If you are in danger right now, call 911. A protection order is a powerful legal tool, but it is not an emergency response. Once you are safe, Idaho’s Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act, Idaho Code § 39-6301 and following, lets a person who has been hurt or threatened by a family or household member or a dating partner ask a magistrate for a civil protection order. The court can act the same day, order the abuser to stay away, remove the abuser from a shared home, and make temporary custody decisions for the children, all without a filing fee for a case seeking only that relief.
This page is about domestic violence protection orders specifically. If the person you need protection from is a neighbor, coworker, acquaintance or stranger, or you are looking for a restraining order inside a divorce or information about criminal no contact orders, see Idaho restraining orders, which explains those different tools. Holmes Law, led by Michael J. Holmes, is a remote practice with an Idaho mailing address in Meridian that represents petitioners and respondents in protection order cases across the state, in Ada, Canyon and other counties, including Boise, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Coeur d’Alene and Twin Falls. For all Idaho family law services, see the Idaho family law hub.
Immediate Safety and Where to Get Help
Before any paperwork, focus on safety.
- Emergency. If you or your children are in danger, call 911.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline. 800-799-7233, available around the clock, confidential, for safety planning and referrals to local shelters and advocates.
- Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence. A statewide organization whose member programs provide shelter, advocacy and court accompaniment in communities across Idaho.
- Idaho Address Confidentiality Program. Run by the Idaho Secretary of State under Idaho Code Title 19, Chapter 57, it lets eligible victims use a substitute address so a new home address does not appear in public records.
If someone may be monitoring your phone or computer, use a device they cannot access when you look for help.
What Counts as Domestic Violence in Idaho
The protection order process is available only when both the conduct and the relationship fit the definitions in Idaho Code § 39-6303.
The Conduct
“Domestic violence” means physical injury, sexual abuse or forced imprisonment, or a threat of any of them, committed against a family or household member, or against a person by someone with whom they have or had a dating relationship. A threat can be enough; you do not have to wait until you are hurt. Emotional cruelty, financial control and name-calling are real harms, but on their own they generally do not meet this definition, although they often appear alongside conduct that does.
Family and Household Members
The statute covers spouses and former spouses, people related by blood, adoption or marriage, people who live together or have lived together, and people who have a child in common, whether or not they were ever married or lived together.
Dating Relationships
A dating relationship is a social relationship of a romantic nature. In deciding whether one existed, the court may consider the nature of the relationship, how long it lasted, how often the parties interacted, and how long ago it ended. The Act also covers a minor child harmed or threatened by someone the child is dating or has dated.
Who Can File and Where
Filing for Yourself or a Child
Under Idaho Code § 39-6304, a person may file a petition, based on a sworn affidavit, in the magistrate division of the district court, seeking protection for themselves or for a family or household member, adult or child. A custodial or noncustodial parent, or a guardian, may file on behalf of a minor child who is the victim of domestic violence. Leaving the home to escape abuse does not affect your right to petition.
Where to File
The petition may be filed in the county where the respondent lives, where the petitioner lives, or where the petitioner is temporarily staying. Someone who has fled from Nampa to a relative’s home in Twin Falls can file in Twin Falls.
What the Petition Must Disclose
The petition must disclose any pending divorce, annulment, separation or custody case between the parties, any other custody order affecting the children, and any child protection or adoption case involving the children. If you ask for temporary custody, the petition must also give each child’s residence and residential history for the past six months. These details let the court avoid issuing orders that conflict with another court’s.
No Fees
Under Idaho Code § 39-6305, no filing fee, service fee, hearing fee or bond may be charged for proceedings seeking only the relief provided by the Act. Domestic violence protection cases are governed by the Idaho Rules of Family Law Procedure, and court assistance offices provide forms.
The Ex Parte Temporary Protection Order
Most cases begin with an emergency order entered before the respondent is told about the case.
The Standard
Under Idaho Code § 39-6308, the court may issue an ex parte temporary protection order when the petition alleges that irreparable injury could result from domestic violence if an order is not issued immediately. The court holds the ex parte hearing on the day the petition is filed or the next judicial day.
