A PPO is a civil order. Breaking one is a crime.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and for most people in Michigan the first time they deal with that subject in a courtroom, it's through a personal protection order rather than a criminal charge. A PPO is a civil order from the family division of circuit court, a judge can sign one the same day without hearing from the other side, and it takes effect the moment it's signed. That's the part that matters to the person asking for protection. The part that matters to the person served is that the order is civil but a violation is criminal contempt, and the window to challenge it is short. Both sides are on a clock from the first day, so this walks through it from each one.
What kinds of PPO are there in Michigan?
There are three, and the one you'd file depends on your relationship with the other person. A domestic relationship PPO under MCL 600.2950 covers a spouse or former spouse, someone you have a child with, someone you're dating or used to date, and someone who lives or lived in your home. A stalking PPO under MCL 600.2950a needs no relationship at all, only a willful course of conduct, meaning two or more separate acts of harassment. A sexual assault PPO, also under 2950a, covers someone who has sexually assaulted you, threatened to, or put you in reasonable fear of it, and no criminal charge is required.
There are limits on who can be named. A parent can't get a PPO against their own minor child who still lives under their roof, and no PPO can be issued against a child under 10. And "dating" in the statute means a real, ongoing romantic relationship, not a casual acquaintance or a coworker, which matters when a petition is filed under the wrong section.
How do you get a PPO?
You file a petition in circuit court, and there's no fee for filing, for a motion to change the order, or for a motion asking the court to enforce it. You can leave your home address off the petition as long as you give a mailing address, and you can file in any Michigan county when the other person is an adult. The court can't deny a petition just because there's no police report, no medical record, or no visible injury.
Most petitions ask for an ex parte order, which means the judge decides on your written petition without notifying the other side first. That's allowed when waiting for a hearing would risk immediate and irreparable harm, or when the notice itself could provoke it, and the court must rule within one business day. If the judge declines to issue it ex parte, you can ask for a hearing with notice instead. In Wayne County, petitions are filed with the 3rd Circuit Court's Personal Protection Order Office in Room 928 of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, or completed through Michigan Legal Help's online tool and emailed to the court.
How long does a PPO last, and when does it start?
It starts the moment the judge signs it, and an ex parte order lasts at least 182 days. The court clerk sends the order to a police agency right away, and that agency enters it into LEIN, the statewide law enforcement database, without waiting for proof that the other person has been served. That's why a police officer anywhere in Michigan can see the order the same day it's issued.
The petitioner can ask to extend the order before it expires, and the request has to come in at least three days before the expiration date. The petitioner can also ask the court to change or end the order at any time, which happens more often than people expect once a situation calms down.
What if you were just served with a PPO?
Read the date you were served, because you have 14 days from that date to file a motion to terminate or modify an ex parte order. MCL 600.2950(13) and Michigan Court Rule 3.707 give you that window as a matter of course, and once it passes you have to show good cause before the court will reopen it. The hearing on your motion is held within 14 days of filing, or within five days if you carry a firearm for work and the order bars you from having one, and you have to serve your motion on the petitioner at least seven days before the hearing.
Until a judge changes the order, follow it exactly, even if you think it's wrong. The order restrains you, not the petitioner, so a call or a text from them doesn't change what the order says you can do. A respondent who answers that text is the one who gets arrested, and the hearing that was supposed to be about whether the order should exist turns into a hearing about whether it was broken. If there's a related criminal case, our guide to domestic violence charges in Michigan covers that side.
What happens if a PPO is violated?
Police can arrest without a warrant, and the case goes back to the family court that issued the order. The person arrested has to be brought before the court within 24 hours, and the violation hearing is generally held within 72 hours of the arrest, with bond set in between. For a respondent 17 or older, criminal contempt carries up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. That penalty can be added on top of any separate crime charged for the same conduct, so an assault during a violation is two cases, not one.
There's no jury on a contempt charge, and criminal contempt still has to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, with the prosecutor handling the case after an arrest. Lying on the petition is also contempt, so the petition is a sworn document on both sides of the case.
Does a PPO affect guns, custody, or a criminal case?
It can affect all three. A PPO can bar the respondent from buying or owning a firearm, and anyone subject to one can't get a concealed pistol license. Federal law adds a separate ban under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8), but only for an order issued after a hearing the respondent had notice of, protecting a spouse, former spouse, co parent, or someone the respondent lived with. An ex parte order, or a stalking PPO against someone who was never a partner, usually doesn't trigger the federal ban, though the state order still controls on its own terms.
On custody, a PPO takes priority over an existing custody or parenting time order until it expires or the custody court changes that order, and a motion to adjust the custody order is heard within 21 days. Domestic violence is one of the best interest factors a judge weighs in custody cases, whether or not the child saw it. A PPO is also different from a no contact condition of bond in a criminal case. The bond condition comes from the judge or magistrate in the criminal case and is enforced there, and the two can exist at the same time with different terms. If you're on either side of a PPO, our family law team can help you through the first two weeks, which is when the order is easiest to shape and hardest to undo.
Quick answers
How long does a PPO last in Michigan?
An ex parte PPO lasts at least 182 days. The petitioner can ask to extend it before it expires, and can ask the court to change or end it at any time.
How long do you have to fight a PPO in Michigan?
You have 14 days from the date you were served, or from when you got actual notice, to file a motion to terminate or modify an ex parte PPO. After 14 days you need to show good cause.
What is the penalty for violating a PPO in Michigan?
For a respondent 17 or older, criminal contempt carries up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. Police can arrest without a warrant, and any separate crime is charged on top of the contempt.
Does it cost money to file a PPO in Michigan?
No. There's no fee to file a PPO petition, to file a motion to modify, terminate, or extend one, or to ask the court to enforce it.
Related reading
- Domestic Violence Charges in Michigan
- Michigan Child Custody and the Best Interest Factors
- Family Law and Divorce at D.C. Law
- Criminal Defense at D.C. Law