Michigan

How to Get Protection

What kind of domestic relationship personal protection orders are available in Michigan?

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

• Ex parte domestic relationship personal protection orders1*
• (Final) domestic relationship personal protection orders2*

Michigan courts can prohibit defendants* from possessing* or purchasing firearms3 and order whatever other relief* they believe is necessary to protect you, including requiring the defendant to turn over his/her/their firearms to law enforcement.4

How can you get a domestic relationship personal protection order?

Click here to see if you are eligible for a domestic relationship personal protection order in Michigan.

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

You can find your local court here.

Court forms and Michigan’s official guide to obtaining a domestic relationship personal protection orders 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 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 Michigan Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from here.

How can the court help protect you?

Michigan courts can prohibit defendants* subject to a ex parte* domestic relationship personal protection orders and (final) domestic relationship personal protection orders from purchasing or possessing* firearms.5, 6

Michigan courts can also order whatever relief they believe is necessary to protect you.7 Some of the things a court can order include:

• Ordering the defendant to turn over his/her/their firearms to local law enforcement immediately;
• Ordering law enforcement to retrieve the defendant’s firearms if the defendant fails to turn them in compliance with court order;
• 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 defendant 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;
• If the guns are shared marital property, the court can order the sale of the guns and divide the money between you;
• Ordering the defendant to stay away from you, your children, your family, and anyone else in immediate danger, based on the threats and/or actions of the defendant;
• Ordering the defendant 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 defendant’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 defendant’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 Michigan Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from here.

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, especially if the defendant 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 defendant used firearms to hurt or threaten you, your family, your pet(s), or anyone in the community;
• If you fear that the defendant may use firearms violence or threats of firearms violence in the future;
• If the defendant has threatened to harm him/her/themself. This may be a sign that the defendant 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 defendant has access to.