Harassment Prevention (258E) Orders

Also in
Show Endnotes
By
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Reviewed
Reviewed
Text

A Harassment Prevention Order is a court order to protect you from harassment and abuse by someone who has done any of these things:

  • Criminal harassment 
  • Stalking
  • Sexual assault

Harassment prevention orders are often called “258E orders” because of the law that created them, General Laws Chapter 258E. 

Unlike 209A restraining orders, to get a harassment prevention order:

  • You do not have to have a romantic, family, or domestic relationship with the defendant.
  • You do not have to have any relationship to them.
  • You have to show that you suffered from 3 or more incidents of harassment, or certain crimes like sexual assault or stalking. For a 209A restraining order, you have to show that you were abused physically, threatened with physical abuse, or sexually assaulted.
Widgets
What can a harassment prevention order do?

The court can order the defendant:

  • Not to abuse or harass you.
  • Not to contact you.
  • To stay away from your home or workplace.
  • To pay you for the losses you suffered because of the harassment, such as:
    • loss of earnings, 
    • out-of-pocket losses for injuries you suffered or property damaged, 
    • cost of replacement locks, 
    • medical expenses, 
    • cost for getting an unlisted phone number, and 
    • reasonable attorney’s fees.

Differences from 209A restraining orders

Unlike 209A restraining orders, 258E harassment prevention orders cannot:

Order the defendant to leave a shared home.

Include orders about children like custody, visitation or child support.

Order the defendant to surrender firearms and firearms licenses and identification cards.

A 209A order can include any or all of these orders. See “What if I might qualify for either a 209A restraining order or a 258E harassment prevention order?” 

What is "harassment"?

To get a Harassment Prevention Order, you have to show that the defendant "harassed" you. Harassment is:

  • 3 or more acts of willful and malicious conduct aimed at you and committed with the intent to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property that does in fact cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property.
  • “Willful” means on purpose.
  • “Malicious” means cruel, hostile, or in revenge

Or

  • An act that:
    • by force, threat, or duress causes you to involuntarily engage in sexual relations, or
    • violates certain specific criminal laws. Those criminal laws deal with:
      • Indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
      • Indecent assault and battery on a person with an intellectual disability.
      • Indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years old or older.
      • Rape.
      • Rape of a child using force.
      • Rape and abuse of a child.
      • Assault with intent to commit rape.
      • Assault of a child with the intent to commit rape.
      • Enticement of a child.
      • Criminal stalking.
      • Criminal harassment.
      • Drugging for sexual intercourse.
         
How do I ask the court for a Harassment Prevention Order?

To get a Harassment Prevention Order, file a Complaint for Protection from Harassment in any District Court, Boston Municipal Court, Juvenile Court, or Superior Court that covers the area where you live. See the Trial Court's website for the 4 application forms you need to fill out:

  • Complaint form, 
  • Affidavit form,
  • Plaintiff Confidential Information form
  • Defendant Information form, and 
  • Instructions.

If you and the defendant are both under 17, you must go to the Juvenile Court that covers the area where you live.

Note: 

Probate and Family Courts cannot issue Harassment Prevention Orders.

You do not have to tell the defendant that you are going to court before you go. Go to the Clerk’s Office and tell them you want to file for a Harassment Prevention Order and they will give you the paperwork. Make sure that when you fill out your Affidavit, you write what kind of harassment you have experienced and why you need the order. If you are asking for a Harassment Prevention Order because you have experienced 3 or more incidents of harassment, make sure it is clear in your Affidavit what those 3 incidents are.

After you fill out the forms, you will go to the courtroom and wait for your case to be called.

During your hearing, the judge will look at the paperwork you filled out. The judge will read your Affidavit and may ask you questions about it. 

The court is able to give you a temporary harassment prevention order that lasts for 10 days.

To give you a temporary harassment prevention order, the judge has to decide that there is a “substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment.” The court can issue whatever emergency temporary orders are necessary to protect you from harassment.

What happens after I get a temporary Harassment Prevention Order?

