If you are not represented by an attorney, Civil Protection Orders (CPO’s) and Juvenile Protection Orders (JPO’s) are requested on the 6th floor of the Franklin County Courthouse, 373 South High Street. As you exit the elevator, signs will direct you to the intake desk. Once you arrive at the Protection Order area, a Liaison Clerk will guide you through filling out the necessary paperwork to request the order of protection from the court. This part of the process takes about an hour. After you have completed the necessary paperwork, the CPO liaison will direct you to the courtrooms to speak to a judge or magistrate.

The entire process takes a minimum of 3 hours, so please arrive to the CPO Liaison Desk prior to 2 pm. Allow enough time for parking and the walk to the courthouse.  If you arrive after 2 pm, we will not be able to process your request due to the time it takes to fill out the forms, see a judge or magistrate and have the completed paperwork to the sheriff to issue the order.

An ex-parte hearing (a hearing in which only you are present) will be held. If the judge finds reasonable cause, he/she will issue a temporary order commanding the respondent (the person you are asserting is causing or may cause you physical harm) to maintain a certain distance from you, vacate the shared residence, or to take (or not to take) certain actions as deemed applicable.

A copy of this order will be delivered to the Franklin County Sheriff’s office (or mailed to a foreign sheriff’s department) who will attempt to serve a copy of the order to the respondent that same day.

A full hearing will be set for seven to ten days after the petition is filed. The temporary order will remain in effect until this hearing. At the final hearing, the judge will decide whether to put a full civil protection order into effect for five years.You may contact the Family Protection Center at: drj_familyprotectioncenterCPOdesk@fccourts.org

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