Kentucky

Get Help

If you are a victim and your abuser has a gun or you feel unsafe for other reasons, it is important to work with a victim advocate. The following organizations can help you find an advocate free of charge:

It is also helpful to have a lawyer assist you, particularly when you are seeking an order of protection. You can find a lawyer using the Kentucky Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from the Legal Aid Society and the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky.



How to Get Protection

What kind of domestic violence orders of protection are available in Kentucky?

Kentucky courts can issue two types of domestic violence orders of protection. In both of these orders, the court can help protect you from gun violence or threats of gun violence by an intimate partner:

  • Emergency protective orders1*
  • Domestic violence orders2*

Courts can order whatever relief* they believe is necessary to protect you, including requiring the respondent* to get rid of his/her/their firearms and prohibiting them from getting new ones.3

How can you get an emergency protective order or domestic violence order?

Click here to see if you are eligible for an emergency protective order or domestic violence order in Kentucky.

You can find out more about how to get protection here at WomensLaw.org.

You can find your local family court here. If your county does not have a family court, you can go to a District or Circuit Court.

Court forms can be found here.

What do I do if I do not qualify for protection as a victim of domestic violence but I still need protection from someone?

If you do not qualify for protection as a victim of domestic violence but need protection from someone (including a dating partner, a stranger, an acquaintance, or another person not covered under a domestic violence protection order), you might qualify for some other type of order. Contact VictimConnect at (855) 484-2846 or a lawyer for more information. You can find a lawyer using the Kentucky Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from the Legal Aid Society and the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky.

How can the court help protect you?

In Kentucky, courts can order whatever relief* they deem necessary to protect you.4 Some of the things the court can order include:

  • Requiring the respondent* to turn over his/her/their firearms to local law enforcement immediately;5
  • Prohibiting the respondent from purchasing or possessing* firearms while the order is in effect;
  • Ordering law enforcement to retrieve the respondent’s firearms if the respondent does not turn them in as ordered by the court;
  • Requiring the respondent to appear before the court to self-report turning over their firearms as ordered;
  • Directing law enforcement to follow up with the respondent to make sure the respondent turned over their guns as ordered;
  • Scheduling a follow up compliance hearing* to ensure that the respondent has not accessed additional firearms since the order was issued;
  • Ordering law enforcement to go to your home at scheduled times to check in on your safety;
  • Ordering the respondent to stay away from you, your children, your family, and anyone else in immediate danger, based on the threats and/or actions of the respondent;
  • Ordering the respondent not to hurt you or threaten to hurt you in the future;
  • Anything else you need to be safe.

How will the court know what you need to protect you from the respondent’s firearms violence?

In your petition* and during any of the hearings* you participate in when you are seeking protection, you will have the opportunity to tell the court about the respondent’s* threats or acts of abuse, especially ones involving firearms. Every situation is different, and it is important to talk to a lawyer about your specific situation. You can find a lawyer using the Kentucky Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from the Legal Aid Society and the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky.

Your story will help the court decide what relief* to give you. Whether you are filling out court forms or speaking directly to the court, it is important to tell the court about the violence you experienced (working with your lawyer, if you have one), especially if the respondent used or threatened to use a firearm against you, a member of your family, any member of the community, or your pet. Among other things, this may include telling the court:

  • About incidents of physical violence or threats of physical violence and include dates wherever you can;
  • How the respondent used firearms to hurt or threaten you, your family, your pet(s), or anyone in the community;
  • If you fear that the respondent may use firearms violence or threats of firearms violence in the future;
  • If the respondent has threatened to harm him/her/themself. This may be a sign that the respondent intends to use a dangerous weapon like a firearm against you, themself, or other people;
  • If you can, the type(s), number, and location of firearms the respondent has access to.

This page was updated May 24, 2021. Please note that data used are the most recent available data.