Who can file for an extreme risk protection order?
You can file for an extreme risk protection order if the respondent poses a risk of causing harm to himself/herself or another person. Additionally, to file for an extreme risk protection order, you must be:
- a family member of the respondent;
- a household member of the respondent; or
- law enforcement/the licensing authority in the city or town where the respondent lives.1
You are considered to be a family or household member if you are a person who:
- is or was married to the respondent;
- is or was living with the respondent in the same household;
- is or was related by blood or marriage to the respondent;
- has or is having a child with the respondent, even if you and the respondent were never married or living together;
- is or has been in a substantial dating relationship with the respondent; or
- is or has been engaged to the respondent.2
1 Petition for Extreme Risk Protection Order
2 MA ST 140 § 121; Massachusetts Government website