Orders of Protection
Orders of Protection Procedures and Forms
You may obtain a Petition at the bottom of this page or in person during normal business hours. We are open Monday through Friday with the exception of holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
There are three types of petitions available:
- Civil Stalking Protection Order – form 10.03 – G
- Civil Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Order – form 10.03 – G
- Domestic Violence Protection Order – form 10.01 – A
Each has its own requirements. Please review the Ohio Revised Code Sections (ORC) to determine which petition pertains to your situation. Civil Stalking and Civil Sexually Oriented Offense Protection orders are governed by the ORC 2903.214 and Domestic Violence by ORC 3113.31.
Civil Stalking and Civil Sexually Oriented Petitioners must reside in Lake County. Domestic Violence Petitioners may file anywhere within the State.
It is not necessary to secure the services of an attorney and no deposit is required.
Your completed petition will need to be notarized by a notary public because you are swearing that the information you are providing is accurate and truthful. If you are unable to locate a Notary to witness your signature, Notaries are available at the Courthouse. Photo identification is requried by every notary public.
It is recommended that you file the paperwork as early in the day as possible, so the paperwork can be processed and your case heard. If a protection order is granted, the other party will be notified that they have been named as a respondent.
Upon completion of the petition, you will be directed to a magistrate or a Judge to hear your side (ex parte) and a determination will be made. If a protection order is granted, a court date will be set for a hearing in approximately 7-10 days when both parties are present.
Your order is not in effect until it is officially received by the other party. Therefore, it is essential to the process that you have an address at which the other party can be found. If the Protection order is granted, the other party will need to be notified of the court order (served) by the Sheriff’s office. This can be a work address if a residence is unknown.
Addresses will also be needed for your residence, place of employment and any other location where “protected” individuals may regularly be present, for example childcare facilities.
Any case filed in our Court is public record and can be obtained in person. We shield online access to these cases in order to comply with federal law.
My office can be reached with questions at (440) 350-2657.
Sincerely,
Faith Andrews
Lake County Clerk of Courts
The forms below are portable document format (PDF) files. To view these documents, you must have Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ installed on your computer. Acrobat Reader is available free from Adobe’s official Web site. To download the software, click on Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ and follow the instructions provided.
Protection Forms
Additional forms may be located at the Supreme Court of Ohio website by clicking here
CPO Form Assistants
Ohio residents seeking stalking and sexually oriented offense protection orders have a new online tool that enables victims and survivors to more safely access and complete the legal forms they need to obtain a civil protection order.
Ohio Legal Help, in partnership with the Supreme Court of Ohio, developed the tool and information that expands on the domestic and dating violence civil protection order tool built in 2021 that helps over 50,000 Ohioans annually. The new tool allows users to easily retrieve and fill out the forms online, starting and stopping as they need to, and saving the information as they go. The site is accessible by mobile phone, tablet, or computer 24/7; and has information on the different types of civil protection orders, online stalking, and gathering evidence from your phone.