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Legal Information: Massachusetts

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
December 14, 2023

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