Connecticut Civil Protection Orders: A Narrow Door for Stalking and Sexual Abuse, Not Harassment
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Connecticut · Last updated October 22, 2026
Connecticut has no general harassment order, and the one non-domestic court order it does offer is a civil protection order under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a for victims of sexual abuse, sexual assault or stalking. That is the limit to read first. There is no ground here for harassment alone, for a credible threat, or for emotional distress, and the stalking ground requires two or more wilful acts that make you reasonably fear for your physical safety, so annoying or upsetting conduct that does not reach that fear falls outside it. The order is a Superior Court order directing someone you are not related to, and do not live with or date, to stop contacting you and stay away. If the person is a spouse, ex, partner, relative, someone you live or have lived with, or a co-parent, this is the wrong order and you want the family restraining order under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-15 instead, because the statute bars anyone who qualifies to seek relief under that section. The court can act on a request without notice where there is imminent danger, and a hearing follows within fourteen days. A final order cannot exceed one year, though it can be extended on motion. This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Connecticut
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Can I get a Connecticut civil protection order for harassment alone?
No. Connecticut has no general harassment, credible threat or emotional distress ground. The order under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a is limited to victims of sexual abuse, sexual assault or stalking, and stalking means two or more wilful acts that cause you to reasonably fear for your physical safety.
How long does a Connecticut civil protection order last?
A final order cannot exceed one year. It can be extended on the applicant's motion, served on the respondent by a proper officer, if no other protection order on the same facts is in place and the need for protection still exists (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(c)).
What must a judge find before issuing a Connecticut civil protection order?
Reasonable grounds to believe the respondent has committed acts that qualify under the statute and will continue to commit them, or acts designed to intimidate or retaliate against the applicant. The court then has discretion to make orders it considers appropriate for the applicant's protection.
Does it cost anything to apply for a Connecticut civil protection order?
No. The Judicial Branch states that you do not pay the court any fees for a civil protection order, and the fee for service of the application and any ex parte orders is paid by the Judicial Branch (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(d)).
Connecticut civil harassment order rules at a glance
In Connecticut the closest thing to a civil harassment order is the civil protection order under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a, and its name tells you its reach. It is a court order against someone you are not in a family or household relationship with, available only to a person who has been the victim of sexual abuse, sexual assault or stalking. What sets the state apart is that the Judicial Branch publishes a screening form, JD-CV-148, that asks who the person is to you before it asks what they did. Answer yes to the family or household question and the form points you to the family restraining order instead. The statute reinforces that sorting by barring anyone who qualifies to seek relief under 46b-15, so the first decision is which of the two orders you may ask for at all.
A Stamford food truck owner and a former customer who keeps turning up
A Stamford food truck owner has a former customer, with no family tie and no shared address, who after a refund dispute starts parking across from her pitch each morning, photographing her and the truck, and leaving unsigned gifts and notes on its counter. She is no longer sleeping and fears what he might do. Because he is not a family or household member, the screening form JD-CV-148 points her to the civil protection order rather than the family restraining order. What decides her application is not annoyance but whether two or more of his acts were threatening, predatory or disturbing and made her reasonably fear for her physical safety. That is for the court to decide.
Relevant Laws
Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a (civil protection order for sexual abuse, sexual assault or stalking)
The governing statute. Subsection (a) allows a person who has been the victim of sexual abuse, sexual assault or stalking to apply to the Superior Court, provided they have not obtained another order arising out of that conduct and do not qualify to seek relief under section 46b-15. It defines stalking as two or more wilful acts, performed in a threatening, predatory or disturbing manner, of harassing, following, lying in wait for, surveilling, monitoring or sending unwanted gifts or messages that cause reasonable fear for physical safety.
Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(b) and (e) (ex parte orders and the fourteen day hearing)
Provides that where the court finds reasonable grounds to believe an imminent danger exists to the applicant it may issue an ex parte order, that a hearing is set not later than fourteen days from the date of the application, and that an ex parte order may be extended by up to fourteen days from the originally scheduled hearing date where service has not been made.
Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(b) (the finding the court makes)
Provides that if the court finds reasonable grounds to believe the respondent has committed acts constituting grounds for an order and will continue to commit such acts, or acts designed to intimidate or retaliate against the applicant, it may in its discretion make such orders as it deems appropriate for the protection of the applicant.
Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(c) (duration and extension)
Provides that no order shall exceed one year, except that an order may be extended on the applicant's proper motion, with a copy served by a proper officer on the respondent, where no other order of protection based on the same facts is in place and the need for protection still exists.
Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-15 (family restraining order, the domestic violence track)
The routing statute. It applies to a family or household member as defined in section 46b-38a who is the victim of domestic violence by another family or household member. A person who qualifies to seek relief under this section is barred from the civil protection order, so a reader inside the relationship list uses this order instead. No order under it exceeds one year, with extension on motion.
Judicial Branch form JD-CV-148, Civil Protection Order Information Form
The Judicial Branch's eligibility screen. It asks about the conduct and about the relationship, lists the family and household relationships that disqualify an applicant from a civil protection order, and states that no court fee applies and that service is paid for by the Judicial Branch.
Judicial Branch form JD-CV-143, Application for Civil Protection Order
The application form for a civil protection order in the Superior Court. Its instructions call for an accompanying affidavit, form JD-CV-144, and name the order forms the clerk uses once the court acts.
Regional Variances
Connecticut civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Civil protection order, titled Application for Civil Protection Order by the Judicial Branch, under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a. There is no general civil harassment order in Connecticut. The only other civil instrument is the family restraining order under 46b-15.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
A person who is not a family or household member. The statute bars anyone who qualifies to seek relief under 46b-15, and the Judicial Branch screening form JD-CV-148 lists the disqualifying relationships, including spouses, former spouses, relatives, co-parents, people you live or have lived with, and people you are dating or recently dated.
The standard
The applicant must be a victim of sexual abuse, sexual assault or stalking. Stalking means two or more wilful acts in a threatening, predatory or disturbing manner that cause reasonable fear for physical safety. No general harassment, credible threat or emotional distress ground exists (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(a)).
Finding at hearing
Reasonable grounds to believe the respondent committed qualifying acts and will continue to commit them, or acts designed to intimidate or retaliate against the applicant. The court then has discretion over the orders it makes (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(b)).
Ex parte or temporary order
Available on reasonable grounds to believe an imminent danger exists to the applicant. It has no fixed term and runs to the hearing, which must be set not later than fourteen days from the date of the application (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(b)).
Duration
A final order cannot exceed one year (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(c)).
Renewal
An order may be extended on the applicant's motion, served on the respondent by a proper officer, if no other protection order on the same facts is in place and the need for protection still exists. The statute sets no cap on extensions and no length for one (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(c)).
Court and form
Superior Court. The application is form JD-CV-143, with an affidavit on form JD-CV-144 and the eligibility screen on form JD-CV-148.
Filing fee
None. The Judicial Branch states that you do not pay the court any fees related to a civil protection order (form JD-CV-148).
Service
The cost of service of the application and any ex parte order is paid for by the Judicial Branch. If service is not completed, an ex parte order can be extended up to fourteen days from the originally scheduled hearing date (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-16a(d), (e)).
Firearm provision and violation
Our sourced research did not capture a firearm surrender provision or a violation penalty for this section, so this page makes no claim about either. Ask the court clerk or an attorney, and treat the order as directing conduct, not as a guarantee of safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Connecticut Notice to Quit: 2026 Landlord Rules & 3-Day Statute
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Connecticut (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Connecticut: Your Town Collector Holds the Deed in a Drawer for Six Months
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