The temporary harassment prevention order can be in effect for up to 10 business days. During those 10 days, the police will serve the defendant with a copy of your temporary order. Then the court needs to have a hearing after they notify the defendant. The hearing is called a “10-day hearing.” At the 10-day hearing, you have to show the judge why the harassment prevention order should be extended. The judge will also listen to what the defendant has to say in their own defense. Both parties can bring evidence to support their case.

If the defendant does not come to the 10-day hearing but they did receive a copy of the order, the judge will still have a hearing and decide to extend the order. It is usually a quicker hearing if the defendant does not appear. 

If the defendant was not served with the paperwork before the 10-day hearing, the judge will extend the order for 10 more days to try to serve the defendant again. You will have to come back to court for the next hearing.
 

Is there a filing fee?

No. You do not have to pay a fee to file (apply) for a Harassment Prevention Order.

Can I keep my address and other information private in a Harassment Prevention Order case?

Your home and work address may be kept confidential. But if you need an order to keep the defendant away from those addresses, then they will learn the addresses if they did not know them already.

You can ask the judge to order that any part of the court file be "impounded" or kept secret from the public and others who might have access. To ask the judge for an impoundment order, file a Motion for Impoundment.

What if I need a 258E order right away and the courts are closed?

Courts are closed outside of business hours and on weekends. If the courts are closed, or you cannot get to court because of physical mobility limitations, you can contact the police first to start the process. The police can help you get an “emergency order” when the courts are closed. This is a temporary Harassment Prevention Order.

If you get an emergency order by contacting the police, without actually going to court, you need to go to the court the next court business day to file your Complaint.
 

How long can a Harassment Prevention Order last?

After the 10-day hearing, a harassment prevention order can be put in effect for up to one year.

If you go to court on the date when the extended order is set to end, you can ask the court to extend the order for whatever additional time is necessary to protect you. You will have to show the judge why you still need the harassment prevention order. You can also ask for a permanent order after the order has been in place for at least a year.

What is the punishment for violating a harassment prevention order?

Violating a harassment prevention order is a crime. If the defendant violates your order by contacting you or coming near you, you can call the police to report it as a crime.

If the defendant is found guilty, they can be fined up to $5,000, or go to jail for up to 2 ½ years, or both. The court could also order that the defendant complete a treatment program. Or it could order the defendant to pay you for costs that you paid for because of the harassment, like changing your locks or medical expenses for injuries you suffered.

What if I might qualify for either a 209A restraining order or a 258E harassment prevention order?

You might qualify for either a 209A restraining order or a 258E harassment prevention order if:

  • You have a relationship with the defendant that was romantic (married or dating or have a child together), you are related to them, or you lived together, and
  • What the defendant did to you qualifies as abuse under 209A and harassment under 258E. 

For example, if you were raped by someone who you lived with, you might qualify for either a 209A restraining order or a 258E harassment prevention order.

If you might qualify for either a 209A or a 258E restraining order, here are some things to think about:

  1. Under 258E, the judge cannot make firearms orders. Under 209A, the judge can order the defendant to surrender firearms and firearms licenses and identification cards.
  2. Judges are much more familiar with 209A restraining orders because the law has been around longer. Many courts will encourage you to file for a 209A restraining order if you could be eligible for both orders.
  3. What the defendant did might not qualify you for a 209A restraining order. For example, if the defendant “harassed” you by calling and texting you repeatedly, you might not be able to get a 209A order if what the defendant did does not also qualify as “abuse” (causing or attempting to cause physical harm or placing you in fear of imminent serious physical harm)
  4. If you need orders that protect your child, you can only get these through a 209A restraining order.
  5. 258E cases cannot go to the Probate and Family Court. They must be handled completely in the District Court, Boston Municipal Court, Juvenile Court, or Superior Court that covers the area where you live. A 209A case that starts in a District Court, Boston Municipal Court, Juvenile Court, or Superior Court can end up in the Probate and Family Court.

Feedback

Was this page helpful?