is not available under the Domestic Violence Act. It is often relevant to conduct by a neighbor, coworker or acquaintance, but “not related” is an incomplete eligibility test.

Section 10 defines a course of conduct as two or more acts and addresses conduct the respondent knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for safety or suffer emotional distress. Examples can include following, surveillance, electronic tracking and unwanted electronic contact.

The current law also includes harassment that is not necessary to accomplish a purpose reasonable under the circumstances, would cause a reasonable person emotional distress, and causes the petitioner emotional distress. That language was added by Public Act 104-251, effective August 15, 2025. A simple “two messages always qualify” or “one incident never matters” rule can mislead. Otherwise lawful speech and assembly are excluded. The context and evidence matter.

Under Section 80, relief can address stalking, contact, distance from protected people or locations, firearms and other protective measures authorized by the Act.

Civil No Contact Order: nonconsensual sexual conduct

A Civil No Contact Order addresses nonconsensual sexual conduct or nonconsensual sexual penetration. A single qualifying incident can support a petition; the parties do not need to have dated, lived together or been related. The Act also identifies who can petition on another person's behalf and additional people who may be protected. See 740 ILCS 22/201.

Despite its broad-sounding name, a CNCO is not the general remedy for every unwanted message or neighborhood dispute. Under Section 213, the court may prohibit contact, set distance requirements, protect specified places, property or animals, and order other appropriate injunctive relief. Physical injury is not a prerequisite. Where students attend the same school, the statute requires attention to safety and educational considerations.

Civil petitions, criminal conditions and parenting orders do different jobs

You do not need to wait for a criminal conviction to seek an independent civil protection order. In proceedings under these civil Acts, the proof standard is a preponderance of the evidence: the required facts must be more likely true than not. See 750 ILCS 60/205, 740 ILCS 21/30 and 740 ILCS 22/204. That is different from proving criminal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

A criminal case can separately impose no-contact conditions of pretrial release, sometimes still called “bond conditions.” Those restrictions arise from the criminal case under 725 ILCS 5/110-10. A criminal court can also enter a protective order under Article 112A, which has its own procedures. A release condition and a protective order are not the same document.

For a parent, a third issue is the child's existing allocation judgment or parenting plan. Restrictions under 750 ILCS 5/603.10 require the prescribed hearing and findings of serious endangerment or significant impairment of emotional development. Protective arrangements may include supervised time or protected exchanges. The family court does not decide that issue merely by counting hostile texts.

An emergency OP cannot award the Act's legal-custody remedy, but physical care or possession of a child may be available under the applicable requirements. See Section 217 and Section 214(b)(5). Bring every existing order to counsel; do not assume one case silently changes another.

Emergency, interim and plenary describe different stages

An emergency request may be considered without advance notice when the governing requirements are met. The court must assess jurisdiction, eligibility and the required good-cause showing. SNCO and CNCO emergency provisions focus on harm likely to occur if notice were given. OP requirements also depend on the particular remedy. See OP Section 217, SNCO Section 95 and CNCO Section 214.

Under the civil Acts, emergency orders generally have a 14-to-21-day term, subject to reopening, extension or replacement. The Domestic Violence Act also provides an interim OP of up to 30 days. Its requirements include notice and an appearance, service, or diligent attempts to complete required service; certain remedies have additional limits. Do not import that 30-day OP rule into a different Act. See Section 218.

A plenary order requires the applicable notice, service or appearance requirements and an opportunity to be heard. A respondent's failure to attend does not necessarily prevent a default order. Plenary terms are ordinarily up to two years, with statutory exceptions and extensions; some OP and CNCO extensions can continue until modified or vacated. The signed order and applicable statute control, not an assumed anniversary. See OP duration, SNCO duration and CNCO duration.

Chicago filing location changed for stalking orders in September 2026

Effective September 21, 2026, Chicago-filed SNCO proceedings are assigned to the First Municipal District at the Richard J. Daley Center. General Administrative Order 2026-18 directs filings to the Clerk's Office on the Concourse Level, Room CL24, and states that SNCO filings will no longer be accepted at 555 W. Harrison Street.

That order expressly leaves OP, CNCO and criminal proceedings unchanged. Suburban matters and cases connected with pending family proceedings require their own routing check. Confirm current filing and hearing instructions using the Cook County court's protective-order page. Do not assume every protective petition belongs at one courthouse or that submitting it guarantees immediate relief. Our Chicago OP filing guide addresses the separate filing process.

Prepare facts that help identify the right remedy

Organize a dated timeline: what happened, who was present, the relationship, how contact occurred and why a particular restriction is needed. Preserve original messages, call records and available photographs without editing their contents. Identify witnesses and related case numbers. Explain effects on work, school, housing or child exchanges with concrete examples.

If you were served, read the entire order and hearing notice. Preserve your evidence and obtain advice about responding. Do not contact a protected person to negotiate an exception to an order that prohibits contact. If orders appear inconsistent, request court clarification; private consent is not a substitute for a court change.

If there is immediate danger, call 911. For legal help choosing a petition or responding to one, review our Chicago protection-order services and schedule a free initial consultation if you are considering hiring the firm. Bring the orders and deadlines first. Representation, covered hearings and fees are confirmed separately; no particular outcome or hearing date is promised.

Official sources

• 750 ILCS 60/103
• Section 201
• Section 214
• 740 ILCS 21/15
• Section 10
• Public Act 104-251, effective August 15, 2025
• Section 80
• 740 ILCS 22/201
• Section 213
• 750 ILCS 60/205
• 740 ILCS 21/30
• 740 ILCS 22/204
• 725 ILCS 5/110-10
• Article 112A
• 750 ILCS 5/603.10
• Section 217
• SNCO Section 95
• CNCO Section 214
• Section 218
• OP duration
• SNCO duration
• CNCO duration
• General Administrative Order 2026-18
• Cook County court's protective-order page