Restraining Orders

You can seek legal protection from acts of domestic abuse committed by a current or former “intimate partner or family or household member.” You can learn about the types of orders in Oklahoma in What types of protective orders are available? How long do they last? You can seek protection from any of the following people:

• a spouse or ex-spouse;
• someone with whom you have a biological child in common;
• someone you are dating or used to date;
• someone with whom you lived in an intimate way;¹
• parents, grandparents, stepparents, adoptive parents, and foster parents;
• children, grandchildren, stepchildren, adopted children, and foster children; or
• anyone related to you by blood or marriage, regardless of whether you are living in the same household or not.²

Additionally, you may be able to petition for a protective order against someone who is not a family or household member if any of the following apply:

1. if you are the immediate family member of a victim of first degree murder, you can file against the person who committed the murder; or
2. if you are a victim of one of the following acts committed by anyone, regardless of your relationship to that person:

• rape;
• forcible sodomy;
• a sex offense;
• kidnapping; or
• assault and battery with a deadly weapon.³

Note: Minors who are 16 or 17 years old can file for an order themselves. A minor who is under 16 years old must have an adult family or household member file on his/her behalf.⁴ A minor filing against an adult must file in a regular local court. Anyone filing against a minor (age 13 or older) must file in the local court that has jurisdiction (power) over juvenile matters.⁵

If you do not qualify for a domestic violence protective order, you may qualify for a stalking protective order or a victim protective order.

¹ 22 O.S. § 60.1(2), (6)
² 22 O.S. § 60.1(2), (3)
³ 22 O.S. § 60.2(G)
⁴ 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)
⁵ 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)(1)