Restraining Orders

If you are an adult, you may be able to file against any of the following adults who have committed domestic abuse against you:

• 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 an 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. You may combine domestic abuse, child abuse, or harassment petitions into one case if the respondent is the same in all of them. If you do this, the judge may combine all your hearings into one.³

¹ Wis. Stat. § 813.12(1)(am), (1)(b), (1)(c)
² Wis. Stat. § 813.12(5)(d)
³ Wis. Stat. § 813.127