Texas Protective Orders for Stalking Victims: A Lifetime Order That Hangs on a Criminal Offence
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Texas · Last updated October 22, 2026
In Texas the order that can reach a harasser who is not family is a protective order for victims of certain sexual, stalking, trafficking and burglary offences, under Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 7B, and it can be written to last as long as the offender and the victim both live. It is a court order telling someone you are not related to, and not in a domestic relationship with, to stay away from you and stop contacting you. The limit comes first: this is keyed to a crime, not a general harassment order. You must be the victim of an offence on a closed statutory list, and for stalking under Penal Code section 42.072 the conduct must happen on more than one occasion under the same scheme or course of conduct, tested against a reasonable person (Tex. Penal Code 42.072(a)). Harassment that does not reach that offence has no chapter 7B route. If the person is a spouse, partner, ex, or family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want a family violence protective order under Family Code Title 4 instead (Tex. Fam. Code ch. 85). The article applies without regard to your relationship to the offender (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.001(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 Texas
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Does Texas have a general harassment restraining order?
Not in Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 7B. That chapter's protective order is tied to victims of listed offences, including stalking under Penal Code 42.072, sexual offences, trafficking and burglary of a habitation. Harassing conduct that does not amount to one of those offences falls outside it (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.001(a)).
How long does a Texas chapter 7B protective order last?
It may last for the lives of the offender and the victim, or for any shorter period stated in the order. If the order states no period, it lasts until the second anniversary of the day it was issued (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.007(a)).
Who can apply for a Texas chapter 7B protective order?
The victim of a listed offence can apply, as can a parent or guardian for a victim under 18 or an adult ward, or a prosecuting attorney acting for any of them. The statute applies without regard to the relationship between the applicant and the alleged offender (art. 7B.001(a)).
Does a Texas stalking protective order need a conviction first?
No. A victim may apply without a prosecutor. After a conviction or deferred adjudication, however, the prosecuting attorney must file an application for the victim, unless an adult victim asks otherwise. The finding needed is reasonable grounds to believe the applicant is a victim of a listed offence (art. 7B.003).
Texas stalking and offence-based protective order rules at a glance
Texas does not hand a harassed neighbour or coworker a general harassment order. What it offers outside the family is a protective order under Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 7B, subchapter A, for the victim of an offence on a closed list, and stalking under Penal Code section 42.072 is the only harassment-type entry. Two features set it apart. It can run for the lives of the offender and the victim, where the family violence order is capped at two years in the ordinary case. And control of the route is shared: you can file yourself before any conviction, or a prosecutor can file for you, and after a conviction or deferred adjudication the prosecutor must file unless an adult victim opts out. The related subchapter B stalking order depends on a pending criminal case, so it is usually led by the prosecutor.
A Lubbock pharmacist, a persistent customer, and the question of who files
A pharmacist in Lubbock County has a regular customer who, after she refuses his invitations, waits by her car after each shift, sends dozens of messages describing her route home, and on one evening tells her he knows where she parks. He is not a relative and has never lived with her, so the family violence track is not the right one. Her facts turn on stalking under Penal Code 42.072, because the conduct recurs and a reasonable person could regard it as threatening. No charge has been filed yet, so she may file her own application on the Office of Court Administration form or ask the district attorney's office whether it will act. If a court finds reasonable grounds, it issues the order, and the period it states is for the court.
Relevant Laws
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.001 (who may apply, and for which offences)
Lets the victim of an offence under Penal Code sections 20A.02, 20A.03, 21.02, 21.11, 22.011, 22.012, 22.021, 42.072 or 43.05, and burglary of a habitation victims, file an application without regard to the relationship between the applicant and the alleged offender. A parent or guardian may file for a minor or adult ward, and a prosecuting attorney may file on behalf of any of them. Article 7B.001(c) requires the form issued by the Office of Court Administration.
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.002 and 7B.003 (temporary order and the finding required)
Article 7B.002 allows a temporary ex parte order, without notice or a hearing, where the court finds a clear and present danger of conduct described in article 7B.001(a)(1) or (2) or other harm to the applicant. Article 7B.003 requires the court to issue a protective order, with a statement of the required findings, if it finds reasonable grounds to believe the applicant is the victim of a listed offence.
