Restraining Orders

In the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico, which covers the counties of Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Los Alamos, you can apply for a civil restraining order against someone who has caused you harm that is likely to continue and be permanent (irreparable) if the court doesn’t order the person to stop. As of 2018, the filing fee for this type of order is $132. If you cannot afford the fee, you can fill out this form that asks the court to waive it.¹

You can only apply for an order against someone if all of the following are true:

• you are not the defendant’s spouse or ex-spouse;
• you are not the defendant’s parent, child, grandparent, or grandchild;
• you are not the defendant’s household member and you never have been; and
• you do not have a child with the defendant.¹

If you are granted a temporary restraining order, which can later become a preliminary injunction and then a permanent injunction after a hearing, the defendant can be ordered to:

• not threaten, harm, alarm or annoy you or your family and household members;
• stay at least a certain number of yards away from you, your residence, your workplace and your child(ren)’s school;
• not call you, text you, email you, or contact you in any way, including contacting you or posting about you on Facebook or any other social media;
• not block you or follow you in public places or roads;
• pay you back for the costs and expenses you had by bringing the court case;
• pay you back money that you spent on any of the following:
  • medical expenses that you had from an injury s/he caused to you;
  • damage to your property caused by the defendant;
  • replacement of property destroyed or taken by the defendant;
  • something else that you can convince the judge the defendant should pay you for; and
• return specific personal property that s/he took from you; and
• do anything else that the judge believes is appropriate.¹

For legal referrals, go to our NM Finding a Lawyer page.

¹ See Petition for Order of Protection from Domestic Abuse

In the Twelfth Judicial District Court of New Mexico, which covers the counties of Otero and Lincoln, you can apply for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against someone who will cause you (or your immediate family or household member) to suffer immediate and permanent injury, loss, or damage if the court doesn’t order the person to stop. You can ask that your children, significant other, or others living in your home be included as well.¹

According to the application for a restraining order, you can request an order against any of the following people:

• your neighbor;
• your co-worker;
• your ex-friend;
• someone you dated (as long as you do not have a child together);
• someone who was involved with your significant other;
• certain family members; or
• another person.¹

You cannot get an order against your current or former spouse or someone with whom you have a child. And even though the application has a space for you to request an order against a “family member,” you are required to confirm that you and the respondent are not “relatives or members of the same family.”¹ Therefore, you may not be able to request an order against someone in your immediate family.

Here are some examples of reasons that a temporary restraining order (TRO) can be granted, if the respondent:

• Physically or sexually assaulted the you;
• Followed, pursued, or stalked you;
• Made uninvited visits to you;
• Made or sent harassing phone calls, texts, messages, or emails to you;
• Made threats to you;
• Broke into and entered your home;
• Damaged your property;
• Stole property from you;
• Took pictures of you without permission;
• attended numerous public events that you also attended as a way to harass you; or
• Committed other acts that caused you harm.¹

If you are granted a temporary restraining order, you can request that a hearing be held where you can ask for a preliminary injunction. The judge can issue a preliminary injunction if s/he believes that a permanent (irreparable) injury will result. In severe cases, you can get a permanent injunction if the judge believes that the injury against you will be permanent (irreparable) and continued.¹

In the temporary restraining order (TRO) or the injunction, you may be granted the following protections:

• the respondent does not threaten, harm, harass, or annoy you or your immediate family and household members;
• the respondent stays at least a certain number of feet away from you, your home, your workplace, the workplace of your household members, and your child(ren)’s school;
• the respondent does not contact you or your family members in any way, including phone, text, email, Facebook, etc.;
• the respondent does not block you or your immediate family or household members in public places or roads; and
• other relief to keep you safe.¹

Please talk to a lawyer for legal advice or representation. For legal referrals, go to our NM Finding a Lawyer page.

¹Application for Restraining Order & Injunction, Twelfth Judicial District Court’s website