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Legal Information: Arkansas

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
January 3, 2024

Step 3: The ex parte hearing.

Give your forms to the clerk. S/he will then give them to the judge who may or may not want to speak to you. Only a judge can review your petition for (and give you) a temporary (ex parte) order of protection if you requested one. The judge can give you a temporary order of protection if s/he finds that:

  • You are in immediate and present danger of domestic abuse; or
  • That the respondent (the abuser) is scheduled to be released from prison within 30 days, and there will be an immediate and present danger of domestic abuse when s/he is released.1

Whether or not you get a temporary order of protection, the clerk will tell you when to come back for your court hearing, within 30 days (assuming your case is not dismissed for some reason). The clerk should write down when and where your hearing will be on the copies of your court forms.

1 Ark. Code § 9-15-103(a)

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