Personal Protection Orders

In This Section

Personal Protection Orders help protect victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking.

Resources Available To You

  • Underground Railroad -1-989-755-0411

PPO General Information

Personal Protection Orders (commonly referred to as PPOs) are orders of the 10th Judicial Circuit Court that forbid a person from certain actions. There is no charge for filing a PPO. The person filing a PPO is the petitioner and the person the PPO is filed against is the respondent.

To file a PPO, fill out papers in the PPO office located in the lower level of the courthouse or contact the PPO office at (989)790-5412.

PPO Office Hours: 8:00am-4:00pm

  • You will need to file a complete petition/narrative including dates, times, and locations of the incidents, details of any injuries, and descriptions of events. Photographs are helpful.
  • You must have the respondents full name, full address and date of birth to file. 
  • Your PPO will then be filed with PPO Office.
  • Call the PPO office to find out if your ex parte request for a PPO has been granted.
  • If your PPO is granted, you will need to return to the PPO office to pick up your PPO and arrange for service, if respondent lives out of county. 
  • If respondent lives in Saginaw County, the PPO will be sent to the Saginaw County Sheriffs Department to attempt to serve. 
  • Once your PPO has been served, return the Proof of Service to the PPO office.
  • If your PPO is denied, you have the right to request a hearing that must be noticed for all parties.

What a PPO can do for you

A PPO may order the respondent not to:

  • Enter your property
  • Assault, attack, beat, molest, or wound you
  • Threaten to kill or physically injure you
  • Remove children from you if you have legal custody
  • Interfere with your efforts to remove your children or personal property
  • Interfere with you at your place of employment
  • Contact you by phone
  • Send you mail, e-mail, or any other forms of communication
  • Purchase or possess a firearm

Penalties for violating a PPO include a maximum of 93 days in jail and/or a maximum $500 fine. 

A PPO does not:

  • Evict a person in a landlord/tenant issue - you may contact District Court at (989)790-5380.
    Mediate neighborhood disputes - you may contact the Community Resolution Center at (989)799-5949
  • Protect personal property from damage - you may need to contact your local police agency.
  • Establish custody or parenting time - you may need to contact an attorney or the Friend of the Court at (989)790-5300.

Three Types of Personal Protection Orders

Domestic PPO - for victims of dating or domestic violence

To qualify for a Domestic PPO, you must establish one of the following relationships with the respondent:

  • Are/were husband and wife
  • A current or former dating relationship
  • Reside or resided in the same household
  • Have a child in common
  • And show an assault or a threat to assault, causing reasonable apprehension of violence and/or stalking.

Non-Domestic PPO - for victims of stalking

To qualify for a non-domestic PPO, you are not required to prove a relationship with the respondent. However, you must establish that the respondent has shown:

  • A Pattern of Behavior:
    • including two separate stalking incidents.
    • that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.

Sexual Assault PPO - for victims of sexual assault

  • This PPO is to remove the requirement of a non-domestic PPO of 2 separate stalking incidents.
  • A sexual assault in and of itself may qualify you for a sexual assault PPO.

Safety Planning

WARNING: Violence often gets worse if you try to leave or show signs of independence. Take special care and contact Underground Railroad to create a safety plan. 

What to do if there is a violation of your PPO

If the respondent violates the PPO, immediately call 911 or your local police. When the police arrive, they may arrest the respondent for violating the PPO.

To request a violation hearing when an arrest is not made, document the events and be sure to have evidence of the violation. You must file for a Show Cause Hearing through the PPO office.

SCAO General Forms

Additional Court Information