Conozca la Ley: Alabama
ACTUALIZADA 10 de noviembre, 2008
A Protection from Abuse Order (PFA) is a civil order that protects you from abuse by a family or household member.
- Basic Information
- Can I get a Protection from Abuse (PFA) Order?
- What are the steps for getting a PFA?
- After the Hearing
Basic Information
arribaWhat is the legal definition of domestic abuse in Alabama?
For the purpose of getting a Protection from Abuse Order, Alabama law defines "domestic abuse" as the occurrence (actual or attempted) of one or more of the following acts between "family or household members":
- Assault
- Sexual assault and/or sexual abuse
- Restraining you against your will
- Criminal coercion
- Harassment
- Reckless endangerment
- Child abuse
- Kidnapping
- Menacing
- Theft
- Stalking
- Unlawful imprisonment
- Trespass
- Anything else that could be punished as a crime directed toward you or anyone else listed on the Protection from Abuse order.*
arribaWhat is a Protection from Abuse (PFA) order?
A Protection from Abuse order is a civil court order intended to provide protection from abuse caused by force or threats of harm from a family or household member. In other words, a PFA is designed to keep you and/or your children safe from an abuser. There are two types of orders:
Emergency (ex parte) Protection from Abuse orders. If you are in immediate danger of abuse, you may get an Emergency PFA without having to go through a full court hearing. An Emergency PFA will protect you from the time you file for the final order until your full court hearing can take place. The full court hearing usually takes place within 14 days of your filing date.*
The advantage of an Emergency PFA is that you can get one without your abuser present (known as an ex parte order). You can apply for an Emergency PFA by going to the circuit court clerk in the county courthouse in your area. In some counties, you may be required to go to family court or domestic relations court. Tell the clerk you want to apply for an Emergency PFA. You must complete the application form and you may be required to see a judge and explain why you need protection.
The judge can issue an Emergency PFA if s/he decides that it is necessary to protect you or your children from abuse, or from an immediate and present danger of abuse.**
If the judge denies your request for an Emergency PFA, you may still ask the judge to consider your PFA petition through the full court hearing process. This means your abuser will be served with a copy of your request and will have an opportunity to respond.
Final Protection from Abuse orders. A Final PFA can be issued at a hearing where your abuser is given notice of the hearing and has the right to be present. At the hearing, both you and your abuser present evidence (tell your sides of the story) to a judge. Final PFAs are usually good for up to one year unless the judge says otherwise but you may apply to have your PFA extended once it expires.***
Once the hearing date is set for the final PFA, you must attend that hearing or else your temporary order may expire and you will have to start the process over. If your abuser does not show up to that hearing, the judge may grant a Final PFA or s/he may set a new hearing date. If the judge sets a new hearing date, and you had an Emergency PFA, make sure the judge extends the Emergency PFA so that it is effective until the new hearing date.
Note: You may also want to think about seeking shelter while going through the PFA process. You can call the Alabama Domestic Violence hotline, 1-800-650-6522, or contact one of the AL State and Local Programs listed under the Where to Find Help tab at the top of this page.
*Alabama Code § 30-5-6(a)
**Alabama Code § 30-5-6(b)
***Alabama Code § 30-5-7(d) & (e)
arribaHow can a PFA Order help me?
In an emergency (ex parte) protection from abuse order, a judge may grant you:
- Temporary custody of the children
- A police escort to go with you to the home to remove your children from the home to protect the children from abuse
- Any other relief that is necessary to provide for the safety and protection of the victim, victim's minor children and other designated family or household members.
The judge can order the abuser to:
- Stop threatening or committing acts of abuse against you, your children and anyone else in your household
- Stop harassing you and your children
- Stop calling/contacting you and your children
- Stay away from you your home, work, children's school and any other specific place that you go to often
- Be removed from your home, regardless of who owns the home
- Not interfere with the custody of your children
- Not destroy, sell, or conceal joint property.*
In a permanent protection from abuse order, a judge may order all the protections of the emergency (ex parte) order listed above. In addition, a judge can order the abuser to:
- Give you possession (not ownership) of the family home and have the abuser evicted from the home-- or, if both parties consent, the abuser can provide "suitable alternate housing"
- Pay child support and/or spousal support
- Pay attorney's fees and court costs
- Have supervised or unsupervised visitation with the child(ren), if appropriate
- Provide temporary possession of the car to you if you have no other transportation of your own and the abuser either has more than one car or has alternate transportation**
Federal law also states that your abuser may not be able to not have or buy a gun while a permanent PFA order is in place against him. To read more about how to get firearms away from your abuser when you have a PFA order, please see our Gun Law page.
The court can also protect you by removing your address, the address of your family members, or the address of a women's shelter from all documents. If you choose not to give your address, then you must notify the court and provide an alternate address (such as your lawyer's office or the post office box for a shelter where you are staying).***
*Alabama Code §30-5-7(c)**Alabama Code §30-5-7(d)
***Alabama Code §30-5-5(e)
arribaIn which county can I file for a PFA?
You can file for a PFA in the county where you live or in the county where you are temporarily staying if you left your residence to get away from the abuser. However, if there is a civil case or criminal case based on the abuse in the county where you were living, you MUST file in that county; not in the county you are temporarily living in.* Also, if you have left the home and want to keep the address where you are staying confidential, filing in that county would likely not be a good idea since it would alert the abuser to the fact that you are living in that county.
*Alabama Code § 30-5-3(c)