Orders of Protection in Family Court

An order of protection can be issued in Family Court, in criminal court, or in Supreme Court as part of a divorce. This page is about the Family Court proceeding, which is called a family offense proceeding under Article 8 of the Family Court Act. It is a civil case, the standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, and it can be brought whether or not anyone was arrested. Because the stakes for both sides are high, both sides are addressed here.

Who can file?

A person who is related to the respondent by blood or marriage, is or was married to the respondent, has a child in common with the respondent, or is or was in an intimate relationship with the respondent. The intimate relationship category covers dating relationships and is decided case by case.

What is a family offense?

Family Court Act 812 lists the criminal acts that qualify. As of 2026 the list is disorderly conduct, unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image, harassment in the first and second degree, aggravated harassment in the second degree, sexual misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse in the second and third degree, stalking in each degree, criminal mischief, menacing in the second and third degree, reckless endangerment, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, strangulation in the first and second degree, assault in the second and third degree, attempted assault, identity theft in each degree, grand larceny in the third and fourth degree, and coercion in the second and third degree.

The petitioner has to prove that the respondent committed one of those acts, as defined in the Penal Law, against the petitioner. Coercive control is not on the list. Bills that would add it have been pending in Albany since 2025 and have not passed. A pattern of controlling behavior that does not amount to one of the listed offenses does not support an order of protection in Family Court, although it may be relevant in a custody case.

What happens when a petition is filed?

The petitioner appears before a judge, usually the same day, and can request a temporary order of protection without the respondent present. If granted, the temporary order is served on the respondent with the petition and a return date. Temporary orders are routinely granted on the petition alone, which is why a respondent should treat service as the start of a serious case rather than a misunderstanding to be cleared up at the next date.

On the return date, the respondent can consent to an order without admitting anything, which is common and which has consequences discussed below, or deny the allegations and request a hearing. At the hearing, both sides testify, witnesses and documents are presented, and the judge decides whether a family offense was committed. If it was, the judge issues a final order.

What does an order do?

An order can direct the respondent to stay away from the petitioner, the petitioner's home, school, and place of employment, and the children. It can direct the respondent to refrain from specific conduct while allowing contact, which is called a limited or refrain-from order. It can exclude the respondent from the home even if the respondent owns it. It can award temporary custody and child support, direct the respondent to pay counsel fees and medical costs, direct participation in a batterer's program, and cover the family pet.

A final order lasts up to two years. It can last up to five years where the court finds on the record that there were aggravating circumstances, which the statute defines to include physical injury to the petitioner, the use of a dangerous instrument, a history of repeated violations of prior orders, prior convictions for crimes against the petitioner, or exposing a family member to physical injury, or where the conduct violated an existing order of protection.

What does an order do to my custody case, my job, and my pistol license?

This is the part that a respondent needs to understand before consenting to anything.

Custody. A finding that a family offense was committed is a finding of domestic violence that the court must consider in any custody proceeding under DRL 240. In April 2026, the Second Department affirmed an order that, after findings of assault and menacing, gave the mother final decision making authority and limited the father to therapeutic supervised access. An order entered on consent without a finding is not a finding, but it will be in the file of every custody case that follows.

Employment. Police officers, corrections officers, security guards, and others who carry firearms for a living can lose the ability to work under an order that prohibits possession of a firearm. Professionals with licenses may have reporting obligations.

Firearms and pistol licenses. Under CPL 530.14 and Family Court Act 842-a, the court must suspend a pistol license and order the surrender of all firearms when a temporary order issues if the respondent has a prior violent felony conviction, a prior willful violation of an order of protection involving injury or a weapon, or a prior stalking conviction. In other cases, the suspension is discretionary on a finding that there is a substantial risk the respondent may use or threaten to use a firearm unlawfully. On a final order, revocation is mandatory where the Penal Law requires it and otherwise discretionary on the same finding. In Suffolk County, the Pistol Licensing Bureau will act on any order that reaches it, and getting a license back after a revocation is a separate and difficult proceeding.

Immigration, housing, and background checks are additional consequences depending on the respondent's situation.

Defending a petition

Respondents lose these cases by ignoring them and by consenting to get it over with. The defense starts with the petition itself: the specific acts alleged, the dates, and whether the conduct described actually meets the elements of a listed offense. Harassment in the second degree, the most common allegation, requires intent to harass, annoy, or alarm, and the courts have repeatedly held that isolated statements, even angry ones, do not meet the standard. In May 2026, the Second Department affirmed a harassment finding but vacated a stalking finding in the same case for insufficient evidence, and in July 2026 it vacated an attempted assault finding as duplicative of the assault finding. The details matter and the record is where the case is won.

Text messages, call logs, photographs, and the timing of the petition relative to a custody filing are the evidence in most of these cases, for both sides.

Bringing a petition

If you are the petitioner, the petition should describe specific incidents with dates and places, not characterizations. Bring the photographs, the messages, the police reports, and the medical records to the first appearance. Ask for the relief you actually need, including exclusion from the home, temporary custody, and support, because the temporary order is often in place for months. And understand that a petition filed on the eve of a custody hearing will be read in that light by the judge.

Call 516-928-5838 or use the contact form to schedule a free thirty-minute consultation. Family offense matters in Suffolk are heard in the Family Court at 400 Carleton Avenue in Central Islip and at 210 Center Drive in Riverhead. In Nassau, they are heard at the Family Court at 101 County Seat Drive in Mineola.