Personal Protection Orders
Under Michigan law, persons filing for Personal Protection Orders (PPOs), must file with the Court Clerk to the Circuit Court. If you believe that you are also a crime victim, the Prosecutor’s Crime Victim’s Rights Coordinator may be able to assist you through the process of obtaining a PPO and acquiring other services within the community. Under Michigan law, the Prosecuting Attorney’s office must assist a PPO plaintiffs during violation hearings, if he/she is not being represented at that hearing by a private attorney. We hope that our PPO pages will help you better understand the process of getting, serving and enforcing a PPO.
A Personal Protection Order (PPO) is a Circuit Court injunctive order that protects victims of Family Violence, Dating Violence or Stalking. A PPO is filed by a Petitioner against a Respondent to stop or restrain the Respondent from:
- Contacting the Petitioner through any means (in person, by phone, by mail or email, etc.)
- Entering the Petitioner’s residence property or work place
- Assaulting, attacking, beating, or wounding the Petitioner
- Harassing, stalking or threatening the Petitioner
- Removing any minor children from where they live unless their removal is part of court-ordered visitation
- Interfering with the Petitioner’s efforts to remove her children or property
- Purchasing or possessing a firearm
- Interfering with or engaging in conduct that impairs Petitioner’s employment or educational environment
- Allowing a non-custodial parent from having access to Petitioner’s home or work address or telephone numbers through a minor child’s records
- Any other specific act that interferes with the Petitioner’s personal liberty or causes a reasonable fear of violence
A PPO Cannot
- Evict a person in a landlord/tenant relationship
- Establish custody or parenting time
- Protect personal property from damage
- Mediate neighbor disputes
- Stop a person from being rude or spreading rumors
- Remove a person from a place they have a legal right to be, such as the local store
Safety Plans
If you need a PPO, especially due to troubles in a domestic relationship, you should also develop a personalized safety plan. This plan helps you assess many areas of your life to identify additional ways to enhance your safety at home, at work, etc. It also helps you prepare in advance for the “What if’s….?” that happen when violence strikes. Review some safety plan suggestions in the Safety Planning section of our Documents and Forms page.
- Getting Your Personal Protection Order
- Serving Your Personal Protection Orders
- Out-of-State Personal Protection Orders
- Personal Protection Order Violations
