Peace orders and protective orders are civil orders issued by a judge. You can only qualify for a one or the other, not both. This article lays out some of the major differences between the two. Learn more about protective orders and peace orders.
Topics on this page
- Who is eligible?
- What is abuse?
- What types of relief are available?
- Where and when can you file?
- How long is the order in effect?
- Can the court issue mutual orders?
Who is eligible for a protective order and a peace order?
You can be eligible for either the protective order or a peace order. You cannot be eligible for both. The relationship between the people generally determines whether a peace order or a protective order applies.
Protective Order
- A current or former spouse of the abuser (also called the "Respondent");
- A cohabitant of a Respondent;
- A person related to the Respondent by blood, marriage, or adoption;
- A parent, stepparent, child, or stepchild of the Respondent or the person eligible for relief (also called the "Petitioner") who resides (or resided) with the Respondent or Petitioner for at least 90 days within 1 year before the filing of the petition;
- A vulnerable adult;
- A person who has a child in common with the Respondent;
- A person who had a sexual relationship with the Respondent within 1 year before filing for relief; or
- A person who alleges that within 6 months before the filing of the petition, the Respondent committed rape or a sexual offense or attempted rape or sexual offense.
Read the law: Md. Code, Family Law § 4-501
Domestic Violence: Can I Get a Protective Order? from the Maryland Courts
Peace Order
- Anyone who is not eligible for a protective order but is a victim of abuse.
- An employer may file for a peace order on behalf of an employee based on threats or acts of violence against that employee at the workplace.
Read the law: Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1502, § 3-1503
Peace Orders Series: Can I Get a Peace Order? from the Maryland Courts
What is abuse?
The acts considered to be "abuse" for purposes of a protective order and a peace order are similar, but there are differences. For example, peace orders include additional types of abuse. Also, be aware that there may be very specific definitions for the types of abuse. For example, the definition of "stalking" is specifically provided in the Maryland Code.
Protective Order
- Act that causes serious bodily harm
- Act that places the Petitioner in fear of imminent serious bodily harm
- Assault
- Rape or sexual offense or attempted rape or sexual offense
- False imprisonment
- Stalking
- Revenge porn
- Abuse of a vulnerable adult
- Abuse of a child
Read the law: Md. Code, Family Law § 4-501
Peace Order
- Act that causes serious bodily harm;
- Act that places the Petitioner (or Petitioner's employee) in fear of imminent serious bodily harm;
- Assault;
- False imprisonment;
- Harassment;
- Stalking;
- Trespass under Title 6, Subtitle 4 of the Criminal Law Article; or
- Malicious destruction of property
- Misuse of telephone facilities and equipment or electronic communication or interactive computer service
- Revenge porn
- Visual surveillance
Read the law: Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1503
For peace orders, you also have to show that the abuse both occurred and it is likely to occur again.
Read the law: Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1503.1, § 3-1504; § 3-1505
What types of relief are available under the order?
Both order a person to refrain from committing certain acts against others. However, protective orders offer additional types of relief.
Protective order - A court may include any or all of the available relief:
- Refrain from threatening or committing abuse
- End all contact with Petitioner
- Order the Respondent to stay away from Petitioner and to not contact or try to contact or harass them at their home, school, job, the place where they may be staying, from their children’s school(s), and from their family members’ homes.
- Order the Respondent to stay out of Petitioner's house.
- Order the Respondent to leave the home where you two live:
- if parties are married AND you are living together at the time of the abuse OR
- if parties are not married, but were living together at the time of the abuse AND Petitioner's name is on the lease or deed for the house OR Petitioner lived with the Respondent for at least ninety (90) days within the past year.
- Temporary custody of any children of the parties
- Establish of temporary visitation
- Award of emergency family maintenance
- Award of use and possession of jointly titled car
- Temporary possession of pets
- Counseling
- Order the Respondent to surrender all firearms
- Order the Respondent to pay filing fees and court costs
- Any other relief the judge determines is necessary to protect the Petitioner from abuse
Read the law: Md. Code, Family Law § 4-504.1; § 4-505; § 4-506
Peace Order - The court will not order all of the available relief. Instead, the court may only order the relief that is minimally necessary to protect the Petitioner.
- Refrain from threatening or committing abuse
- End all contact with Petitioner
- Stay away from Petitioner’s home, place of employment, school
- Counseling
- Order the Respondent to pay filing fees and court costs
Read the law: Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1503.1, § 3-1504; § 3-1505
Domestic Violence: Protective Order Safeguards from the Maryland Courts
Where and when can you file?
Protective Orders
- You can file in either District Court or Circuit Court.
- There is no filing fee.
- You can file the petition any time after the act of abuse.
Read the law: Md. Code, Family Law § 4-501; § 4-504
Domestic Violence: How to File for a Protective Order from the Maryland Courts
Peace Orders
- You can only file in the District Court.
- There is a filing fee and a service fee. The court may waive the filing fee for indigent Petitioners, but not the service fee.
- You must file the petition within 30 days of the respondent's abusive acts.
Read the law: Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1501; § 3-1503
Peace Orders Series: How to Get a Peace Order from the Maryland Courts
How long is the order in effect?
Protective Orders
- Temporary protective orders normally do not last longer than 7 days, but judges may extend a temporary protective order as needed, but not longer than 6 months. Temporary protective orders may be extended to effectuate service of the order, to provide protection, or other good cause.
- The final protective order will state the effective period for the protective order. Generally, the protective order cannot exceed one year. If the other party consents, the protective order can be effective for two years. There are some circumstances under which the order may become permanent.
Read the law: Md. Code, Family Law § 4-505; § 4-506
Peace Orders
- Temporary peace orders normally do not last longer than 7 days, but judges may extend a temporary peace order as needed, but not to exceed 30 days. Temporary protective orders may be extended to effectuate service of the order, to provide protection, or other good cause.
- The final peace order will state the effective period for the peace order, but cannot exceed 6 months. The final peace order can be extended for 6 months for good cause shown.
Read the law: Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1504; § 3-1505; § 3-1506
Can the court order mutual orders?
Mutual Orders - For both protective orders and peace orders, the court can only issue an order to the person who has filed a petition. Thus, mutual orders are only available if both parties have filed for a protective order or a peace order. If that's the case, then the court can issue mutual orders if the courts finds, by a preponderance of the evidence (i.e., more likely than not) that:
- Protective Orders - mutual abuse has occurred, both parties acted as primary aggressors, and neither party acted primarily in self-defense.
- Peace Orders - each party has committed and is likely to commit, in the future, an act of abuse.
Read the law: Md. Code, Family Law § 4-506; Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1505