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Legal Information: Tennessee

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
November 27, 2023

Step 4: Service of process

After you file the petition and a hearing date has been set, the judge will order the appropriate authorities to serve the abuser with a “notice of hearing,” your petition, and the temporary ex parte order if one was issued.1 There is no fee for service of an order of protection.2

You may want to contact the police or sheriff to make sure they received your paperwork that needs to be served and to make sure that s/he was served. To find your local sheriff department, see our TN Sheriff Departments page. Do not serve the abuser yourself.

You can find more information about service of process in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section, in the question called What is service of process and how do I accomplish it?

1 TN ST § 36-3-605(c)
2 TN ST § 36-3-617(a)(1)

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