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Legal Information: Montana

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
December 20, 2023

Step 4: Service of process

The respondent must be served with the temporary order of protection so that s/he knows s/he is prohibited from certain activities and so s/he knows about the hearing and has an opportunity to tell his/her side of the story.  Usually the court will send copies of the temporary order to law enforcement for service, but in some areas you may have to bring the papers to law enforcement yourself.  You can ask the court clerk for more information about serving the abuser.  For a list of Sheriff Departments in your area, go to our MT Sheriff Departments page.

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?