Responding to a restraining order (injunction for protection) in South Florida

This page is for respondents, the person a petition is filed against. The hearing itself is covered in what happens at a Florida injunction for protection hearing. When the same events led to an arrest, see our domestic violence defense page. Other charges are listed under criminal defense.

Which of Florida's five injunctions was filed against you?

Florida has five kinds of civil injunction for protection against violence and stalking, and the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward says each has different requirements based on the relationship and what occurred. The title on your papers tells you which statute applies, which decides what the petitioner must prove and what a violation costs.

A risk protection order is not one of the five: under s. 790.401 only a law enforcement officer or agency can seek one, for up to 12 months. The five types are compared in depth in which of Florida's five injunctions was filed against you.

How does the case move after a petition is filed?

1. The sworn petition. Signed under penalty of perjury, with no filing fee and no bond (s. 741.30(2), (3)).
2. The judge's review. The Palm Beach County Clerk says the court will grant a temporary injunction and set a hearing, deny it and still set a hearing, or deny the petition without one. When the only reason to deny is that no immediate danger appears, a full hearing with notice is required (s. 741.30(5)(b)), so you can be summoned with no temporary order in place.
3. Service. The sheriff serves the respondent personally "on any day of the week and at any time of the day or night" (s. 741.30(8)(a)1.). The Fifteenth Circuit says the temporary order takes effect once the respondent is served.
4. The full hearing. A temporary injunction lasts no more than 15 days, and the hearing is set no later than the day it ends (s. 741.30(5)(c); ss. 784.046(6)(c), 784.0485).
5. The ruling and after. A final order lasts until modified or dissolved, or until an end date the judge sets, and either side may move to change it at any time (s. 741.30(6)(c), (10)), as explained in how long a Florida injunction lasts.

What should you do in the first days after being served?

The state courts' brochure for respondents puts the core rule in capital letters: no contact even if the other person contacts you first, and even if you are invited. What to do when that happens is covered in what if the petitioner contacts you. Contact through others counts too: the statute makes direct or indirect contact a crime unless the order allows contact through a third party (s. 741.31(4)(a)5.).

Follow the other terms to the letter. Refusing to leave a shared home when ordered is a violation, and so is going within 500 feet of the petitioner's home, school or workplace, or knowingly within 100 feet of the petitioner's car (s. 741.31(4)(a)1., 2., 6.). The Eleventh Circuit in Miami-Dade warns that some hearings are held by Zoom.

Then build the response. The brochure says witnesses must come to court, letters from witnesses are not allowed, and subpoenas carry a fee. If support or alimony is requested, bring a financial affidavit or pay stubs, along with deeds, car titles and any other court orders between you.

Should you agree to the injunction or contest it?

The respondent brochure says you can consent, agreeing that the judge enter the injunction, or object, in which case a full hearing is held with both sides and their witnesses. The brochure's warning: read the consequences of a final injunction before you agree.

A final order can require you to leave a shared residence, limit time-sharing and order support. Under a final domestic violence or stalking injunction you may not have any firearm or ammunition in your care, custody, possession or control (s. 790.233(1)). The order enters the statewide verification system run by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (s. 741.30(8)(b)); who else can see it is covered in whether an injunction shows up on a background check. The brochure also warns that immigration status, employment and professional licenses may be affected. Contesting has its own risk, because sworn testimony is recorded (s. 741.30(6)(h)). The order is not two-way: it restricts only the respondent, and Florida courts may not issue mutual orders (s. 741.30(1)(i)).

What if the hearing is moved, or you do not go?

The court may continue the hearing for good cause shown by either side, including to complete service, and the temporary injunction stays in force during the continuance (s. 741.30(5)(c)). The Fifteenth Circuit says a party with a scheduling conflict must file a motion; the brochure adds that unless it is granted, you must attend.

Staying home does not stop the case. The brochure says the judge can enter a final injunction without you if you were served and notified. Orders entered after the original service are delivered at the hearing or mailed to your last known address, and service by mail is complete upon mailing (s. 741.30(8)(a)3.).

Can you decline to testify if there is a criminal case?

Yes. The state courts' respondent brochure says anything you say at the injunction hearing can be used against you in a criminal case arising from the same facts, and that even with no criminal case pending you have the right not to testify. The hearing will still be held.

Silence may leave the judge with only the petitioner's account; testimony creates a sworn, recorded statement a prosecutor can review. Whether to testify, consent or seek a continuance is a decision to make with a defense attorney before the hearing date. After an arrest, the criminal court's no-contact condition runs alongside the injunction, as explained in how bond is set in Florida.

What happens to your guns, your home and your children?

Firearms. A temporary injunction can require surrender, according to the Fifteenth Circuit, and refusing a surrender order is a violation (s. 741.31(4)(a)8.). A final domestic violence or stalking injunction brings the possession ban in s. 790.233. The Palm Beach County Clerk says a repeat violence injunction may also require surrender. More is in our page on firearms after an injunction.

The home. An order can give the petitioner exclusive use of a shared dwelling (s. 741.30(5)(a)2., (6)(a)2.), but it does not affect title to real estate (s. 741.30(1)(h)). Broward's circuit notes a stalking injunction does not address the home, time-sharing or support.

Children. A temporary order can give the petitioner up to 100 percent of the time-sharing (s. 741.30(5)(a)3.). Orders in a later family case under chapter 61 take precedence over inconsistent injunction terms (s. 741.30(1)(c)). A final order can add temporary support and a treatment or batterers' intervention program paid for by the respondent (s. 741.30(6)(a)5., 6.). More is in seeing your children under an injunction.

