A Personal Protection Order (PPO) is an order that may be signed by the Judge that grants certain restrictions against the Respondent. The person obtaining the PPO is the "Petitioner" and they will complete a Petition for a Personal Protection Order and a written statement. In the Petition, the Petitioner checks the boxes of the restrictions that they are seeking from the PPO. The person against whom the PPO is filed is the "Respondent" and if the PPO is granted by the Judge, they are the one whose behavior is restricted.

All the information provided to the Court is public information. Furthermore, if a PPO is granted, the paperwork needs to be served on the Respondent (see below). If you do not feel comfortable giving your actual address or if the Respondent does not currently know your actual address, you may use a safe address. You will, however, need to complete a safe address form that will only be submitted to the Police Department so that they will be able to locate the Petitioner if they need to.

• Respondent's full, legal name.
• Respondent's current address or a place that they can receive mail (i.e., work).
• Respondent's date of birth or specific age. Date of birth is preferred.
• Written Statement (see below).

• A PPO cannot be obtained on a minor who is under 10 years old.
• A parent/legal guardian cannot get a PPO against their minor child.
• A minor child cannot get a PPO against their parent/legal guardian.
• A minor can get a PPO but they need to have an adult who will act as their "Next Friend".
• A PPO can be obtained against a minor who is over 10 years old but the Petitioner needs to have information regarding the minor’s parent(s)/legal guardian(s).

1.    Domestic PPO- this is used when the Petitioner and Respondent:

• are married/been married
• are living together/have lived together
• have a child in common
• are dating or have dated in the past

2.    Non-Domestic PPO- this is when the Petitioner and Respondent’s relationship does not fall   within the Domestic PPO.

There is a difference between which restrictions are available according to the type of paperwork the Petitioner completes.

• Prevent the Respondent from entering onto the property where Petitioner lives
• Prevent the Respondent from entering onto property at a different address where the Petitioner often goes
• Prevent the Respondent from assaulting, attacking, beating, molesting or wounding the Petitioner
• Prevent the Respondent from removing the minor child (children) from Petitioner who has LEGAL custody except when allowed by custody or parenting time orders- this is only marked if the Petitioner and Respondent have children together and there is already a custody/parenting time order in place.
• Prevent the Respondent from stalking the Petitioner, these behaviors include:

In order to get a PPO granted by the Judge, the Petitioner will need to establish either a pattern of stalking behaviors which include two or more unconsented contacts with the Petitioner and the Petitioner feels terrorized or in fear of imminent danger and/or past physical assaults by the Respondent and/or threats to physically injure the Petitioner.

• specific dates and time of incidents
• types of physical abuse, verbal abuse and/or stalking behaviors
• where the incidents occurred
• threats that have been made
• any police involvement (this is not required)
• any medical treatment received (this is not required)
• how you feel
• type of relationship between Petitioner and Respondent

The Judge will read your statement and determine if a PPO should be granted and which restrictions are necessary according to the information in your statement. You should try to include information about each restriction that you are seeking.

1. Ex Parte Order- this asks the Judge to consider only the Petitioner's statement and the Petition for Personal Protection Order without the Respondent becoming involved. The Judge usually has 24 hours in which to make a decision on your ex parte request. This option should be selected on the Petition if the Petitioner feels that some irreparable injury or harm will occur between now and the hearing date which may be held in several weeks.
2. Hearing- a hearing needs to be scheduled so that both the Petitioner and the Respondent can be present in front of the Judge to tell their side of the story.

If granted, the Petition for Personal Protection Order, the Personal Protection Order and the written statement will need to be served upon the Respondent. There are three ways in which a Respondent may be served:

1. Personal Service- this allows someone other than the Petitioner who is 18 years of age or older to personally hand the paperwork to the Respondent. That person will then need to fill out the Proof of Service form.
2. Certified Mail- this allows the Petitioner to mail the paperwork to the Respondent by Certified Mail. The receipt that is attached by the post office will need to be signed by the Respondent themselves, then when it is mailed back to the Petitioner, can be attached to the Proof of Service form.
3. Registered Mail- this allows the Petitioner to mail the paperwork to the Respondent by Registered Mail. The receipt that is attached by the post office will need to be signed by the Respondent themselves, then when it is mailed back to the Petitioner, can be attached to the Proof of Service form.

The Proof of Service form needs to be completed and returned to the Circuit Court Clerks Office on the 1^st floor of the Veterans Memorial Courthouse. The form also needs to be notarized by a public notary and the person who served the paperwork cannot sign the form until they are in the presence of the notary and they must have picture ID with them as well.

The PPO is enforceable even if the PPO has not been served. The service of the PPO allows the Judge to find the Respondent in contempt if they have violated the PPO. If the Respondent has violated the PPO but has not been served, the Judge will not be able to find them in contempt.

The Respondent can still be arrested even if the Petitioner wants to have contact with the Respondent. If the Petitioner no longer wants the PPO in place or they wish to now have contact with the Respondent, the Petitioner may file a Motion to Terminate the PPO.

• Maximum 93 days in jail and /or
• Maximum $500 fine

If you have questions, you may call or visit the PPO Office located on 3R in the Grady Porter Building at 303 W. Kalamazoo Street in Lansing, Michigan. If you would like assistance in filling out the paperwork, please call our office at (517) 483-6545 to schedule an appointment. Our office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

If you do not meet these requirements, you still may be eligible for a Peace Bond, which is available at the District Court Clerk’s office, which is located in the Lansing/East Lansing/Mason City Hall. Peace Bonds are often used for neighbor and non-violent family disputes not covered by the PPO law.