How to Get a Protection From Abuse Order in Northampton or Lehigh County: The Petitioner's Guide

Scope. This guide is for a person asking a Pennsylvania court for protection from abuse in Northampton or Lehigh County. The court calls that person the petitioner or plaintiff. It explains:

• who qualifies;
• where and when to file;
• what an emergency or temporary order can do;
• how the other person is served;
• how to prepare for the final hearing;
• what to do if the order is violated.

It is general information, not legal advice. The court's current instructions and the orders in your case control. Official sources were checked on September 27, 2026.

The short version

Filing works like this:

• Where and when. File at the courthouse during filing hours. In Northampton County, that is the Protection From Abuse Office, Room L113 on the courthouse's lower level, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on weekdays. In Lehigh County, it is the Family Court Office, Room 423, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on weekdays except legal holidays.
• Cost. Filing costs nothing.
• Same-day review. A judge reviews your petition the same day without the other person present. If you show immediate and present danger of abuse, the judge can enter a temporary order.
• Service. The sheriff or another law enforcement agency serves the other person. Do not try to serve the papers yourself.
• Final hearing. It must be held within ten business days after you file. You must attend, and you must prove abuse by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not.
• How long it lasts. A final order or approved agreement lasts up to three years, and it can be extended on specific grounds.

If you need protection at night, on a weekend or on a holiday, call 911 or your police department. They can connect you with the on-duty magisterial district judge for a short-term emergency order. You then go to the courthouse on the next business day to file for a temporary order.

Do you qualify for a PFA?

Two things must be true: a qualifying relationship, and abuse as the law defines it.

The relationship. The Protection From Abuse Act covers "family or household members," defined as: "Spouses or persons who have been spouses, persons living as spouses or who lived as spouses, parents and children, other persons related by consanguinity or affinity, current or former sexual or intimate partners or persons who share biological parenthood." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6102(a). A dating relationship can qualify. In Evans v. Braun, 12 A.3d 395 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010), the Superior Court affirmed a PFA for a woman who had gone on two dates with a coworker. It held that a dating relationship the two had mutually chosen, involving a romantic bond, made them sexual or intimate partners under the Act. A roommate, neighbor or coworker is not covered merely because you share an address or a workplace.

The abuse. "Abuse" means "[t]he occurrence of one or more of the following acts between family or household members, sexual or intimate partners or persons who share biological parenthood":

• "Attempting to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury, serious bodily injury, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault or incest with or without a deadly weapon."
• "Placing another in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury."
• "The infliction of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903 (relating to false imprisonment)."
• "Physically or sexually abusing minor children, including such terms as defined in Chapter 63 (relating to child protective services)."
• "Knowingly engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts toward another person, including following the person, without proper authority, under circumstances which place the person in reasonable fear of bodily injury."

23 Pa.C.S. § 6102(a). You do not need a visible injury or a criminal charge. A threat or a pattern of conduct can qualify if it fits one of these categories. An argument or a breakup, without more, does not.

Who can file. Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(a), "[a]n adult or an emancipated minor may seek relief under this chapter for that person." A parent, an adult household member or a guardian ad litem may file on behalf of minor children. The guardian of the person of an adult who has been declared incompetent may file on that adult's behalf. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(a).

Which county. You may file in a county in which:

1. "the plaintiff resides, either temporarily or permanently, or is employed," or
2. "the defendant may be served," or
3. "the abuse occurred."

Pa.R.C.P. 1901.1(a). If you are staying somewhere new for safety, you can file where you are staying. If you are asking the court to remove the other person from a home, you must file in the county where the home is located. Pa.R.C.P. 1901.1(b).

If the relationship does not qualify. A PFA is not available, but other protection may be. Pennsylvania has a separate protection order for victims of sexual violence committed by someone who is not a family or household member. The same law also covers harassment or stalking of a minor by an adult outside those relationships. 42 Pa.C.S. Chapter 62A. Criminal conduct can also be reported to the police.

Before you go: what to bring and how to write the petition

Plan for several hours. Lehigh County's court warns: "This is a lengthy process and it may take several hours to complete." Arrange childcare and time away from work if you can. Both counties' published procedures are built around filing in person at the courthouse office.

