How to Get a Restraining Order in Connecticut

In this article we’ll walk you through how to get a restraining order in Connecticut. Click on any of the following links to jump to the section in the article.

1.) Qualifications for a Restraining Order

2.) Forms for Obtaining a Restraining Order

3.) Filing a Restraining Order

4.) Serving a Restraining Order

Qualifications for a Restraining Order in Connecticut

The law that explains the process of getting restraining orders in Connecticut is found in a statute labeled as Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-15.

Any family or household member who is the victim of domestic violence by another family or household member can apply for a restraining order.

The law defines a family or household member as any of the following:

(A) Spouses or former spouses;
(B) Parents or their children;
(C) Persons related by blood or marriage;
(D) Persons, other than persons related by blood or marriage, presently residing together or who have resided together;
(E) Persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they are or have been married or have lived together at any time; and
(F) Persons in, or who have recently been in, a dating relationship.

The law defines domestic violence as any of the following:

(1) A continuous threat of present physical pain or physical injury against a family or household member;

(2) Stalking, including, but not limited to, stalking as described in section 53a-181d of the penal code, of such family or household member;

(3) A pattern of threatening, including, but not limited to, a pattern of threatening as described in section 53a-62 of the penal code, of such family or household member or a third party that intimidates such family or household member; or

(4) Coercive control of such family or household member, which is a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and personal liberty. “Coercive control” includes, but is not limited to, unreasonably engaging in any of the following:

(A) Isolating the family or household member from friends, relatives or other sources of support;

(B) Depriving the family or household member of basic necessities;

(C) Controlling, regulating or monitoring the family or household member’s movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources or access to services;

(D) Compelling the family or household member by force, threat or intimidation, including, but not limited to, threats based on actual or suspected immigration status, to
(i) engage in conduct from which such family or household member has a right to abstain, or
(ii) abstain from conduct that such family or household member has a right to pursue;

(E) Committing or threatening to commit cruelty to animals that intimidates the family or household member; or

(F) Forced sex acts, or threats of a sexual nature, including, but not limited to, threatened acts of sexual conduct, threats based on a person’s sexuality or threats to release sexual images.

Forms

To obtain a restraining order in Connecticut, you need to fill out the following forms, which can be found at the Connecticut judiciary’s website.

Mandatory Forms

Application for Relief from Abuse (Form JD-FM-137)	This form tells the court information about the person filing the restraining order (the petitioner), information about the person the restraining order is being filed against (respondent), the relationship between the petitioner and the respondent, whether the respondent has guns, and what the petitioner wants the court to do.
Affidavit for Relief from Abuse (Form JD-FM-138)	This form tells the court what family violence happened, between whom the incident occurred, when the incident happened, where the incident happened, and who was there when the incident happened.
Restraining Order Service Respondent Profile (Form SMC-2)	This form tells the court information about the respondent’s appearance and where he or she may be found in order for a state marshal to serve the respondent.

Additional Forms If You Have Children Under 18

Affidavit Concerning Children (Form JD-FM-164)

This form tells the court information about your children, possible future children if a party is pregnant, and whether there are other instances of family violence.

Optional Forms

Request for Nondisclosure of Location Information (Form JD-FM-188)

This form asks the court to not disclose your address to the respondent if you believe that your health, children, or safety, and that of your children, would be in danger if the respondent knows where you live.

Supplemental Affidavit and Request for Orders of Maintenance (Form JD-FM-233)

This form asks the court to stop the respondent from doing things, such as refusing to pay necessary utility bills, canceling health, home, or automobile insurance, and hiding or getting rid of property that also belongs to the petitioner. You can also use this form to ask the court to ask the respondent to do things, such as make mortgage payments, provide a car, checkbook, or key, and provide financial support . This form can only be used if you and the respondent are spouses, or if you and the respondent live together and have a dependent child or children in common.

Sample Forms

To complete the forms needed to file a restraining order, you need to fill in the answers to the questions asked on the form according to the instructions given for the form. Don’t worry, the length of the forms may seem daunting, but we’ll take you through each page step by step.

To illustrate, we will fill out the forms for a fictional person named Samantha L. Smith. Samantha is filing a restraining order against her physically abusive ex-boyfriend, Peter K. Johnson, whom is also the father of her three year old daughter, Jasmine O. Johnson. Peter has been violent towards Samantha and their daughter.

To make things easy to read, we highlighted the sections we filled in with yellow and highlighted other important sections in blue.

DISCLAIMER: Please NOTE that the facts of your situation may be different from Samantha’s circumstances, so your answers to the questions may be different.

Sample Form for Application for Relief from Abuse (Form JD-FM-137)

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Sample Form for Affidavit from Relief from Abuse

The Affidavit from Relief from Abuse should include:

(1) the relationship of the family or household member as defined under the section Qualifications for a Restraining Order. For example, whether you are seeking a restraining order against a spouse, the parent of your child, etc.

In this case, Samantha is seeking a restraining order against the father of her child.

(2) the act of domestic violence, as defined under Qualifications for a Restraining Order, that you are seeking a restraining order against.

In this case, Samantha is seeking a restraining order because of a continuous threat of present physical pain or physical injury against the father of her child. Samantha believes that the threat is continuous, as opposed to a one-time incident, because Peter threatened that he will keep hitting her if she enrolls their daughter for football lessons, which Samantha plans to do.

(3) when the domestic violence occurred.

(4) where the domestic violence occurred.

(5) who was present when the domestic violence occurred.

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