Are You a Victim of Domestic Violence?
» If you are in immediate danger, dial 911.
Call us today at 314-615-4725
Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Saturday, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
In the event that you or someone you know needs to file an Order of Protection after business hours, please contact your local police department for appropriate guidance.
NOTE: If a Petitioner is in danger, s/he should call 911 immediately and inform the police that s/he has a full Order of Protection that has been violated.
Are You a Victim of Domestic Violence?
» If you are in immediate danger, dial 911.
Call us today at 314-615-4725
Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Saturday, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
In the event that you or someone you know needs to file an Order of Protection after business hours, please contact your local police department for appropriate guidance.
NOTE: If a Petitioner is in danger, s/he should call 911 immediately and inform the police that s/he has a full Order of Protection that has been violated.
Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQ's
Respondent FAQ's
If you are filing for an Order of Protection, you are called the “Petitioner.” The person you are filing the Order of Protection against is called the “Respondent.”
An Order of Protection is a court order that prohibits the Respondent from abusing, molesting, stalking, threatening, communicating with, committing domestic violence or sexual assault against and/or otherwise disturbing the peace of the Petitioner. An Order of Protection may also include provisions such as: limited communication/contact only in regards to a shared child, financial orders and an order for the Respondent to relinquish firearms, get a substance abuse evaluation and/or attend a Batterer’s Intervention Program.
A Child Order of Protection can be filed by a parent or guardian if any of the above acts have been committed against a minor child or children.
To file for an Order of Protection in St. Louis County, one (or more) of the following must be true: (1) You reside in St. Louis County; (2) The Respondent can be served with the paperwork in St. Louis County; and/or (3) The abuse/stalking/sexual assault occurred in St. Louis County.
Come in person to the St. Louis County Adult Abuse/Order of Protection Office, located in the St. Louis County Courthouse at 105 South Central Avenue, Clayton, MO 63105. The Adult Abuse Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. NOTE: The Adult Abuse Office does not accept any filings for Orders of Protection after 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.
In the event that you or someone you know needs to file an Order of Protection after business hours, please contact your local police department for appropriate guidance.
No, there are no filing or court fees associated with filing for an Order of Protection.
Missouri law requires a Petitioner to be at least 17 years of age to file for an Order of Protection. If you are not 17, but the Respondent is, there is the option for your parent or guardian to file a Child Order of Protection against the Respondent on your behalf. If the Respondent is less than 17 years of age, the Petitioner will be required to provide the name and address of the Respondent’s parent or guardian for purposes of serving the paperwork. In addition, Orders of Protection involving Respondents less than 17 years of age will be transferred to the Family Court juvenile division.
You'll want to think carefully about what you want to include on your petition before you start writing. Your petition is what the judge reviews to determine whether or not you will receive a temporary Order of Protection or Ex Parte (see below for more information). Some things to consider including in your petition would be: What has happened most recently/what caused you to come and file the Order of Protection paperwork? What has happened in the past that causes you to be afraid for your personal safety? What are specific dates when incidents have occurred or when you have felt afraid? You can request to speak to an advocate if you need help completing your petition. If you are a victim of domestic violence, this handout includes some suggestions for what might be important to include in your petition. There are also some resources at the bottom if you have further questions or need additional support.
After you file for an Order of Protection, a judge will review your petition and may grant a temporary “Ex Parte” order that grants certain protections and relief until the court date (approximately 15 days after the petition is filed). The temporary order may be extended if your case in continued. In cases where an Ex Parte is not granted, you may still receive a “Summons,” which does not include any protection or relief.
A full Order of Protection can only be granted after the Respondent has been notified (see below). Full Orders of Protection are a minimum of six months in length. They are typically entered for one year and are renewable.
If a previous custody plan is in place, this custody plan will usually be upheld; however, sometimes provisions can be written into the Order of Protection around communication related to the child. If a custody plan is not in place, the Petitioner and Respondent may have an opportunity to work with their attorney(s) or a volunteer attorney provided by the court to establish a custody and visitation plan in regards to the minor child or children.
Although an Order of Protection is a civil matter, violations can become criminal offenses. If your Ex Parte or full Order of Protection is violated and you are in immediate danger, you should call 911. Let the 911 dispatcher know that you have a pending or full Order of Protection. Even if you are not in immediate danger and your Ex Parte or full Order of Protection is violated, you can still call the police and make a report. If there have been violations of your Ex Parte order, make sure to document them and provide this information to the judge when you appear for your hearing. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office or a municipal court may decide to press criminal charges against the Respondent for violating the Ex Parte or full Order of Protection.
In addition, if your full Order of Protection is violated, you can come back to the Adult Abuse Office where you filed your petition and file a Motion for Contempt. You can file a Motion for Contempt even if you have made a report with the police. Information about Motions for Contempt can be found here. You cannot file a Motion for Contempt for violations of the Ex Parte Order of Protection.