Bring:

• photo identification;
• the other person's full name and every address where they live, work or can be found;
• photographs, messages, voicemails, medical records and police reports connected to the abuse;
• any existing custody, support or protection orders involving the two of you;
• your children's names and dates of birth, if you are asking for protection for them or for temporary custody;
• what you know about the other person's firearms, other weapons and ammunition.

Northampton's instructions stress that "the petitioner provides an address of residency, employment, etc. to the PFA Office so that the Sheriff can effect service upon the defendant."

Write the petition carefully. Describe the most recent incident first, then earlier incidents, with dates or approximate dates. Use the actual words of any threats. Say whether weapons were involved and whether children were present. Then list the protection you are asking for. The petition ends with this verification: "I understand that any false statements are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities." Pa.R.C.P. 1905. Be accurate rather than dramatic. The other person receives a copy of your petition when served, and inconsistencies can hurt you at the hearing.

Tell the court about firearms. The statewide petition form asks whether the defendant has used or threatened to use firearms or other weapons against you or the children. Its Attachment A asks you to list those weapons, and any other firearms, other weapons or ammunition that, to the best of your knowledge or belief, the defendant owns or possesses. Pa.R.C.P. 1905. That information lets the judge consider ordering the defendant to "temporarily relinquish to the sheriff any firearms, other weapons or ammunition for the duration of the temporary order." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(b)(3).

There is no filing fee. "No plaintiff seeking relief under this chapter shall be charged any fees or costs associated with the filing, issuance, registration or service of a petition, motion, complaint, order or any other filing." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(b). The Pennsylvania courts' own guidance says the same: "There is no cost to file for a protection order." If an order is granted, fees and costs are assessed against the defendant, not you, unless the court waives them. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(c).

Filing day: the same-day hearing and the temporary order

What happens. In Northampton County, "a staff will take your petition with the allegations of abuse. You will be escorted to the Motions Judge's chambers or courtroom to speak with the Judge, who will decide on granting or denying your petition." In Lehigh County, "You will be taken before a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas who will hold an ex parte (only one party) hearing. The Judge will review your papers and ask you questions."

The standard. "If a plaintiff petitions for temporary order for protection from abuse and alleges immediate and present danger of abuse to the plaintiff or minor children, the court shall conduct an ex parte proceeding." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(b)(1). The judge "may enter such a temporary order as it deems necessary to protect the plaintiff or minor children when it finds they are in immediate and present danger of abuse. The order shall remain in effect until modified or terminated by the court after notice and hearing." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(b)(2).

What a temporary order can include. Depending on the facts, a temporary order can:

• direct the defendant to stop the abuse;
• prohibit contact;
• keep the defendant away from your home, work or school;
• remove the defendant from a shared residence;
• address a companion animal;
• order temporary relinquishment of firearms.

It can also address temporary custody, with one important limit. If the defendant already has custody under a court order or a written agreement, a temporary order does not change it "unless the court finds that the defendant is likely to inflict abuse upon the children or to remove the children from the jurisdiction of the court prior to the hearing." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(a)(4)(iv). Bring any existing custody order with you.

Keep the order with you. If a temporary order is granted, you receive a copy before you leave the courthouse, and the final hearing is scheduled. Lehigh's instructions say to keep that copy "with you at all times." If the order covers your workplace or your children's school or daycare, consider giving a copy to the people there who handle security or pickups.

If the judge denies a temporary order. The case does not necessarily end. The Act calls for a hearing within ten business days after a petition is filed, 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(a), and Lehigh County's published instructions include a separate form for ending a case in which the temporary order was denied. Before you leave, ask the office whether a final hearing has been scheduled and what date to attend.

After hours, weekends and holidays: emergency orders

When the Court of Common Pleas is unavailable, such as overnight and on weekends, Pennsylvania law lets a magisterial district judge, acting as a hearing officer, grant emergency relief. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6110. "Immediate and present danger of abuse to the plaintiff or minor children shall constitute good cause." § 6110(a).

What an emergency order can do. It is narrower than a court order. It can direct the defendant to stop the abuse and add only certain protections:

• removing the defendant from a shared residence;
• prohibiting contact;
• a companion-animal provision.

It does not decide custody or support, and it does not order firearms relinquishment. § 6110(a). Raise firearms when you file for the temporary order.