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.007 (duration)
Provides that an order may be effective for the lives of the offender and victim or for a shorter stated period, and that an order stating no period is effective until the second anniversary of its issue date. It also makes a lifetime order mandatory where the offender is convicted or placed on deferred adjudication and must register for life. The victim or applicant may rescind the order.
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.051 to 7B.053 (subchapter B, stalking protective order)
Permits a request, at a proceeding related to a Penal Code 42.072 offence in which the defendant appears before the court, for a protective order under Family Code Title 4. Because it rests on a pending criminal proceeding, it is practically prosecutor-led and is separate from the subchapter A order this page describes.
Tex. Penal Code 42.072 (stalking, the offence behind the harassment route)
A person commits stalking if, on more than one occasion and pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct directed at a specific other person, the person knowingly engages in conduct that constitutes harassment under section 42.07 or that the actor knows or reasonably should know the other person will regard as threatening, with the effect and reasonable-person elements the statute sets out.
Tex. Fam. Code ch. 85 (family violence protective orders, the routing destination)
Sets the terms of the Title 4 protective order for family violence, the relationship-based track a reader goes to if the person is a spouse, partner, ex or family or household member. The court asks whether family violence has occurred (section 85.001(a)), and the ordinary term is capped at two years, with limited exceptions under section 85.025.
Tex. Fam. Code 81.002 and 83.002 (fees and temporary ex parte duration, Title 4)
Section 81.002 bars a clerk, sheriff or other public official from assessing a fee, cost or charge to a protective order applicant in connection with filing, serving or entering the order. Section 83.002(a) limits a Title 4 temporary ex parte order to 20 days. Article 7B.008 applies Title 4 procedure to chapter 7B orders to the extent applicable.
Office of Court Administration, Application for Temporary and Final Protective Orders
The standardized application that article 7B.001(c) requires for chapter 7B applications, shared with the Title 4 family violence order. It carries no form number. The Office of Court Administration also publishes the Protective Order (Final Order) and Temporary Ex Parte Order forms, and an application to rescind a chapter 7B order.
Regional Variances
Texas stalking and offence-based protective order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Protective order for victims of certain sexual, stalking, trafficking or burglary offences, Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 7B, subchapter A. Texas has no general harassment restraining order, and this is separate from the Family Code Title 4 family violence protective order.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
Applies without regard to the relationship between the applicant and the alleged offender (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.001(a)). Coverage is decided by the offence, not the relationship. The victim, a parent or guardian for a minor or adult ward, or a prosecuting attorney may apply.
The standard
Reasonable grounds to believe the applicant is the victim of a listed offence (art. 7B.003). For stalking, Penal Code 42.072 needs conduct on more than one occasion under the same scheme or course of conduct, directed at a specific person, tested against a reasonable person.
Temporary order
A temporary ex parte order may issue without notice or a hearing on a finding of clear and present danger (art. 7B.002). The article states no duration. The Family Code caps a Title 4 temporary order at 20 days, and article 7B.008 applies Title 4 to the extent applicable.
Duration
May last for the lives of the offender and the victim, or any shorter stated period. Two years from issuance if no period is stated. Mandatory lifetime term for a convicted or deferred offender required to register for life (art. 7B.007).
Renewal
Article 7B.007 sets out no renewal procedure, and this page does not assume one. It does let the victim or applicant rescind the order. Ask the court how it handles a request to change the period before the order expires.
Court and form
Application for Temporary and Final Protective Orders, the Office of Court Administration form that article 7B.001(c) requires, shared with the Title 4 order. Texas does not number it. Companion forms cover the final order and the temporary ex parte order.
Filing fee
Article 7B has no fee clause. Family Code 81.002 bars fees to a protective order applicant for filing, serving or entering an order, and the Office of Court Administration instructions say no filing costs or fees are owed. Confirm with the clerk.
Prosecutor role
A prosecuting attorney may file for the victim, and must file after a conviction or deferred adjudication unless an adult victim asks otherwise. A victim may self-file before then. Subchapter B (art. 7B.051 to 7B.053) needs a pending criminal proceeding.
Firearm provision and violation
This page does not set out a firearm provision or a violation penalty for chapter 7B orders, and a reader should not assume either from another order type. Ask the court or an attorney, and report any contact to law enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Dealing With Debt Collectors in Texas (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Texas: A Lawsuit, a First Tuesday Sale, and a Flat Premium to Buy It Back
Expunging a Criminal Record in Texas (2026)
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