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Legal Information: South Carolina

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
November 13, 2023

Step 3: Filing your petition.

Once you finish filling out your forms, give them to the clerk. You should not be charged anything to file your petition.

The clerk may ask you for identification, so make sure to bring your driver’s license or another form of photo ID with you. It is also helpful to bring identifying information about the abuser if you have it, including home and work addresses.

If you need protection immediately, you may request an emergency hearing when you are filling your petition. In this case, you will go before a judge within 24 hours of service of your petition upon the abuser. Once you prove that you are in immediate and present danger of bodily injury, a judge can grant you a temporary order of protection until your full hearing, which will take place within 15 days.1

1 S.C. Code § 20-4-50(a)

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