Michigan Nondomestic Personal Protection Orders: Open to Strangers, Closed to a Single Incident
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Michigan · Last updated October 22, 2026
Michigan's nondomestic personal protection order asks nothing about how you know the person, yet it will not issue on a single incident. It needs a course of conduct, which the statute defines as a series of 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts amounting to stalking (Mich. Comp. Laws 600.2950a(1); MCL 750.411h). Michigan's split is therefore the reverse of the usual one. A one-off credible threat from a stranger or neighbour has no route into this order, while the domestic order can rest on a single act but only for five listed relationships (MCL 600.2950(1)). In plain terms, this is a family division of circuit court order directing someone you have no domestic tie to stop stalking you and stay away. If the person is a spouse or former spouse, a parent of your child, someone you date or have dated, or someone you live or have lived with, this is the wrong order and you want a domestic personal protection order under MCL 600.2950 instead. The court must rule on a request made without notice within one business day, and that ex parte order is valid for not less than 182 days (MCR 3.705(A)). An order after a hearing has no statutory minimum or maximum, so the judge sets an expiration date shown on its face. Filing costs nothing (MCR 3.703(A)). Eligibility is for the court to decide. 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 Michigan
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Can I get a Michigan nondomestic personal protection order over one threatening incident?
The statute points the other way. A court may not grant relief unless the petition alleges facts constituting stalking, which requires a course of conduct of 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts, or conduct prohibited by MCL 750.411s (Mich. Comp. Laws 600.2950a(1); MCL 750.411h). Whether your facts meet that is the court's decision.
How long does a Michigan nondomestic personal protection order last?
An ex parte order is valid for not less than 182 days and must state its expiration date (MCR 3.705(A)(3)). For an order after a hearing, the sources record no statutory minimum and no maximum. The judge sets the expiration date, and MCR 3.706(A)(4) requires it to appear clearly on the face.
How fast must a Michigan court act on an ex parte request?
The court must rule on a request for an ex parte order within one business day of the filing date of the petition (MCR 3.705(A)(1)). The order issues only if immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage will result from the delay needed to give notice, or notice itself would precipitate adverse action.
Does a Michigan personal protection order cost anything to file?
No. There are no fees for filing a personal protection action, and no summons is issued (MCR 3.703(A)). The court rules also set no motion fee for modifying, terminating or extending an order (MCR 3.707(D)), and no fee for a motion asking the court to find a respondent in contempt (MCR 3.708(B)(1)).
Michigan nondomestic personal protection order rules at a glance
Michigan files its non-family harassment remedy under a different name from most places: the personal protection order, nondomestic, issued by the family division of circuit court under MCL 600.2950a. The order directs a person you are not domestically tied to to stop conduct amounting to stalking and to stay away. The statute states no relationship requirement at all. The domestic statute carries that test, and the court form simply denies each domestic tie. What Michigan narrows is the grounds. The petition must allege stalking under sections 411h or 411i of the penal code, or a posted message under 411s, so a pattern of at least two separate acts is the entry ticket. In exchange for that narrow door, the timing is generous: a one-business-day ruling on a request without notice, and an ex parte term that cannot be shorter than 182 days.
A Kalamazoo County youth soccer coach and a parent who will not stop
A volunteer youth soccer coach in Kalamazoo County has a parent of a former player who, after being told the child would not start, begins turning up at practices, phoning her at home, and messaging her from new numbers after each block. The parent is not a relative, partner or housemate, and the messages and visits fall on at least nine separate days across three months. Because there is a series of separate acts, she brings a nondomestic petition on form CC 377. She asks for an ex parte order, expecting a ruling within one business day, and then checks the expiration date on form CC 380. If the parent had made a single frightening remark in a car park, that one act would not meet the course of conduct requirement. The court decides.
Relevant Laws
Mich. Comp. Laws 600.2950a (personal protection orders against stalking, nondomestic)
The governing statute. Subsection (1) lets an individual petition the family division of circuit court for an order restraining conduct prohibited under sections 411h, 411i or 411s of the Michigan penal code, and bars relief unless the petition alleges facts constituting stalking or prohibited posting. Subsection (13) makes an ex parte order valid for not less than 182 days. The section's history line ends with 2018 PA 146.
