Protection From Stalking, Aggravated Stalking, Or Harassment

Overview

There are eight basic steps you must take to apply for a protection order against stalking, aggravated stalking, and harassment:

Step 1:  Verify that this is the appropriate application for you
Step 2:  Decide where to file your application
Step 3:  Prepare your application
Step 4: Prepare your confidential information sheet
Step 5: Prepare your exhibits (if necessary)
Step 6: Prepare a Civil Cover Sheet (if necessary)
Step 7: File your documents with the court
Step 8: Attend a hearing if scheduled and wait for the court's decision

Each of these steps is discussed below.  For general information about protection orders, click to read Overview of Protection Orders.

Step 1:
Verify That This Is The Appropriate Application For You

Which application you should file depends on the facts of your particular situation and why you need the protection.  You (now called the “applicant”) can use the application on this page only if the conduct of the “adverse party” (the person you are seeking protection from) actually constitutes the crime of "harassment," "stalking," or "aggravated stalking.”

“Harassment” occurs when:

• The adverse party threatens to harm another person in the future, damages another person’s property, confines or restrains another person, or does any act intended to substantially harm another person’s physical or mental health or safety; AND
• The adverse party’s words or conduct causes the applicant to reasonably fear that the threats will be carried out.  (NRS 200.571.)

“Stalking” occurs when: 

• The adverse party engages in a course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or harassed or fearful for the immediate safety of a family or household member, AND
• The applicant actually feels terrorized, frightened, or intimidated or fearful for the immediate safety of a family or household member.  (NRS 200.575(1).)

“Aggravated stalking” occurs when: 

• The adverse party engages in "stalking" as defined above, AND
• The adverse party threatens a person with the intent to cause him to be placed in reasonable fear of death or substantial bodily harm.  (NRS 200.575(2).)

If you are confident the adverse party has committed one of the crimes described above, click to jump to Step 2.

If these crimes do not seem to apply to your situation, click for information about these other possible protection orders:

Protection from Workplace Harassment
Protection from Harm to Children
Protection from Sexual Assault

TIP!  If you and the person you need protection from are in a “domestic” relationship (which could include someone you’re related to, someone you're dating, or someone you have dated), you might need a protection order against domestic violence from the family court.  The justice courts cannot issue that type of order.  For more information, click to visit the Family Law Self-Help Center website.

Step 2:
Decide Where To File Your Application

You must file your application in the justice court for the township where the stalking, aggravated stalking, or harassment took place.  Stalking or harassment is committed "where the conduct occurred" or "where the person who was affected by the conduct was located at the time that the conduct occurred."  (NRS 200.581.)

You might be able to choose from between two courts when deciding where to file.  For example, if the adverse party is stalking you in Las Vegas, you could file your application in the Las Vegas Justice Court. But if the adverse party is also making threatening phone calls to you, and you received those phone calls in North Las Vegas, you could file in the North Las Vegas Justice Court.

To find out which justice court has jurisdiction over a specific location, click to go to Find My Court or go to our home page and use the Find a Court Location function.  For court location and contact information, click to visit Justice Courts.

Step 3:
Prepare Your Application

AUTOMATED FORMS INTERVIEW AVAILABLE! There is an automated interview that will complete the forms for you after you answer a series of questions. If you are filing for protection in Las Vegas, you'll be able to file the forms directly at the end. To use the interview, click here. If you file directly because you are seeking protection in Las Vegas, then you can skip forward to Step 8 after the interview is completed and the forms are filed. For all other cities, you'll have to print your forms, sign them, and file them yourself, then skip forward to Step 7.

A form Application for Protection Against Stalking, Aggravated Stalking or Harassment is available, free of charge, at the Self-Help Center.  You can also download the application by clicking one of the formats underneath the forms title below:

APPLICATION FOR PROTECTION 
Pdf Fillable

As you fill out your application, keep the following tips in mind:

 Your application should be typed or neatly handwritten.

 Do not write in the margins or on the back of the forms.

 Make sure every blank is filled, even if you write “None,” “N/A,” or “UNK” (for “unknown”).

 Be as specific as possible and include all relevant dates, locations, and witnesses.

 List yourself as the “applicant.”  You can request protection for other people in your household by listing them in the application.

 Whatever way you list your name and the name of the adverse party, list the names consistently throughout the application.

 If you are under eighteen years old, you must have a parent or guardian apply for the protection for you.

 The application and any supporting documentation you submit to the court becomes a public record that can be viewed by anyone.

