English
EspañolStep 1: Go to court and request the forms for a domestic abuse protection order (DAPO).
You can file a petition for a domestic abuse protection order (DAPO) in a municipal, justice, county, chancery, or state military court. If you’re not sure where to file, you can use our website to learn more about the different types of orders in Mississippi and what kinds of protection orders each court can grant.
You can find a court near you by going to our Mississippi Courthouse Locations page.
If you’d like to look at the petition before you get to court, you can also find links to forms online by going to our Mississippi Download Court Forms page.
1 Miss. Code § 93-21-7(2)
Step 2: Fill out the necessary forms.
On the protection order form, you will be the “petitioner” and the abuser will be the “respondent.” Write about the most recent incidents of violence, using descriptive language that fits your specific situation. For example, you might use words like “slapping,” “hitting,” “grabbing,” “threatening,” “choking,” etc. Include details and dates, if possible. Describe any property damage, any hospital visits or medical appointments due to the abuse, and explain whether the abuser owns or has threatened you with a weapon. Be specific.
If you need help filling out the forms, ask the clerk. Some courts may have an advocate who can assist you, or a domestic violence organization may be able to help. Please visit our Mississippi Advocates and Shelters page to find a local program.
Note: The form may need to be notarized. Do not sign the petition until you have shown it to a clerk.
Step 3: A judge will review your application.
After you finish filling out the forms, bring them to the court clerk. The clerk will forward them to a judge who may want to ask you questions as they review your petition.
If you asked for emergency protection, the judge will decide whether or not to grant you an emergency order. They will set a date for a temporary or final protection order hearing. You will be given papers that list the date and time of your hearing.
If the judge grants you an emergency protection order, the court clerk will give you a copy of the order. Review the order before you leave the courthouse to make sure that the information is correct. If something is wrong or missing, ask the clerk how to correct the order before you leave.
Step 4: Service of process
The abuser must be served with a notice of hearing and with any emergency order that a judge has granted you. The emergency order is not enforceable until it has been served on the abuser.
Service policies vary from county to county. In some counties, the court may send copies of the order and notice of hearing to the police or sheriff. The police or sheriff will then serve the abuser. However, in other counties, you may have to bring the papers to the sheriff or police yourself.
Ask the judge, the court clerk or a domestic violence organization for more information about serving the abuser. Do not attempt to serve the papers on the abuser yourself.
You can find more information about service of process in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section, in the question called What is service of process and how do I accomplish it?
Step 5: The hearing
In Mississippi, not all courts can grant a final order. You can learn more about which types of orders each court can grant by reading the question In what court can I file my protection order? If you filed your petition in municipal or justice court, you will have to file a new petition in chancery or county court if you want to ask for a final order.1
On the day you filed your petition, the judge should have set a date for a hearing within ten days.2 You must go to the hearing. If you do not go to the hearing, your emergency order will expire and you will have to start the process over. If the abuser does not show up for the hearing, the judge may:
- grant you a temporary or final protection order anyway; or
- set a new hearing date (“continuance”).
Continuance. You have the right to bring a lawyer to represent you at the hearing. If you show up to court and the abuser has a lawyer and you do not, you may ask the judge for a continuance. This means asking them to set a later court date so you can have time to find a lawyer for yourself. They can also reissue or extend your emergency order for up to 20 days if your original one will expire before the rescheduled hearing.3
If you are going to be representing yourself, you can go to our Preparing For Court - By Yourself page for ways you can show the judge that you were abused. For legal referrals, go to our Mississippi Finding a Lawyer page.
1 See Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, page 2, from the Attorney General’s Office website; see also Guide to the Mississippi Court and Legal System, page 7, from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence
2 Miss. Code § 93-21-11(1)
3 Miss. Code § 93-21-13(1)(c)
