Minnesota's Harassment Restraining Order: Two Years First, Up to Fifty for Repeat Respondents
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Minnesota · Last updated October 22, 2026
Minnesota's harassment restraining order, known as an HRO, sits in the criminal code at Minn. Stat. 609.748 rather than in a family-law chapter, and its duration has two tiers: a fixed period of not more than two years, or up to 50 years once a respondent has a record of repeat orders or violations. It is a court order telling someone, whatever their relationship to you, to stop harassing you and to keep away. If the person is a spouse or former spouse, a relative, someone you live or have lived with, a co-parent, or a person in a significant romantic or sexual relationship, this is the wrong order and you want an order for protection under Minn. Stat. 518B.01 instead. For an HRO the court looks for reasonable grounds to believe the respondent engaged in harassment. That means a single incident of physical or sexual assault, or repeated incidents of intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that have a substantial adverse effect on your safety, security, or privacy (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 1(a)). No violence is required for the repeated-conduct route, and the statute applies regardless of the relationship between you and the other person. A temporary order can issue without notice and stays in effect until a hearing. The section sets out no renewal procedure. 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 Minnesota
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Does a Minnesota harassment restraining order require violence or a relationship with the other person?
No to both. Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 1(a) defines harassment to include repeated incidents of intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that have a substantial adverse effect on the safety, security, or privacy of another, regardless of the relationship between the actor and the intended target.
How long does a Minnesota harassment restraining order last?
Generally a fixed period of not more than two years. If the court finds two or more previous restraining orders in effect against the same respondent, or two or more violations of a prior or existing order, relief may last up to 50 years (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 5(b)).
What standard does a Minnesota court apply to grant a harassment restraining order?
After a hearing, the court must find reasonable grounds to believe the respondent has engaged in harassment (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 5(b)(3)). The same reasonable grounds language governs a temporary order. Where a petition rests on a single assault, it must also allege an immediate and present danger of harassment.
Can a Minnesota harassment restraining order be issued without telling the other person first?
Yes. A temporary restraining order can issue without notice to the respondent and stays in effect until a hearing is held (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 4). A hearing happens if the petitioner requests one, or the respondent does within 20 days of completed service of the petition.
Minnesota harassment restraining order rules at a glance
Minnesota's harassment restraining order is a creature of Minn. Stat. 609.748, in the chapter on crimes, and it directs a person to stop harassing you and keep away, whoever that person is. What sets it apart is the clock. A first order is held to a fixed period of not more than two years, yet a respondent with two earlier orders against them, or two violations, can face up to 50 years, and the statute gives you no renewal route. The reach is also wider than the name suggests: it covers a single physical or sexual assault, a single nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, targeted residential picketing, and organizations as respondents. The domestic order for protection under Minn. Stat. 518B.01 is the separate track for family and household members.
A Rochester storefront owner and the customer who keeps coming back
Picture a bakery owner in Olmsted County whose shop has been the focus of one former customer for years. Two earlier harassment restraining orders against him, each for the standard two-year term, have lapsed, and since the second ended he has resumed standing outside at opening time and posting about her staff online. She files form HAR102 in district court, attaches the earlier case numbers, and asks for a temporary order. The step this turns on is the duration finding: because two previous orders were in effect against the same respondent, the court may consider relief of up to 50 years under Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 5(b). Whether it does is for the judge.
Relevant Laws
Minn. Stat. 609.748 (harassment; restraining order)
The governing statute, in the criminal code. Subdivision 1(a) defines harassment, including a single incident of physical or sexual assault and repeated incidents of intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures with a substantial adverse effect on the safety, security, or privacy of another, regardless of the relationship between the actor and the intended target. Subdivision 5(b) requires reasonable grounds to believe harassment occurred and sets the two-year and 50-year duration tiers. The section was affected by the 2026 Regular Session, which added subdivision 5d on notice to the petitioner of service.
