Restraining Orders

You can file a petition in the district court in the county where you live, in the county where the abuser lives, or in the county where the abuse took place.¹  However, if you file for an ex parte order in one county, but there is a pending case for divorce, separate maintenance, guardianship, adoption or any other proceeding involving custody or visitation in a different county, the protective order case will be transferred and the hearing for the final protective order will be held in the same county in which the other case is pending.²

If you are being stalked and seeking a protection order against someone who is not a family or household member or an intimate (dating) partner, you must first file a complaint with law enforcement officials before filing the petition for a protective order in district court. (For the definition of a family or household member see Am I eligible to file for a protective order? ) You will have to provide the judge with a copy of the complaint you filed with the police at the full hearing for the protection order. If you do not present a copy of the complaint in court, your claim could be dismissed and you may be forced to pay the abuser’s attorney’s fees and/or other court fees.¹

¹ 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)(1)
² 22 O.S. § 60.3(D)