Which of Florida's five injunctions was filed against me, and why does it matter?

This page is for respondents, the person a petition is filed against. It takes each type in turn and compares them side by side. The whole response, from service to the final order, is on our guide to responding to a restraining order in South Florida. The hearing itself is covered in what happens at a Florida injunction for protection hearing.

How do you tell which injunction you have, step by step?

1. Read the title. Florida courts must use the injunction forms approved by the Florida Supreme Court for each type (Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.610(c)(2)(A)), so the caption names it: domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence or stalking.
2. Find the statute. Domestic violence orders come from s. 741.30; repeat, dating and sexual violence orders from s. 784.046; stalking orders from s. 784.0485.
3. Read the relationship section of the petition. It shows which facts the petitioner relied on to qualify for that type.
4. Check the firearm warning. A final domestic violence or stalking injunction must state on its face that having a firearm or ammunition is a first-degree misdemeanor under s. 790.233 (ss. 741.30(6)(g), 784.0485(6)(e)).
5. Read the special provisions. Circuits may add approved local terms there (rule 12.610(c)(2)(A)), and those terms are what you must obey day to day.

How do the five types compare?

What makes a domestic violence injunction different?

It depends on the relationship. "Family or household member" means spouses and former spouses, relatives by blood or marriage, people living together or who have lived together as a family, and parents of a child in common; except for parents of a common child, they must live or have lived in the same dwelling (s. 741.28(3)). The conduct must be one of the listed crimes, such as assault, battery or stalking, or any criminal offense causing physical injury (s. 741.28(2)), or the petitioner must show reasonable cause to fear it. On that question the judge weighs eleven listed factors, from past threats to weapons to a pattern of controlling behavior (s. 741.30(6)(b)).

The same relationship test defines a criminal domestic violence charge, explained on our domestic violence defense page. This type also reaches furthest into daily life. The judge may award the petitioner the shared home, give the petitioner up to 100 percent of time-sharing in a temporary parenting plan, set temporary support and order treatment at the respondent's cost (s. 741.30(5)(a), (6)(a)). A batterers' intervention program becomes mandatory, absent written findings, if the respondent willfully violated the temporary order, has a violent-crime conviction or withheld adjudication, or had an earlier injunction after a hearing (s. 741.30(6)(e)). Children and time-sharing are covered on our page about seeing your children while an injunction is in place.

What about repeat, dating and sexual violence?

Repeat violence needs no family relationship at all; neighbors, coworkers and former friends can be parties. "Violence" here means assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any crime causing physical injury or death (s. 784.046(1)(a)). The Palm Beach County Clerk says the order may bar contact, keep the respondent 500 feet from the petitioner's home, work, school and regular places, and bar firearm possession with surrender. Local courts are described on our Palm Beach County page. When a parent seeks the order for a child against the child's other parent, the parent filing must have seen the events or have direct physical evidence or eyewitness affidavits (s. 784.046(4)(a)1.).

Dating violence turns on the relationship. The statute requires a dating relationship within the past 6 months, an expectation of affection or sexual involvement, and interaction over time on a continuous basis; violence in a casual acquaintance or ordinary business or social contact does not count (s. 784.046(1)(d)).

Sexual violence covers one incident of sexual battery, a lewd or lascivious act on or in front of a child under 16, luring or enticing a child, sexual performance by a child, or another forcible felony involving a sexual act, whether or not charges were filed, reduced or dismissed (s. 784.046(1)(c)). If the petition rests on the respondent's upcoming release from prison, the temporary order runs 15 days from release (s. 784.046(6)(c)).

How is a stalking injunction different?

Stalking means willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following, harassing or cyberstalking another person (s. 784.048(2)), and anyone can be a petitioner or respondent. The judge may restrain stalking, order treatment or counseling at the respondent's cost, and grant other protective relief (s. 784.0485(6)(a)). The Seventeenth Circuit, described on our Broward County page, says a stalking order will not address exclusive use of a residence, time-sharing or support. Its final order carries the same firearm ban as a domestic violence injunction (s. 784.0485(6)(e)). The criminal charge that can come from the same conduct is explained in what counts as stalking in Florida.

Do they last the same length of time?