When you file, you provide the court with one or more addresses for the Respondent. The Sheriff’s Department in the county the Respondent lives or works will attempt to serve the respondent with your petition and the Ex Parte or Summons. The Sheriff’s Department will report back to the court whether or not they were able to serve the respondent. Service must be obtained to move forward with the case. If service has not been obtained by your court date, the judge or an advocate will talk to you about your options.
If you do not have an address for the Respondent, you may do what is called “self-carrying” the paperwork. You cannot serve the Respondent yourself. In this case, if the Respondent is near you or you know their whereabouts, you will need to call law enforcement and request that they serve the Respondent with a copy of the Order of Protection paperwork.
Click here for more information about getting the Respondent served.
No, you can file your address as “confidential” on the Order of Protection paperwork. You must alert the Adult Abuse staff that you would like to keep your address confidential. You will also be required to provide a mailing address to the court on a confidential form (Adult Abuse Petitioner Information: Confidential Record). This form is only be accessible by court personnel and will not be served upon the Respondent.
Advocates from the County Order of Protection Assistance (COPA) program may be available Monday through Friday during regular office hours to meet with Petitioners at the time they are filing the petition for Order of Protection. If you need special accommodations, you may want to contact the COPA office at (314) 615-3210 and schedule an appointment to meet with an advocate.
Advocates are also available at weekly Domestic Violence (DV) Court dockets and through several community domestic violence agencies [click for resource list].
The court can provide petitions in English, Spanish, Bosnian, French, Russian, Ukrainian and Vietnamese; however, responses on the petition must be written in English so that they can be reviewed by the judge and other court staff. Petitioners who need language accommodations are strongly encouraged to contact the COPA office at (314) 615-3210 to schedule an appointment for assistance with completing the petition. Petitioners may choose to bring in a trusted friend or family member to assist with interpretation during the filing process. Court personnel can also access a language line or, in some situations, utilize a live interpreter for assistance.
If a Petitioner needs an interpreter for the Order of Protection hearing(s), s/he will need to complete a Motion for Order to Appoint an Interpreter, indicating the language spoken, and submit it with her/his petition. Either a live interpreter or the language line can also be used at court hearing(s).
You have the right to represent yourself in Order of Protection proceedings, or you may also obtain an attorney. Many people go through the Order of Protection process both with and without attorneys. If you are a victim of domestic violence, you may be able to obtain legal assistance through one of the agencies listed here [resource list]
Orders of Protection are civil cases (not criminal), so the entry of a full Order of Protection does not typically appear on a Respondent’s criminal record. However, while Orders of Protection are obtained through civil court, violations of these orders can be criminal offenses. Violating an Order of Protection may result in arrest and/or criminal charges against the Respondent.
If there is no proof in the court file that the Respondent has been served, notice of the dismissal will not be sent to the Respondent.
For more information about service options, click here.
The Ex Parte order or Summons will include a court date and time. This court date is your opportunity to speak with a judge about the allegations that have been made against you by the Petitioner. The judge will be deciding whether or not to issue a Full Order of Protection, which will be in place for a minimum of six months up to two years. Once the Judge issues a Full Order of Protection, you will not be able to contest it; therefore, not only does the law require you to attend the hearing, it is also in your best interest to do so.
If the Petitioner received an Ex Parte, you must follow the terms outlined in that temporary order. This may mean you will have to leave your place of residence and have no contact with the Petitioner. If you violate the terms of the Ex Parte order, you can be charged with a crime.
You should make every effort to appear for the court date that has been assigned to your case. If you do not appear at that court date, the judge could move forward with the case even without you being there.
If you absolutely cannot attend your court date, you will need to make a formal request with the Court to seek a continuance for your case; however, please note that there is no guarantee that this request will be granted by the judge. For more information on how to request a continuance, you can call the Order of Protection Office at (314) 615-4725. You may also want to contact the division in which your case is set, which will be noted on the paperwork you received. Contact information for each Family Court division can be found here.
This type of court case does not offer you a court-appointed attorney; however, the decision of whether or not to hire an attorney is up to you. The Order of Protection process is designed so that you can represent yourself; however, some people are more comfortable having an attorney represent them. If you decide to hire an attorney, you will need to make sure that s/he knows when your Order of Protection court date is scheduled.
At the court date, the judge will be deciding whether or not to issue a Full Order of Protection. A Full Order of Protection will include some of the same terms as an Ex Parte order, such as: not abusing, threatening to abuse, stalking or committing domestic violence against the Petitioner; not being near or in contact with the Petitioner; and/or exclusion from Petitioner’s residence/place of employment. A Full Order of Protection could also include other terms such as:
Orders regarding custody arrangements for any shared child(ren);
Orders for you to provide financial support to Petitioner such as child support, payment for medical expenses, payment of mortgage/rent, etc.;
Orders for you to participate in counseling and/or to surrender your firearms.