Mich. Comp. Laws 750.411h (stalking, with the definitions the order depends on)
Defines course of conduct as a pattern of conduct composed of a series of 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts evidencing a continuity of purpose, harassment as repeated or continuing unconsented contact that would cause a reasonable individual emotional distress and actually does, and stalking as a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment. Constitutionally protected activity and conduct serving a legitimate purpose are not harassment.
Mich. Comp. Laws 600.2950 (domestic personal protection orders, for routing)
The domestic order. Subsection (1) allows a petition to restrain a spouse, a former spouse, an individual with whom the petitioner has a child in common, an individual with whom the petitioner has or has had a dating relationship, or an individual residing or having resided in the same household. A petitioner inside that list uses this order, not the nondomestic one.
MCR 3.703 (commencing a personal protection action; no fee, no summons)
Provides that there are no fees for filing a personal protection action, that no summons is issued, and that a personal protection action may not be commenced by filing a motion in an existing case or by joining a claim to an action.
MCR 3.705 and 3.706 (ex parte orders and the contents of an order)
Rule 3.705(A) requires a ruling on an ex parte request within one business day, sets the immediate and irreparable injury test, and provides that an ex parte order is valid for not less than 182 days and must state its expiration date. Rule 3.706(A)(4) requires an expiration date stated clearly on the face of the order. Rule 3.706 itself contains no duration figure.
MCR 3.707 and 3.708 (extension, and contempt for violation)
Rule 3.707(B)(1) lets the petitioner move ex parte to extend the order, filed no later than 3 days before expiry, with the court to act within 3 days, and without barring a new action if missed. Rule 3.707(D) sets no motion fees. Rule 3.708(B)(1) allows a contempt motion for violation, with no fee.
SCAO form CC 377, Petition for Personal Protection Order (Nondomestic)
The petition, Rev. 3/23, issued under MCL 600.2950a and MCR 3.703. Item 1 states that the petitioner and respondent have never been married, resided in the same household together, had a child in common, or had a dating relationship with one another. The order itself is form CC 380, Rev. 8/25.
Regional Variances
Michigan civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Personal protection order (nondomestic), the stalking personal protection order, under Mich. Comp. Laws 600.2950a. The same section holds a separate sexual assault prong with its own standard, and a respondent under 18 is handled on a separate minor track and form.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
The statute states no relationship requirement. The domestic statute carries the test, listing a spouse, former spouse, a person with whom the petitioner has a child, a dating relationship, or a shared household (MCL 600.2950(1)). Form CC 377 item 1 denies each of those ties.
The standard
The petition must allege facts constituting stalking, a willful course of conduct of repeated or continuing harassment, or conduct prohibited by MCL 750.411s. Course of conduct means 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts. A single incident is not enough on these grounds (MCL 600.2950a(1); MCL 750.411h).
Ex parte or temporary order
Available on specific facts showing immediate and irreparable injury from delay, or that notice would precipitate adverse action. The court must rule within one business day and must state its reasons in writing. The respondent has 14 days from service or actual notice to move to modify or rescind (MCR 3.705(A)).
Duration
An ex parte order is valid for not less than 182 days. An order after a hearing has no statutory minimum or maximum, and the judge sets an expiration date that must appear on the face of the order (MCL 600.2950a(13); MCR 3.705(A)(3); MCR 3.706(A)(4)).
Renewal
An ex parte motion to extend, filed no later than 3 days before expiry, with the court to act within 3 days. Missing the deadline does not stop a new personal protection action against the same respondent. No motion fee (MCR 3.707(B)(1), (D)).
Court and form
Family division of circuit court. Petition: SCAO form CC 377 (Rev. 3/23), with instructions on INST CC 377. Order: form CC 380 (Rev. 8/25). Minor respondents use CC 377M.
Filing fee
$0. No fee to file, no motion fee to modify, terminate or extend, and no fee for a contempt motion (MCR 3.703(A), 3.707(D), 3.708(B)(1)).
Service
No summons is issued (MCR 3.703(A)). The respondent's 14-day window to challenge the order runs from service or actual notice, so confirm with the court clerk how the order will be delivered.
Violation
The petitioner may move, with a supporting affidavit, to have the respondent found in contempt, and no fee is charged for that motion (MCR 3.708(B)(1)). Firearm and criminal-penalty questions are not covered here, so raise them with the court or an attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Michigan guides
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Dealing With Debt Collectors in Michigan (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Michigan: One Court Date Ends Every Right to Buy It Back
Expunging a Criminal Record in Michigan (2026)
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