How to Get a PPO in Michigan: The Petition Process Step by Step

To get a personal protection order (PPO) in Michigan, you file a written petition in the family division of circuit court, on a form the court provides free of charge.^[2][3] There is no filing fee.^[1] A judge either rules on the petition without notice to the other person (an ex parte order) or sets a hearing.^[8][9]

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free and confidential, and it answers around the clock at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.^[10]

The steps below follow the court rules in order. A person named as a respondent in a petition will find the other side of the same process in Served with a PPO: what to do.

Step 1: Identify which type of PPO fits

Michigan has three types of PPO, and each has its own petition form.^[11][12] A domestic relationship PPO applies where the other person is a spouse or former spouse, someone with whom you have a child in common, a current or former dating partner, or a current or former household member.^[13] If none of those fits, the options are a nondomestic stalking PPO or a nondomestic sexual assault PPO.^[14][15] The tests for each are in Types of PPOs in Michigan.

Situation	Petition form	Order form
Domestic relationship, adult respondent	CC 375	CC 376[12]
Domestic relationship, minor respondent	CC 375M	CC 376M[12]
Nondomestic (stalking), adult respondent	CC 377	CC 380[12]
Nondomestic (stalking), minor respondent	CC 377M	CC 380M[12][16]
Nondomestic sexual assault	CC 395 (CC 395M for a minor respondent)	CC 396 (CC 396M for a minor respondent)[12][16]

These are State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) forms, published on the Michigan Courts forms page.^[12] The court must provide them without charge.^[3]

Step 2: Choose where to file

PPO cases are heard only in the family division of circuit court.^[2] If the respondent is an adult, you may file in any county in Michigan regardless of residency. If the respondent is a minor, the petition is filed in either the petitioner's or the respondent's county of residence.^[4]

The petition has to be its own case. Under MCR 3.703(A), a personal protection action may not be started by filing a motion in an existing case or by joining a claim to another action, so a PPO is not requested by motion in a pending divorce.^[1] A divorce court may still issue a PPO, but it does so under the PPO court rules.^[17]

Step 3: Write the petition

Under MCR 3.703(B), a petition must:

• be in writing;^[18]
• state with particularity the facts on which it is based;^[18]
• state the relief sought and the conduct to be restrained;^[18]
• state whether an ex parte order is being sought;^[18]
• state whether a PPO action involving the same parties has been started in another jurisdiction;^[18]
• be signed.^[18]

"With particularity" means specifics. Dates, places, the words used, what happened, and who saw it are more useful to a judge than general descriptions. A working checklist is in Preparing a PPO petition, and the conduct you can ask the court to restrain is listed in What a PPO can prohibit.^[19]

Three other points about the petition:

• Your address. You may leave your residence address off the court documents, but you must give the court a mailing address.^[20] Other tools are described in Address confidentiality and safety tools.
• The respondent's job. If you know the respondent is a police officer, sheriff or deputy, State Police member, corrections officer, federal officer who carries a firearm at work, or a concealed-weapon licensee who is required to carry a weapon for work, you must notify the court of that occupation before the PPO is issued.^[21]
• Accuracy. A person who knowingly and intentionally makes a false statement to the court in support of a PPO petition is subject to the court's contempt powers.^[22] See False or retaliatory PPO petitions.

Step 4: Decide whether to ask for an ex parte order

An ex parte PPO is one issued without written or oral notice to the respondent. It is available when specific facts in a verified complaint, written motion, or affidavit clearly show that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result from the delay needed to give notice, or that the notice itself will precipitate adverse action before a PPO can be issued.^[8] The court must rule on the request within one business day of the filing date.^[5] The standard and what follows a denial are covered in Ex parte PPOs in Michigan.

If you do not ask for an ex parte order, the court must schedule a hearing as soon as possible, unless it determines after interviewing you that the claims are sufficiently without merit that the action should be dismissed without a hearing.^[23][9]

Step 5: What the judge decides

For a domestic relationship PPO, the court must issue the order if it determines there is reasonable cause to believe the respondent may commit one or more of the acts listed in the statute.^[24] The burden of showing that falls on the petitioner.^[25] For a nondomestic stalking PPO, the petition must allege facts that constitute stalking or the other conduct the statute covers.^[14] For a nondomestic sexual assault PPO, the court looks for a conviction, or for a petition alleging facts that show the respondent perpetrated or threatened sexual assault against the petitioner.^[15]

If the court refuses to grant a PPO, it must immediately state its specific reasons in writing.^[26]

Step 6: If there is a hearing

When a hearing is set, the petitioner must have the respondent served with the petition and notice of hearing, personally or by registered or certified mail with restricted delivery. One day before the hearing is deemed sufficient notice for a domestic relationship or nondomestic stalking petition, and two days for a nondomestic sexual assault petition.^[27]

The petitioner must attend. If the petitioner does not, the court may adjourn and reschedule or dismiss the petition. If the respondent does not appear and the court finds the petitioner made diligent attempts at service, the court may enter the order if the petitioner is entitled to relief.^[28] See What to expect at a PPO hearing.

Step 7: After the order is signed

A PPO is effective and immediately enforceable anywhere in Michigan after a judge signs it.^[6] The clerk must immediately file a copy with the law enforcement agency named in the order, without requiring proof of service, and that agency must enter it into the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN).^[29]

Service is the petitioner's responsibility. The order must be served on the respondent personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, with delivery restricted to the addressee, by a legally competent adult who is not a party.^[7] If the respondent has not been served, a police officer or court clerk who knows of the PPO may serve it or tell the respondent about it at any time.^[30] Failure to serve the order does not affect its validity.^[6]

Keep a copy of the order with you, and note the expiration date printed on it. A petitioner who wants the order to continue must file a motion to extend it no later than 3 days before it expires.^[31] See How long a PPO lasts.

What it costs

There are no fees for filing a personal protection action.^[1] There are also no motion fees for modifying, terminating, or extending a PPO, and no fee for a petitioner's motion to have the respondent held in contempt for a violation.^[32]

Where to get help with the forms

On request, the court may help a person complete the forms and may explain the requirements for proper service, but it may not provide legal assistance.^[3] The family division in each county may provide a domestic violence victim advocate to assist with obtaining a PPO; an advocate may not represent or advocate for the person in court.^[33] Local agencies are listed in Where to get help in West Michigan.

Other things a petitioner can ask about

Your phone number. In a domestic relationship or nondomestic stalking PPO case, if you are not the named account holder, the court may order the wireless provider to transfer billing responsibility for and rights to your wireless number to you.^[34]

Children. A PPO takes precedence over an existing custody or parenting time order until the PPO expires or the custody court modifies its order.^[35] See PPOs, children, and parenting time.

If the order is violated. If the respondent violates the PPO and is not arrested, the petitioner may file a motion, supported by an affidavit, to have the respondent found in contempt.^[36] See PPO violation penalties.

A pending criminal case. A PPO is separate from any no-contact condition a criminal court places on a defendant's bond.^[37] The differences are in PPO vs. no-contact order vs. restraining order.