Every type starts the same way: a temporary order of no more than 15 days, with the full hearing set before it ends, and continuances for good cause that keep the temporary order in force (ss. 741.30(5)(c), 784.046(6)(c), 784.0485(5)(c)). A final order lasts until modified or dissolved under each statute (ss. 741.30(6)(c), 784.046(7)(c), 784.0485(6)(b)), and Rule 12.610 lets the court grant relief for a fixed period instead. How a final order is extended, changed or ended is explained in how long a Florida injunction lasts.

What changes the answer?

• The relationship. A dating partner who never lived with the respondent and shares no child is not a family or household member (s. 741.28(3)), which points to dating violence instead.
• Timing. Repeat and dating violence both use a 6-month window (s. 784.046(1)(b), (d)).
• Firearms licensing. A concealed weapons license is suspended while a domestic violence or repeat violence injunction is in force (s. 790.06(2)(m), (3)), and FDLE's purchase check looks for both types (s. 790.065(2)(c)1.). Details are in firearms after a Florida injunction.
• Prior violations. The felony threshold is one prior conviction for a domestic violence injunction but two for the others.
• Where it was filed. A domestic violence or stalking petition can be filed where the petitioner lives, where the respondent lives, or where the events occurred (ss. 741.30(1)(j), 784.0485(1)(f)).

A worked example

For example, imagine a hypothetical respondent in Pompano Beach served with papers by a woman he dated for four months and never lived with. The petition is titled dating violence and describes a shove during an argument two weeks earlier. Because they never shared a home or a child, a domestic violence petition was not available to her under s. 741.28(3). That matters to him in three ways: the order is not one of the types named in the firearm statute, s. 790.233; there is no shared home or child for the order to address; and a future violation becomes a felony only after two prior violation convictions involving her. He still must obey every term once served, including any surrender clause. The example is invented and predicts nothing about a real case.

Common mistakes about the type of injunction

• Calling every order a "domestic violence injunction" and misreading which rules apply.
• Assuming no firearm terms apply because the order is for repeat or dating violence, without reading the special provisions.
• Overlooking that a stalking order needs no family or dating relationship, so it can follow a dispute with a neighbor or coworker when the conduct was repeated.
• Not checking the 6-month window and the dates of the incidents alleged.
• Treating the temporary order as less binding than a final one.

What to do this week

1. Read the caption of the petition and order and write down the type and statute.
2. List each incident alleged, with dates, and compare them to the requirements in the table above.
3. Read every special provision, especially firearms, the home and the children.
4. Gather proof of the relationship facts, such as where each of you lived and when.
5. Note the hearing date and whether it is in person or by video.
6. If there is a related criminal case, speak with a defense attorney before the hearing.

Frequently asked questions

Can the petitioner change the type of injunction later?

Florida law preserves a petitioner's right to promptly amend a petition (s. 741.30(5)(b); rule 12.610(b)(3)), and the court considers amendments as if originally filed (rule 12.610(c)(1)(A)). Read any amended petition as carefully as the first.

Is there a filing fee for any of them?

No. The statutes bar a filing fee for domestic violence, repeat, sexual and dating violence, and stalking petitions (ss. 741.30(2)(a), 784.046(3)(b), 784.0485(2)(a)), and no bond is required.

Do all five require an attorney?

No. Each statute says the case does not require either party to be represented by an attorney (ss. 741.30(1)(f), 784.0485(1)(d)), and s. 784.046(2)(e) says the same for the petitioner.

Can two people get injunctions against each other?

Courts may not issue mutual orders in domestic violence cases, but separate injunctions are possible when each petition meets the statute (s. 741.30(1)(i)). A separate order does not prove the parties are equally at fault (ss. 741.30(6)(f), 784.0485(6)(d)).

Is a risk protection order a sixth type?

No. It is a separate firearm order that only a law enforcement officer or agency can seek, for up to 12 months (s. 790.401). Florida also has an injunction for protection against exploitation of a vulnerable adult (s. 825.1035), which deals with financial exploitation rather than violence or stalking and is not covered here.

Where do I find what a violation of my type costs?

The levels for each type are in the penalty for violating an injunction in Florida.

How can Mr. Mead help?

Mr. Mead has practiced criminal defense in South Florida for more than three decades, and the type of injunction often shapes the related criminal exposure: a violation charge, a stalking count, or a battery case from the same night. He can review the petition and order with you and explain what the type means for your case. 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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