What happens if the order is violated?

A violation can be punished as contempt or prosecuted by the State Attorney as a crime, and a respondent arrested for one is held until brought before the court (s. 741.30(9)). How these accusations are defended is on our page about being accused of violating an injunction.

A judge who finds a willful violation must also order a batterers' intervention program unless written findings explain why not (s. 741.31(5)). Each level is explained in the penalty for violating a domestic violence injunction. The felony version of following and messaging is in what counts as stalking in Florida.

Serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties

• Palm Beach County (15th Circuit): petitions are filed at any of the circuit's courthouses or the Clerk's Royal Palm Beach branch, 200 Civic Center Way. See our Palm Beach County page. A south county date is described in the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.
• Broward County (17th Circuit): petitions are filed at the Main Courthouse, Room 2140, and the Clerk's domestic violence division answers questions about motions at (954) 831-5520. See our Broward County page. The building is described in the Broward Central Courthouse.
• Miami-Dade County (11th Circuit): a seven-judge Domestic Violence Division at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center hears injunction and violation cases; its case management unit is at (305) 349-5556. See our Miami-Dade County page.
• Martin County (19th Circuit): the circuit's 2026 assignment order gives all domestic relations cases, including injunctions for protection, to one circuit judge. See our Martin County page. Court dates are at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart.

What changes the answer?

• The type of injunction. It sets what must be proved and the penalty ladder (ss. 741.31, 784.047, 784.0487).
• Whether a temporary order was entered and served. Without one, no injunction restricts you yet, though a hearing can still be set (s. 741.30(5)(b)); once a temporary order is served, every term applies.
• A criminal case. It changes whether and how to testify.
• Your history. A prior violent-crime conviction, a prior injunction after a hearing, or a willful violation of the temporary order makes a batterers' intervention program mandatory absent written findings (s. 741.30(6)(e)).
• Your job. The firearm ban exempts certified officers carrying for official duties unless the agency forbids it (s. 790.233(3)).

A worked example

For example, picture a hypothetical respondent in Coral Springs served at work with a temporary dating violence injunction, after an arrest the same night for misdemeanor battery and release with a no-contact condition. Two days later the former partner texts her to talk. She does not answer, because both orders forbid contact and an invitation does not change that. With her attorney she weighs whether to testify, knowing her words could be used in the battery case, and she asks a coworker who saw part of the evening to attend in person. The example is invented and predicts nothing.

Common mistakes respondents make

• Answering the petitioner's messages.
• Skipping the hearing; it can proceed anyway.
• Agreeing to a final injunction without reading what it does to guns, the home and the children.
• Bringing a witness's letter instead of the witness.
• Testifying while a related charge is open without first weighing the right not to.
• Going back to the shared home for belongings because the petitioner said it was fine.

What to do this week

1. Read the petition, order and notice, and write down the hearing date, time and place.
2. Stop all contact, direct and indirect, including social media and messages through friends.
3. Comply with any order to leave the home or surrender firearms, and keep proof that you did.
4. List every related case between you and the petitioner, with case numbers.
5. Gather messages, photos and records tied to each allegation, and line up witnesses who can attend.
6. If there was an arrest, or could be one, speak with a defense attorney before deciding to testify or consent.
7. If you cannot attend, file a written motion before the hearing date.

Frequently asked questions

Is a restraining order the same as an injunction for protection?

Yes. The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Circuits say a domestic violence injunction is sometimes called a restraining order.

Is an injunction a criminal charge?

No. The respondent brochure calls it a civil injunction, not a criminal charge, but violating it is a crime.

Can the petitioner cancel the order?

The Fifteenth Circuit says a petitioner may voluntarily dismiss the petition, and a petition is dismissed if the petitioner does not appear for the final hearing after a temporary injunction. Once a final injunction is entered, only the judge can change or end it (s. 741.30(10)).

Does the order apply in other counties?

Yes. Every order states that it is valid and enforceable in all Florida counties (s. 741.30(6)(d)1.), and the respondent brochure says a final injunction is enforceable in all 50 states.

Do I need a lawyer to respond?

The statute does not require one (s. 741.30(1)(f)). The Fifteenth Circuit tells served respondents to contact an attorney or the clerk's office.

Questions clients ask about restraining orders

Served with an injunction

• The hearing and how to prepare: what happens at a Florida injunction for protection hearing.
• Guns and ammunition: whether a Florida injunction means giving up your guns.
• Which type was filed: Florida's five injunctions compared.
• Children: time-sharing under an injunction.

Living with an injunction

• Length, extension and dissolving: how long a Florida injunction lasts.
• When the other person reaches out: what if the petitioner contacts you.
• Records and checks: injunctions and background checks.

Accused of violating an injunction

• Violation of injunction defense.
• When contact becomes a misdemeanor or a felony: the penalty for violating a domestic violence injunction.
• Repeated messages after an order: what counts as stalking in Florida.

When there was also an arrest

• First appearance: what happens after a domestic violence arrest in Florida.
• No-contact bond conditions: how bond is set in Florida.
• When the other person wants to stop it: whether the alleged victim can drop domestic violence charges.
• Sentencing: what a domestic battery conviction carries.
• When it becomes a felony: domestic battery by strangulation.
• Assault versus battery in Florida.
• Parents: discipline or child abuse under Florida law.

How can Mr. Mead help?

Mr. Mead has practiced criminal defense in South Florida for more than three decades, and injunction cases often sit beside a criminal case. He can review the petition and temporary order with you and talk through consenting, contesting and testifying. The office is in Boca Raton and serves Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. The consultation is free, and you can call 24 hours at (561) 362-6677.

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