Minn. Stat. 609.748, subds. 4 and 5 (temporary order, hearing, and duration)
Subdivision 4 provides that notice need not be given before a temporary restraining order issues and that it remains in effect until the hearing. Subdivision 5 provides for a hearing and an order for a fixed period of not more than two years, or up to 50 years where the petitioner has had two or more previous restraining orders in effect against the same respondent or the respondent has violated a prior or existing order on two or more occasions.
Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 8 (modification and vacating)
Allows a respondent to request that an order be vacated or modified once it has been in effect for at least five years without violation, places the burden on the respondent to prove a material change in circumstances by a preponderance of the evidence, and bars a new request for five years after a denial.
Minn. Stat. 518B.01 (Domestic Abuse Act, order for protection)
The separate domestic track. Subdivision 2 defines domestic abuse as physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, committed against a family or household member by a family or household member. A petitioner within that list uses an order for protection rather than a harassment restraining order.
Minn. Stat. 609.749 (harassment; stalking; penalties)
The criminal harassment and stalking statute. Under section 609.748, subdivision 3a, the filing fees for a harassment restraining order are waived for petitioner and respondent where the petition alleges acts that would violate section 609.749, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, or 5, or sections 609.342 to 609.3451.
Minn. Stat. 357.021 (court administrator fees)
The general schedule of civil filing fees. Subdivision 2(1) sets the first-paper fee that matches the $310 base fee the Minnesota Judicial Branch lists for a harassment restraining order, which counties may supplement with a law library fee.
Minnesota Judicial Branch form HAR102, Petition for Harassment Restraining Order
The court's own petition form, with instructions on HAR101 and companion forms for law enforcement information, address confidentiality, and the notice to the respondent. Section 609.748, subdivision 3(a), directs the court to provide simplified forms and clerical assistance with the writing and filing of a petition.
Regional Variances
Minnesota civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Harassment restraining order (HRO), governed by Minn. Stat. 609.748 in the criminal code. It is separate from the order for protection under Minn. Stat. 518B.01.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
No relationship test. Harassment is defined regardless of the relationship between the actor and the intended target, and a victim or the victim's guardian or conservator may petition (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subds. 1 and 2). Respondents can include organizations alleged to have sponsored or promoted harassment.
The standard
Reasonable grounds to believe the respondent engaged in harassment. Harassment includes a single physical or sexual assault, a single nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, or repeated incidents of intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures with a substantial adverse effect on safety, security, or privacy (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subds. 1(a), 5(b)(3)).
Temporary order
Issues without notice to the respondent and stays in effect until the hearing. A petition resting on a single assault must also allege an immediate and present danger of harassment (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 4).
Duration
A fixed period of not more than two years. Up to 50 years where the court finds two or more previous restraining orders in effect against the same respondent, or two or more violations of a prior or existing order (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 5(b)).
Renewal
The statute sets out no renewal or extension procedure. A respondent may ask to vacate or modify an order in effect at least five years without violation, and after a denial must wait five years to ask again (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 8).
Court and form
Minnesota district court, in the county where either party lives or where the harassment occurred, with no residency requirement. The petition is form HAR102, on the Judicial Branch forms page.
Filing fee
The district court fee schedule lists a $310 first-paper fee, to which counties may add a law library fee. Fees are waived for both parties where the petition alleges certain offences under Minn. Stat. 609.749 or 609.342 to 609.3451 (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 3a).
Service
Court administrators and peace officers perform service without charge to the petitioner (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 5b). A 2026 addition, subdivision 5d, requires reasonable efforts to notify the petitioner of service on request.
Employment protection
An employer commits a misdemeanour by retaliating against an employee who took reasonable time off from work to seek relief under this section (Minn. Stat. 609.748, subd. 10).
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Minnesota guides
Adult Guardianship in Minnesota
Adverse Possession in Minnesota: 15 Years, Then Five Years of Taxes
Asset Protection Planning in Minnesota (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Minnesota (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Minnesota: Three Years From a Monday in May, Then Title Forfeits
Expunging a Criminal Record in Minnesota (2026)
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