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Legal Information: Kentucky

Statutes: Kentucky

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Updated: 
November 15, 2023

403.7527 Filing of foreign protective order and affidavit; certification by issuing court official; entry into Law Information Network of Kentucky

(1) A copy of a foreign protective order may be filed in the office of the clerk of any court of competent jurisdiction of this state. A foreign protective order so filed shall have the same effect and shall be enforced in the same manner as an order of protection issued by a court of this state.

(2) (a) At the time of the filing of the foreign protective order, the person filing the order shall file with the clerk of the court an affidavit on a form prescribed and provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The affidavit shall set forth the name, city, county, and state or other jurisdiction of the issuing court. The person shall certify in the affidavit the validity and status of the foreign protective order, and attest to the person’s belief that the order has not been amended, rescinded, or superseded by any orders from a court of competent jurisdiction. All foreign protective orders presented with a completed and signed affidavit shall be accepted and filed.

(b) The affidavit signed by the applicant shall have space where the reviewing judge shall place information necessary to allow the order’s entry into the Law Information Network of Kentucky in the same manner as a Kentucky order.

(3) (a) If the person seeking to file the order presents a copy of the foreign order which is current by the terms of the order and has been certified by the clerk or other authorized officer of the court which issued it, the circuit clerk shall present it to the District Judge or Circuit Judge, who shall read the order and enter on the affidavit the information necessary to allow the order’s entry into the Law Information Network of Kentucky. The order shall not be subject to further verification and shall be accepted as authentic, current, and subject to full faith and credit.

(b) If the order presented is current by the terms of the order but is not certified in the manner specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the circuit clerk shall present the order and the affidavit to the District Judge or Circuit Judge, who shall read the order and enter on the affidavit the information necessary to allow the order’s entry into the Law Information Network of Kentucky. The order shall be subject to full faith and credit in the same manner as a Kentucky order of protection, but shall be subject to verification by the circuit clerk. The order shall be valid for a period of fourteen (14) days and may be renewed once for a period of fourteen (14) days if the circuit clerk has not received a certified copy of the order from the issuing jurisdiction. The clerk shall treat the foreign protective order in the same manner as an order of protection issued pursuant to KRS 403.740, except that no service on the adverse party shall be required pursuant to 18 U.S.C. sec. 2265.

(c) Upon the filing of an uncertified foreign protective order, the circuit clerk shall, within two (2) business days, contact the issuing court to request a certified copy of the order. If the certified copy of the order is received by the circuit clerk within the initial fourteen (14) day period, the clerk shall cause the information that certification has been received to be entered into the Law Information Network of Kentucky and shall notify the applicant for the order of the fact of its certification. A facsimile copy of a certified foreign protective order shall be grounds for the issuance of an order of protection.

(d) If the clerk has not received a certified copy of the foreign protective order within ten (10) days, the clerk shall notify the court and the applicant that the order has not been received. The notice to the applicant, on a form prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts, shall state that the foreign protective order will be extended for another fourteen (14) days, but will be dismissed at the expiration of that time. If the clerk informs the judge in writing that the certified foreign protective order has been requested but has not yet been received, the judge shall extend the foreign protective order for a period of fourteen (14) days. If certification of the foreign protective order is not received within twenty-eight (28) days, the foreign protective order shall expire and shall not be reissued. If the applicant meets the qualifications for the issuance of a Kentucky domestic violence order, the court may, upon proper application and showing of evidence, issue a Kentucky order in accordance with this chapter.

(4) The right of a person filing a foreign protective order to bring an action to enforce the order instead of proceeding under this chapter remains unimpaired.