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No Contact Order

Iowa laws make it possible for persons to get an order of protection from domestic abuse.   Each courthouse has forms you can use to start court proceedings under Chapter 236, Iowa's Domestic Abuse code chapter.   A protection order can be obtained free of charge and without an attorney.   Advocates are available through D/SAOC, to help you fill out the papers.

What follows is a brief summary of protection orders.   Seek more information before taking action.


The legal requirements you must prove to obtain a protective order are:

1.  Relationship:   You must show that you and the abuser meet one of the following:
  • Presently married, divorced, or separated.
  • You and the abuser are living together at the time of the abuse, or lived together sometime in the last year, in an intimate relationship.
  • You and the abuser are living together and are related by blood (such as parents) or by affinity (such as adoption or marriage).
  • You and the abuser lived together sometime in the last year and are related by blood or affinity.
2.  Abuse and present threat of harm:   You must show that an assault has occurred.   Assault means that one of the following must have happened:
  • Someone physically abused you or
  • Someone pointed a gun at you or displayed a dangerous weapon toward you in a threatening manner; or
  • Someone threatened you with physical contact which would cause pain or injury; and the threat put you in fear, and the threat could be carried out immediately.
3.  Residence:   You or the abuser must live in Iowa.   You must file your form petition in the courthouse located in the county where either you or the abuser is living.

Once the papers have been filed the judge will decide if there is enough evidence to issue a temporary protective order.   If the temporary order is granted, within 15 days, a court hearing will be held to decide if a permanent order should be granted.   At the hearing you must provide proof that abuse took place and the abuser has a chance to prove it didn't take place.

You should consider obtaining a lawyer for the permanent order hearing.

An amendment to Chapter 236 has been added to protect persons in an intimate relationship by expanding the requirements for a civil protective order.   In July of 2002, a person will be able to seek a protective order while in an intimate relationship.   The following factors will be taken into consideration:

  1. The duration of the relationship
  2. The frequency of interaction
  3. Whether the relationship has been terminated
  4. The nature of the relationship

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