Ask the court to order a member of your family, household, or someone you date to stop abusing you. You can also ask the court to order someone you were in a relationship with to stop abusing you. People use different names for this court order. It is an Abuse Prevention Order, a 209A, a Protection from Abuse Order, a Restraining Order, or an injunction. The application includes up to 4-5 forms you must complete:
And 3 more forms, if you need them:
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. Consequently, it is not an approved court form. After you complete this packet, you will need to call the court and see how they would like it delivered.
Development and translation of the 209A interview was partially supported by the CLAVC Initiative, which is supported by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance through a Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Use the Affidavit Disclosing Care or Custody to tell the court if there are already any court orders about your child. It also tells the court if any judge is making decisions about your child now. Include cases in and outside of Massachusetts. When you sign the form, you swear that the information on it is true and complete as far as you know.
If you are seeking a Restraining Order (209A) this form is already part of that packet and can be completed there. This is the stand-alone form.
This form allows you to ask a judge to remove someone from your home to protect your safety or the safety of your children.
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. Consequently, it is not an approved court form. After you complete this packet, you will need to call the court and see how they would like it delivered.
This cover sheet must be filed in each civil case entered into Superior Court. The purpose is to assist the Clerk’s office by providing basic contact information for the parties, the case category, an estimation of how long the case will take, statement of damages and related cases pending in the Superior Court.
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not yet intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. It is not yet an approved court form. It will help you produce a document you can download and file on your own.
Use this form to ask the court to change your restraining order or end it if you are the person who asked for it.
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. Consequently, it is not an approved court form. After you complete this packet, you will need to call the court and see how they would like it delivered.
The public can call the Helpline to ask general questions about their civil and criminal cases and help them navigate the court system while the court system remains closed to the public except for emergency matters. The Helpline will be staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For emergency matters, court users should first call their local court Clerk's or Register's Offices. Contact numbers for individual courts and offices can be found online on the Courthouse Locator page. Emergency matters include: emergency protection and harassment prevention orders; arraignments of new arrests; bail reviews; dangerousness hearings; mental health commitment orders; care and protection orders; and other matters. Each department of the Trial Court issued Standing Orders that contain full lists of emergency matters.
