These are the forms that you need to fill out.

209A Restraining Order Application (5 forms)

1. Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A)
2. Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A), Page 2 of 2*
3. Affidavit
4. Plaintiff Confidential Information Form
5. Defendant Information Form

* You only need to fill "Page 2 of 2" out if you have minor children.

You may also need to file other forms depending on things like:

• if you have children and want the defendant to pay child support,
• if you want to keep your contact information private,
• if you file an affidavit in a language other than English, or
• if you have pets that you want to keep safe.

See Court Forms: 209A Restraining Orders for these additional forms.

You can get the forms in English and 8 other languages. If you are using forms that are not in English, you will need to fill out the English forms also. You can get the forms:

• From the clerk at a courthouse. Use the list of forms to show the clerk the forms you need.
• From the court website. You would have to print them to bring them to court.
• From this website. See Court Forms: 209A Restraining Orders. You would have to print them to bring them to court.
• Use the guided interview on Court Forms Online. 
  • This free online tool helps you fill out the forms on your phone or computer by asking you questions. After you answer the questions, the program will generate completed forms that you can then file at court. You can also email the completed forms to yourself, an advocate, or save as part of your safety plan.

Important

Wait to sign and date the forms until you give them to the clerk at the court.

At court

You can fill out the forms at court or take them away to fill out and bring them back to file later. Wait to sign and date the forms until you give them to the clerk at the court.

Online

When you go to court to file forms you got online, the clerk may ask you to copy over Pages 1 and 2 of the Complaint onto their forms. This is because their forms have multiple pages with different copies for different people.

Forms in your language

If you are using forms that are not in English:

• Fill in all forms that are in your language except the Affidavit.
• Write your Affidavit in your language on the English Affidavit Form. The Affidavit form in your language explains what the English Affidavit form asks you to do.
• Use the forms in your language to put the information on the English forms as best you can. If you need help translating your information for the English forms, the clerk will give you an interpreter when you go to file the forms.

Important

If you are working with a domestic violence advocate, ask them to call ahead to ask for a court interpreter in your language.

If you are on your own, take the “Interpreter Services” chart to court with you. Show it to the clerk, and point to your language.
 

The 209A Restraining Order Application PDF has these 5 forms:

1. Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A) 
2. Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A) Page 2 of 2 (only required if you have minor children)
3. Affidavit
4. Plaintiff Confidential Information Form
5. Defendant Information Form

The first page of the PDF is the Instructions to the Plaintiff. You are the "plaintiff." This form tells you how to fill out the other forms.

Page 1 (2nd page of the PDF) is the Complaint. It has checkboxes and spaces for you to fill in with names and basic information about you, your relationship to the defendant, and what you are asking the court to order.

Page 2 is the 2nd page of the Complaint ("Page 2 of 2"). Use this form if you have children under age 18. You use this form to ask for orders about custody, contact with your children, visitation, or child support. See: How to ask for a child support order in a 209A restraining order case, How do I get or change a custody order as part of a 209A restraining order? and How do I get or change a parenting time order as part of a 209A restraining order? 

Page 3 is the Affidavit. See Writing your 209A Affidavit. When you sign the Affidavit, you swear that what you said in the Affidavit and the Complaint is true to the best of your knowledge. Remember:

1. Tell the judge what happened and why you need a 209A restraining order.
2. Write down exactly what happened. Do the best you can. Write down the things the abusive person said or did like, "They told me they would get their gun and shoot me."
3. Start with the most recent incident.
4. Include information about injuries, police involvement, medical treatment, or destruction of property.
5. Write why you are afraid of the defendant.

Page 4 is the Plaintiff Confidential Information Form. Write your name, home address, home telephone number, workplace name, address, telephone number, and school. This form is confidential and not part of your public file. The defendant, the defendant’s attorney, and the public are not allowed to see it. But, your address and contact information could still be included on your restraining order. If you want to keep this information totally private, you have to ask for it to be “impounded.” Learn more if you are worried about anyone being able to see your contact information, especially the defendant.

Page 5 is Defendant Information Form. The court gives this information to the police so they can find the defendant to deliver the order. Include any information that will help the police find the defendant.

See other forms you may need: Court Forms: 209A Restraining Orders

First, you need to decide which type of court you want to file in. See Where Can I Get a 209A Restraining Order? 

Go to the District Court or Probate and Family Court for the area where you live. If you moved away because you were being abused, you can still go to the court where you used to live. You can also go to the court for the area you live now. 

Important

The abusive person will know what court you got the restraining order from. If you are living somewhere new and don’t want the abusive person to know where, you might want to file at the court where you used to live instead.

If you have police reports, medical records, or pictures showing the abuse, bring them with you. But you do not need to have any of these things.

Sign and date the forms. Wait to sign and date the forms until you give them to the clerk at the court.

Give the forms you have filled out to the clerk at the court.

Clerks are not allowed to give you legal advice. They must not tell you what you should say on the forms.

Everything is free. There is no charge to:

• get the forms,
• file the forms, or
• use an interpreter.

In some courts, the clerk will help you fill out these forms. But the clerk cannot go in front of the judge with you or give you any legal advice.

There may be an advocate in the courthouse who can help you with the paperwork and stand with you in front of the judge. Ask the court clerk if there is an advocate who can help you. The clerk will know.

If there is an advocate at the courthouse, the advocate will not be someone who works for the court. The advocate probably will not be a lawyer. The advocate may be:

• a Victim/Witness Advocate from the District Attorney's (DA's) office; or
• a SAFEPLAN advocate. SAFEPLAN is a program of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA). SAFEPLAN advocates work with local domestic violence programs; or
• an advocate from a domestic violence program/shelter or another social service agency. Contact the Safelink domestic violence hotline for a referral to an advocate.