Rhode Island's Sexual Assault Protective Order: The One Non-Domestic Route a Harassed Person Can Use
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Rhode Island · Last updated October 22, 2026
Rhode Island has no harassment order of its own, and a harassed person with no domestic tie gets in through a different door: the sexual assault protective order under R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 11-37.2, filed in District Court. The chapter is titled for sexual assault but reaches harassment by cross-reference, because section 11-37.2-2(a) admits a victim of sexual assault as defined in section 11-37-1 or 11-59-2, and 11-59-2 is the crime of stalking, which includes harassing another person (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(a); 11-59-2). In plain terms it is a civil court order directing someone you are not related to, and not in a domestic relationship with, to stop harassing or contacting you and to stay away. Harassing means a knowing and wilful course of conduct aimed at you, intended to seriously alarm, annoy or bother you, with no legitimate purpose, that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress or fear of bodily injury (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-59-1(2)). The court's form is DC-60, headed Domestic Abuse Complaint, and it has a checkbox for stalking or cyber stalking. If the person harassing you is a spouse, partner, ex, family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want the domestic abuse order instead (R.I. Gen. Laws 8-8.1-1; 15-15-1). Relief cannot exceed three years, and there is no filing fee (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(d); 11-37.2-1(a)). 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 Rhode Island
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Does Rhode Island have a harassment restraining order for someone who is not a relative?
Not under that name. The relationship-free civil order in Rhode Island District Court is the sexual assault protective order under chapter 11-37.2. It admits a victim of sexual assault as defined in 11-37-1 or 11-59-2, the stalking statute, so a harassment course of conduct can reach it through that cross-reference (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(a)).
Which court form starts a Rhode Island sexual assault protective order?
Form DC-60, titled Domestic Abuse Complaint and captioned Title 8, Chapter 8.1 or Title 11, Chapter 37.2. One District Court form serves both chapters. It carries checkboxes for the sexual assault offences and for stalking or cyber stalking, so the title does not mean a domestic relationship is required under chapter 11-37.2.
How long does a Rhode Island sexual assault protective order last?
Relief is for a fixed period not to exceed three years. At the end of that time the court may extend the order on the plaintiff's motion for such additional time as it deems necessary (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(d)). An order granted without notice expires by its terms within a time the court fixes, not over 21 days.
Is there a filing fee for a Rhode Island sexual assault protective order?
No. Chapter 11-37.2 says a party filing a complaint under it may do so without payment of any filing fee (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-1(a)). The complaint is filed and heard in the District Court division where the moving party lives, except where either party is a juvenile.
Rhode Island sexual assault protective order rules at a glance
Rhode Island splits protective orders across three courts, and the split decides which building you walk into. Family Court hears domestic abuse petitions under chapter 15-15 for family members, parents and certain dating situations. District Court hears chapter 8-8.1, titled Domestic Assault, but that chapter is gated to cohabitants and to a substantive dating relationship within the past year. Neither fits a neighbour or a former friend. The relationship-free order is the sexual assault protective order under chapter 11-37.2, also in District Court, and it is open to a victim of stalking through the cross-reference to section 11-59-2. The District Court's own domestic abuse restraining order page, as read on October 22, 2026, lists only the cohabitation and dating criteria and does not mention this route. That gap, plus a form titled Domestic Abuse Complaint, is why a qualifying reader may never find it.
A Woonsocket tenant, a former friend and a complaint on form DC-60
A Woonsocket tenant ended a friendship with a man who had never lived with her or dated her. Over four months he opened new social media accounts after each block, posted her work schedule in a neighbourhood group, and waited outside her office car park twice. She first searched for a harassment order and found only the domestic criteria. Reading further, she found chapter 11-37.2, which reaches stalking through section 11-59-2. She filled in the District Court form DC-60, ticked the stalking or cyber stalking box, and listed every incident by date. Filing cost nothing. Because she feared for her safety she asked for an order without notice, which would last no more than 21 days if granted. Whether the judge grants relief is for the court.
Relevant Laws
R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2 (sexual assault protective orders, who may file and duration)
Subsection (a) lets a person who is a victim of sexual assault as defined in 11-37-1, 11-37-2, 11-37-4, 11-37-6, 11-37-8.1, 11-37-8.3 or 11-59-2 file a complaint in the district court requesting any order which will protect them from future abuse. Subsection (d) caps relief at a fixed period not to exceed three years, extendable on the plaintiff's motion.
