Ohio

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 a domestic violence civil protection order. You can find a lawyer using the Ohio Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from OhioLegalHelp and on Ohio’s Supreme Court website.



How to Get Protection

What kind of domestic violence civil protection orders are available in Ohio?

Ohio courts can issue two types of domestic violence civil 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:

  • Domestic violence civil protection order (ex parte)1*
  • Domestic violence civil protection order (full hearing)2*

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

How can you get a domestic violence civil protection order?

Click here to see if you are eligible for a domestic violence civil protection order in Ohio.

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

You can find your local court here. In Ohio, Courts of Common Pleas hear protection order cases. Some counties have a domestic relations-specific Court of Common Pleas.

Court forms and Ohio’s official guide to getting a domestic violence civil protection order 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 Ohio Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from OhioLegalHelp and on Ohio’s Supreme Court website.

How can the court help protect you?

In Ohio, courts can order whatever relief*they believe is necessary to protect you.4 Some of the things a court can order include:

  • Prohibiting the respondent* from purchasing or possessing* firearms;
  • Ordering the respondent to turn over his/her/their firearms to local law enforcement immediately;
  • Ordering law enforcement to retrieve the respondent’s firearms if the respondent fails to turn them in as required 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;
  • If the guns are shared marital property, the court can order the sale of the guns and divide the money between you;
  • 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 Ohio Bar’s website. If you cannot afford a lawyer, information about free- and low-cost legal help is available from OhioLegalHelp and on Ohio’s Supreme Court website.

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 June 23, 2021. Please note that data used are the most recent available data.