WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

Legal Information: South Dakota

Restraining Orders

View all
Updated: 
November 28, 2023

Step 2 - Carefully fill out the forms.

On the petition, you will be the “petitioner” and the abuser will be the “respondent.”

On the petition, in the box provided for explaining why you want the protection order, write briefly about incidents of violence, starting with the most recent, using specific language (slapping, hitting, grabbing, threatening, etc.) that fits your situation. Include details and dates, if possible. Clerks and magistrates can show you which blanks to fill in, but they cannot help you decide what to write.

It may also be useful to bring identifying information about the abuser such as a photo (which may be used in serving the order to respondent) and addresses of residence and employment.

Note: Do not sign the forms until you are in front of a notary or a clerk. The clerk can usually notarize the forms for you.

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.