There are different options regarding the entry of a Full Order of Protection. You can request to have a hearing, which means both the Petitioner and you will provide testimony and present evidence to the judge so that s/he can determine if a Full Order of Protection is necessary. After the hearing, if the judge believes that the Petitioner needs a Full Order of Protection, s/he will make a finding that you committed the acts of abuse/stalking/domestic violence alleged by the Petitioner and a Full Order of Protection will be entered. The Petitioner does not need to prove his/her allegations “beyond a reasonable doubt;” rather, s/he must prove that the acts alleged were more likely than not to have occurred.
You will also have the option to enter a Consent Full Order of Protection. With a Consent Order of Protection, you and the Petitioner do not provide testimony or evidence to the judge, and the judge does not make a finding that you committed the acts of abuse/stalking/domestic violence alleged by the Petitioner. Rather, you consent (agree) to all of the terms outlined in the Full Order of Protection.
If you do not appear at your court date, the judge may proceed without you by taking testimony/evidence from only the Petitioner and making his/her decision based solely on the information that the Petitioner provides to the court.
If there is a hearing and the judge does not believe a Full Order of Protection is necessary, the case will be dismissed.
If the Petitioner does not appear on the scheduled court date, the case will likely be dismissed “without prejudice,” which means that s/he can re-file a new case at any time. That said, there may be some instances, the judge may continue the case to another court date, even if the Petitioner does not appear.
If there is a Full Order of Protection issued against you, you must follow all of the terms outlined in the order. Even though an Order of Protection is a civil case, violating the terms of a Full Order of Protection can result in criminal charges and/or jail time. A copy of the Full Order of Protection will be sent to Law Enforcement and entered into a statewide Law Enforcement system. The Petitioner can enforce his/her Full Order of Protection from anywhere and at any time.
Please know that the Petitioner cannot violate their own Order of Protection. Unless you have a Full Order of Protection against the Petitioner, the Petitioner contacting you is not a violation and should not be reported to the police or the Court. To put it plainly, an Order of Protection is a one-way street in that it protects the Petitioner but it does not protect you. If the Petitioner contacts you after the entry of a Full Order of Protection, it is in your best interest not to respond or engage in any contact so as not to violate the order issued against you.
The judge has the ability to include these special condition orders in a Full Order of Protection. If one or more of these were included in your Full Order of Protection, you will be expected to return to court routinely for “compliance hearings” so that the judge can ensure you are following these orders.
The first thing you should do is contact the DV Court Compliance Office at either (314) 615-0365 or (314) 615-2932. The Compliance Coordinator or Compliance Case Manager will assist you with following these orders. Failure to comply with special condition orders can result in your case being transferred to the DV Court contempt docket where the judge can issue a warrant for your arrest and sentence you to jail time, if you are found to be in contempt of the Court’s order.
BIP’s are specially designed programs for individuals who have been abusive and/or violent in their intimate relationship. BIP’s are not the same as “anger management.” They are designed to help participants develop empathy, identify and self-monitor negative thoughts and identify and interrupt the negative self-talk that often precedes incidences of violence. BIP’s also aim to educate participants about issues of power and control and to teach gender equality in relationships. These programs typically teach participants to identify various forms of abuse, recognize and detail the type of abuse they have engaged in, take responsibility for the abuse and learn alternative, non-violent options.
If your Full Order of Protection includes an order for you to attend a BIP (Exhibit A), the first thing you should do is contact the DV Court Compliance Office at either (314) 615-0365 or (314) 615-2932. Compliance program staff will assist you with selecting a BIP and getting enrolled. For more information about BIP’s, click here [MCADSV BIP Standards]. For a list of local BIP providers, click here [list of BIP’s].
Federal law prohibits anyone who has a Full Order of Protection issued against him/her to possess firearms during the time while the order is in effect. In addition, the Order of Protection judge may have entered an order requiring you to relinquish any firearms and/or ammunition you may currently have in your possession.
If your Full Order of Protection includes an order for you to relinquish your firearms and/or ammunition (Exhibit C), the first thing you should do is contact the DV Court Compliance Office at either (314) 615-0365 or (314) 615-2932. Compliance program staff will assist you with your relinquishment options. You may relinquish your firearms to a verified third party who will be sworn by the Court, or you may relinquish them to one of the Court’s partner Law Enforcement locations. You should not simply sell your firearms; if you do so and cannot provide evidence of the sale, the judge may find that you have not satisfied the terms of the relinquishment and hold you in contempt.
Are you . . .
A Friend or Family Member
of a Victim of
Domestic Violence?
Supporting someone you know that may be in an abusive relationship is very important. Read more about how you can offer support, as well as learn about available community resources by clicking the link below.
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Domestic Violence?
Click below for the St. Louis County Law Enforcement Manual Re: Domestic Violence.
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Domestic Violence Forms
For a list of forms used in the Domestic Violence Court, click below.
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St. Louis County Courts
105 South Central Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
Phone: 314-615-8086