What the Temporary Order Can Do
A temporary order can restrain the respondent from committing domestic violence, exclude a party from a shared dwelling or the petitioner’s residence, restrain a party from interfering with the other’s custody of the minor children, prohibit contact and molestation, bar entry to specified premises, and restrict removal of personal items.
How Long It Lasts
The temporary order lasts no more than 14 days, although it may be reissued. The full hearing must be set no later than 14 days after it is issued. A respondent whose rights are substantially affected may ask the court to shorten that time, on at least two days’ notice to the petitioner.
The Full Hearing
At the full hearing under Idaho Code § 39-6306, both sides may present testimony, documents and witnesses. To grant a protection order, the court must find that the petitioner is in immediate and present danger of domestic violence. That includes, but is not limited to, situations in which the respondent has recently threatened the petitioner with bodily harm or engaged in domestic violence, or in which there is reasonable cause to believe bodily harm may result.
Preparing for the Hearing
The hearing is usually short and focused. Useful evidence includes photographs of injuries or damage, medical records, police reports, text messages, emails, voicemails and social media posts, and testimony from people who saw or heard what happened. Organize it chronologically, bring copies for the court and the other side, and be ready to explain why you fear for your safety now, not just what happened in the past.
When the Roles Are Reversed
If the evidence shows the original petitioner is actually the abuser and the respondent is the victim, the statute allows the court to realign the parties, designating the original respondent as the petitioner.
Relief a Domestic Violence Protection Order Can Provide
A protection order entered after the full hearing may include:
- No domestic violence. An order restraining the respondent from committing acts of domestic violence.
- No contact. A prohibition on harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting or otherwise communicating, directly or indirectly, with the petitioner and designated family members.
- Distance. An order to stay 1,500 feet, or another appropriate distance, away from the petitioner, and away from specified premises such as a home, workplace or school.
- Exclusion from the home. An order excluding the respondent from the shared dwelling or from the petitioner’s residence.
- Temporary custody. An award of temporary custody of minor children, when consistent with Idaho’s jurisdictional rules for interstate custody and with prior custody orders.
- Treatment. An order that the respondent participate in treatment or counseling.
- Costs and fees. An order that the respondent pay service fees and reimburse the petitioner’s costs, including a reasonable attorney fee.
- Other protection. Other relief the court finds necessary to protect a family or household member.
The Home and Personal Property
When an order is issued, the court may direct a peace officer to accompany the petitioner and help put the petitioner in possession of the residence under Idaho Code § 39-6309. An order under the Act does not affect title to real property; who ultimately keeps the house is decided in a divorce or other proceeding, not the protection order case.
Keeping Your Phone Number
Idaho Code § 39-6318 allows the court to order a wireless carrier to transfer the billing responsibility and rights to a phone number, including children’s numbers, to the requesting party, even if the other person is the account holder. The requesting party then takes on the costs of those lines.
Firearms
Idaho’s statute does not list firearm surrender among the relief in § 39-6306. Federal law, however, generally prohibits a person subject to a qualifying protection order, one issued after a hearing of which the person had notice and that protects an intimate partner or the partner’s child, from possessing firearms or ammunition while the order is in effect. The United States Supreme Court upheld that prohibition in United States v. Rahimi (2024).
Service, Enforcement and Violations
Service
Under Idaho Code § 39-6310, the petition and order must be personally served on the respondent, ordinarily by a peace officer where the respondent lives, unless the respondent was in court when the order was issued or waived personal service. If the officer cannot complete service, the petitioner is notified. The order is then sent to law enforcement and entered in Idaho’s statewide law enforcement system.
Violations
Violating a domestic violence protection order, including a provision excluding someone from a residence, is a misdemeanor under Idaho Code § 39-6312, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. A peace officer may arrest without a warrant on probable cause that a person with notice of the order has violated it. A violation can also lead to a criminal no contact order and can affect a stalking charge; see Idaho restraining orders for how those interact.