R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-1 (venue and filing fee)
Provides that a complaint under the chapter is filed, heard and determined in the district court of the division where the moving party resides, except when either party is a juvenile, and that a party filing a complaint under the chapter may do so without payment of any filing fee.
R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-3 (orders without notice)
Provides that a court may grant an order without notice on an affidavit or verified complaint showing immediate and irreparable injury, and that every order granted without notice expires by its terms within the time after entry, not to exceed twenty-one days, as the court fixes.
R.I. Gen. Laws 11-59-1 (stalking, definitions)
Defines harasses as a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person with the intent to seriously alarm, annoy, or bother the person, which serves no legitimate purpose and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress or be in fear of bodily injury.
R.I. Gen. Laws 11-59-2 (stalking prohibited, the cross-reference)
Makes it the crime of stalking to harass another person, or to willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follow another person with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear of bodily injury. This is the section that 11-37.2-2(a) cross-references, and it is what opens the sexual assault protective order to a harassed reader.
R.I. Gen. Laws 8-8.1-1 (domestic assault, District Court, the routing statute)
Defines domestic abuse as certain acts between cohabitants, or between persons in a substantive dating or engagement relationship within the past one year. This is the District Court domestic order, and the relationship gate that sends those petitioners away from chapter 11-37.2.
R.I. Gen. Laws 15-15-1 (Family Court domestic abuse, the routing statute)
Defines domestic abuse in Family Court for present or former family members, parents, adult dating partners who are parents of minors, and dating situations involving a minor. It is the Family Court domestic abuse order that a family member or parent should use instead of this page.
Form DC-60, Domestic Abuse Complaint (District Court)
The complaint form, revised January 2023, printed Pursuant to Title 8, Chapter 8.1 or Title 11, Chapter 37.2. It carries checkboxes for the sexual assault offences, including those under 11-59-2, and for committing stalking or cyber stalking against the plaintiff.
Regional Variances
Rhode Island sexual assault protective order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Sexual assault protective order under R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 11-37.2. Rhode Island has no stand-alone harassment order. A harassed person reaches it through the stalking cross-reference in section 11-37.2-2(a). The District Court calls the shared form a domestic abuse complaint.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
No relationship test in chapter 11-37.2. The domestic orders do have one: chapter 8-8.1 needs cohabitants or a substantive dating or engagement relationship within the past year, and chapter 15-15 in Family Court covers family members, parents and certain dating situations (R.I. Gen. Laws 8-8.1-1; 15-15-1).
The standard
The plaintiff must be a victim of sexual assault as defined in the listed sections, including 11-59-2. Stalking there means harassing another person, defined as a knowing and willful course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress or fear of bodily injury (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(a); 11-59-1(2)).
Temporary order
An order may be granted without notice on an affidavit or verified complaint showing immediate and irreparable injury. It expires by its terms within a court-fixed time not to exceed 21 days, unless extended by consent, failed service or good cause (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-3(a)(2)).
Duration
A fixed period of time not to exceed three years (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(d)).
Renewal
The court may extend an order on the plaintiff's motion for such additional time as it deems necessary to protect the plaintiff from abuse. No cap on the additional time is printed in the statute (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-2(d)).
Court and form
District Court, in the division where the moving party resides, except when either party is a juvenile. The form is DC-60, Domestic Abuse Complaint, captioned Title 8, Chapter 8.1 or Title 11, Chapter 37.2 (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-1(a)).
Filing fee
None. A party filing a complaint under chapter 11-37.2 may do so without payment of any filing fee (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.2-1(a)). Chapter 8-8.1 has the same rule at 8-8.1-2(a).
Service, firearms and violation
This page does not state a service rule, a firearm provision or a violation penalty for the order, because none of the three has been confirmed from the sources used here. Ask the clerk, or request attorney review, before relying on any of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Rhode Island guides
Adult Guardianship in Rhode Island
Adverse Possession in Rhode Island: A 10 Year Clock an Owner Can Interrupt
Asset Protection Planning in Rhode Island (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Rhode Island (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Rhode Island: A Fraction of the Land Is Auctioned, and the Superior Court Ends It
Expunging a Criminal Record in Rhode Island (2026)
Ready to Draft Your Document?
Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.
Get Started