Restraining Orders

If you are an adult, you may be able to file against any of the following people who have committed domestic abuse against you (the abuser must also be an adult):

• a current or former spouse;
• a parent;
• an adult child;
• a person related to you by blood or adoption;
• a person with whom you currently live or formerly lived;
• anyone with whom you have had a child, even if you were never married to him/her;
• someone you are dating or have dated; or
• a caregiver.¹

You can also file for a domestic abuse injunction on behalf of a incapacitated adult who is the victim of domestic abuse if you are that adult’s legal guardian.²

If you are being abused or harassed by someone who does not fit into one of the above-listed relationships, there are other types of orders that you may be eligible for. You can find more information on our child abuse restraining orders page, our harassment restraining orders page, and our individual at risk restraining orders page.

Note: Domestic abuse injunctions do not offer protection from step-parents, step-siblings or step-children unless you live with them or used to live with them.

¹ Wis. Stat. § 813.12(1)(am), (1)(b), (1)(c)
² Wis. Stat. § 813.12(5)(d)