WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors.

Legal Information: Rhode Island

Restraining Orders

View all
Laws current as of July 19, 2024

Am I eligible? Do I file in family court or district court?

You can file for a domestic abuse restraining order if you or your child is a victim of domestic abuse or your child is the victim of sexual exploitation. Whether you file in family court or district court depends on your relationship with the abuser and whether anyone involved in the case is a child.1 Use the chart below to see where to file based on your situation.

If… Then…
  • the abuser is related to you in one of these ways:
    • your spouse or former spouse;
    • your parent or stepparent;
    • your child or stepchild;
    • a person with whom you have a child in common;
    • a family member related to you by blood or marriage;
    • a person who used to be related to you by blood or marriage, for example, your former brother-in-law;
    • a minor child of someone you dated or were engaged to; or
    • a person you “substantively” dated or were engaged to and at least one of you is 17 years old or younger
  • file in family court.2
  • the abuser committed domestic abuse or sexual exploitation against your minor child, and you are seeking protection for your child, whether or not you have a relationship with the abuser
  • file in family court.2
  • you and the abuser are both adults, you have no children together, and the abuser is related to you in one of these ways:
    • a person you “substantively” dated or were engaged to during the past year; or
    • a “cohabitant,” meaning you live together now or you lived together at some point during the past three years, whether or not you ever had a romantic relationship
  • file in district court.3

1 RI Gen. Laws §§ 8-8.1-1(1), (3), (5); 8-8.1-3(a); 15-15-1(2), (4), (6),  (7), (8); 15-15-3(a)
2 RI Gen. Laws § 15-15-1(4), (6), (7), (8), (10)
3 RI Gen. Laws § 8-8.1-1(1), (5)

Legal Information

© 2008–2024 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.