 You are signing the application under penalty of perjury.  If you make any intentionally false or misleading statements, you may be subject to criminal penalties.

For more tips on filling out legal forms, click to read Basics of Court Forms and Filings.

 

 Step 4:
Prepare Your Confidential Information Sheet

The next document you must complete is a confidential information sheet.  The information you provide in this document is not available to the general public.  You can download the form by clicking one of the formats underneath the form’s title below:

APPLICANT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION WORKSHEET
Pdf Fillable

Provide as much information as possible.  This information allows the court to contact you about upcoming hearings or activities in your case.  It also allows law enforcement to serve documents on the adverse party.

 Step 5:
Prepare Your Exhibits (If Necessary)

If you DO NOT have documents (such as police reports or related protection orders) that you want to submit to the court to support your application, click to jump to Step 6.

If you DO have documents to support your application, print out and copy such things as:

• Documentation or transcripts of phone calls by the adverse party
• Notes or written threats left by the adverse party
• Pictures of property damage caused by the adverse party
• Any other written documents that help to support your application

You are not required to file a written police report before applying for a protection order.  If you have filed a police report, you can attach a copy to your application.  If there are other protection orders that name the adverse party, attached copies of those as well if they are available.

CAUTION!  Remember that any documents you file with the court become public records that anyone can view.  So be sure to black out any confidential information (social security numbers, for example) before you file them with the court.

 Step 6:
Prepare A Civil Court Cover Sheet (if required)

North Las Vegas Justice Court requires a cover sheet. Henderson Justice Court and Las Vegas Justice Court do not require a Cover Sheet. A Civil Court Cover Sheet is available for free at the Self-Help Center, or you can download it on your computer by clicking one of the formats underneath the form's title below:

CIVIL COURT COVER SHEET 
Pdf Fillable 

 

Step 7:
File Your Documents With The Court

If you decided in Step 2 that you are filing in Henderson, North Las Vegas, or one of the other Clark County justice courts (other than Las Vegas), you must take the following completed documents to the justice court and give them to the court clerk:

 Application for Order for Protection Against Stalking, Aggravated Stalking, or Harassment (and any continuation pages used)

 Applicant Confidential Information Worksheet

 Any police reports, documents, photos, notes, etc., that support your application

 Civil Court Cover Sheet (if in North Las Vegas)

If you want to keep a copy of the forms and other documents you are submitting to the court, make a copy of them before you give them to the court clerk.

If you chose in Step 2 to file your Application in the Las Vegas or Henderson Justice Courts, you will need all of the documents listed above, except the Civil Court Cover Sheet. All documents to be filed with the Las Vegas Justice Court must be electronically filed.  The court clerk will scan in your documents and return them to you, so you do not need to make copies.  But make sure any odd-sized documents are copied onto 8 ½ x 11 standard paper.  You will need an e-mail address to file.  For more information about e-filing, click to visit the Las Vegas Justice Court website.

 Step 8:
Attend A hearing If Scheduled And Wait For The Court’s Decision

When you file your documents, the court will assign your case to a judge who will review your information. The judge can:

• Deny your application.  If the judge denies your application, the court will mail you an order explaining the reasons for the denial. If you disagree with the judge's decision, you can file a motion asking that the judge to reconsider the decision or file a new application and provide additional information or evidence.
• Grant your application. If the judge grants your application, the court will mail you a Temporary Protection Order and the sheriff will serve the TPO on the adverse party. The order is not effective until it is served.

FYI!  If the sheriff can’t serve the order on the adverse party (or if the adverse party lives out of state), you must arrange to have the order served.  The order can’t be served by you or any person named in the order.  You can have the order served by a private process server or any person not named in the order who is at least eighteen years old.  After the order is served, proof of service must be filed with the court.

• Schedule a hearing on your application.   If the judge schedules a hearing on your application, the court will mail you the order scheduling the hearing and the sheriff will serve the order on the adverse party.  For more information about what to expect at a hearing, click to visit Going to Court.

A Temporary Protection Order is only effective for up to forty-five days. If you want the order to be extended for up to two years, you must file a motion requesting that the court extend the order prior to its expiration. The court will schedule a hearing, and the TPO will automatically remain in force until the hearing is held.  Click to visit Extending a Protection Order.

FYI! Some courts count forty-five days from the date the judge signs the order. But some courts count forty-five days from the date the order is served on the adverse party. Check with the court clerk where you filed your application to verify how long the order will be in effect.

To learn what you can do if the adverse party violates your protection order, click to read Enforcing a Protection Order.