Orders From Other States and Tribes
Under Idaho Code § 39-6306A, a valid protection order from another state or a tribal court is enforceable in Idaho. Registration is not required, and no fee may be charged to register one.
How Long the Order Lasts, and Changing It
Relief under a protection order, other than a judgment for costs, lasts a fixed period of no more than one year. On motion and good cause shown, the order may be continued for an appropriate period set by the court, or made permanent if the Act’s requirements are met. A motion to renew may be granted without a hearing if the respondent does not timely object, so file well before expiration.
Either party may ask the court to modify or terminate the order, by written stipulation or by motion after a hearing, under Idaho Code § 39-6313. If you are the protected party and want contact to resume, ask the court to change the order rather than ignoring it; the order restrains the respondent, who can be arrested for contact even if you agreed to it.
How a Protection Order Affects Custody and Divorce
A protection order case is separate from a divorce or custody case, but the two affect each other.
Domestic Violence as a Custody Factor
Idaho’s best-interest factors in Idaho Code § 32-717 expressly include domestic violence as defined in § 39-6303, whether or not it occurred in the presence of the child. Under § 32-717B(5), there is a presumption that joint custody is not in a child’s best interests if a parent is found to be a habitual perpetrator of domestic violence. See Idaho child custody for how those rules fit into a parenting plan.
Running a Divorce Alongside a Protection Order
Temporary custody and home exclusion in a protection order can bridge the gap until the family court enters its own temporary orders. The divorce court then decides long-term custody, support and division of property, using the protection order record as evidence. See Idaho divorce. When a protection order leads to a change in an existing custody or support order, the change is made through the family case; see Idaho family law modifications.
If a Protection Order Has Been Filed Against You
Comply with the temporary order completely, even if you believe it is false. Do not contact the petitioner, even to apologize or to arrange to pick up belongings; ask the court or law enforcement for help with property instead. Note the hearing date and prepare, because an order entered after a hearing may affect your parenting time, your housing, your job, a professional license and, under federal law, your ability to possess firearms. You are entitled to present evidence and witnesses at the full hearing, and Holmes Law represents respondents as well as petitioners.
How Holmes Law Helps
Michael Holmes helps clients prepare a petition that states specific facts meeting the statutory definitions, organize evidence and witnesses for the full hearing, request appropriate custody and residence provisions, respond to a petition, seek renewal or modification, and coordinate the protection order with a divorce, custody or child support case so the orders work together. Consultations are by phone or video, anywhere in Idaho.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it cost anything to file for a domestic violence protection order in Idaho?
No filing fee, service fee, hearing fee or bond may be charged for proceedings seeking only relief under the Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act, under Idaho Code § 39-6305. If you hire a lawyer, the court may order the respondent to reimburse costs, including a reasonable attorney fee.
How fast can I get a protection order?
The ex parte hearing is held on the day the petition is filed or the next judicial day. If a temporary order is granted, the full hearing must be held within 14 days.
Can I get a protection order against someone I only dated?
Yes, if you have or had a dating relationship, meaning a social relationship of a romantic nature, and the person caused or threatened physical injury, sexual abuse or forced imprisonment.
Can a protection order give me custody of my children?
It can award temporary custody when that is consistent with Idaho’s interstate custody jurisdiction rules and prior custody orders. Long-term custody is decided in a divorce or custody case.
How long does a domestic violence protection order last?
Up to one year. On motion and good cause, the court may continue it or make it permanent if the Act’s requirements are met, and it can be modified or terminated by the court.
What if the person harassing me is not a partner or relative?
The Domestic Violence Crime Prevention Act will not apply, but a civil protection order for stalking, threatening communications or malicious harassment may. See Idaho restraining orders.
Speak With an Idaho Protection Order Attorney
Whether you need protection or are responding to a petition, the full hearing comes quickly and the result can shape custody and property decisions for years. Contact Holmes Law to schedule a phone or video consultation. If you are in danger, call 911 now, or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.