How long it lasts. An emergency order "shall expire at the end of the next business day the court deems itself available." § 6110(b). To keep protection in place, go to the courthouse during filing hours on the next business day and file for a temporary order. The hearing officer must give you instructions for doing that. The hearing officer must also "advise the plaintiff of the existence of programs for victims of domestic violence in the county or in nearby counties and inform the plaintiff of the availability of legal assistance without cost if the plaintiff is unable to pay for them." § 6110(d).

How to reach the on-duty judge:

• Statewide. The Pennsylvania courts direct: "Dial 911 for law enforcement after hours, weekends and holidays."
• Northampton County. The court states that "A Magisterial District Judge is available 24 hours a day to serve the public with all Magisterial District Judges serving night and weekend duty on a rotating basis."
• Lehigh County. People who arrive after the 12:15 p.m. filing cutoff "will be provided instructions for seeking a Temporary and/or Emergency PFA Order." The court's emergency-PFA page points petitioners to the night-duty magisterial district judge after 4:00 p.m. "After business hours and on weekends, your police department can connect you with the 'on duty' Magisterial District Judge."

Service: law enforcement serves the papers, not you

"The court shall adopt a means of prompt and effective service and order that the sheriff or appropriate law enforcement agency serve the petition and order." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(f), as amended by Act 23 of 2025. Do not try to serve the papers yourself, and do not contact the other person to tell them about the order. Service costs you nothing. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(b).

Give the office every address where the other person lives, works or can be found. In Lehigh County, "a Sheriff's Deputy will notify the Defendant that an Order has been issued by handing a copy of the Petition for PFA and Temporary PFA Order to him or her."

If the defendant has not been served by the hearing date, Northampton's published procedure addresses this: "If the defendant has not been served prior to the hearing, the Court will grant an extension order." Attend on the scheduled date anyway, unless the PFA Office tells you otherwise.

Preparing for the final hearing

The deadline and the burden. "Within ten business days of the filing of a petition under this chapter, a hearing shall be held before the court, at which the plaintiff must prove the allegation of abuse by a preponderance of the evidence." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(a). Preponderance means more likely than not. The judge weighs the testimony and evidence and decides whom to believe. A conviction, a police report or an eyewitness is not required.

You must attend. Northampton's instructions are direct: "The petitioner must appear promptly for the hearing, as scheduled, to avoid having the case dismissed." If you cannot attend, contact the office before the hearing. Do not simply stay home.

The date may move. The defendant has the right to a lawyer and to present evidence. If the hearing falls within three business days after the defendant was served, the court "shall grant a continuance until the three-business-day period has elapsed, if requested by the defendant." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(c)(2). The court can grant other continuances. Your temporary order stays in effect until the court changes it, but read any new order you receive.

Organize your evidence:

• Bring originals and at least two copies of photographs, printed messages with dates visible, voicemails, medical records and police reports.
• Keep the original messages on your phone. Do not delete or edit anything, even messages that embarrass you.
• Write a short, dated timeline for yourself so you can testify in order.

Witnesses. People who saw or heard the abuse, or who saw your injuries soon after, are often more persuasive than a written statement. A letter from someone who is not in court may not be accepted as evidence. If a witness will not come voluntarily, ask the office or a lawyer well before the hearing about a subpoena.

Testify plainly. Describe what happened, when, and what was said, in your own words. The defendant, or the defendant's lawyer, may ask you questions. Answer only what is asked, and say so if you do not know or do not remember.

Advocates can help. Turning Point of Lehigh Valley serves Lehigh and Northampton Counties and offers legal advocacy for PFA cases. Its 24-hour hotline is (610) 437-3369.

Agreement or hearing?

Many PFA cases end with a consent agreement instead of a contested hearing. The court may "approve any consent agreement to bring about a cessation of abuse," 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(a). An approved agreement is enforced through the same contempt statute as an order. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6114(a).

What an agreement offers:

• You do not have to testify.
• The terms are certain.
• The case can end the same day.

What it usually lacks: a finding that abuse occurred.

Firearms are the term to watch. A final order after a hearing must include the firearms prohibition and relinquishment provisions. A final agreement only "may" include them. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(a.1). If the other person has firearms and that is part of why you are afraid, make sure any agreement includes the firearms terms, or ask for the hearing.

Read the proposed order before anyone signs it. Check the contact terms, the residence, custody exchanges, pets and the length. If you do not understand a term, say so before the judge approves it.

What a final order can include

A final order or approved agreement may, among other relief:

• Stop the abuse. Direct the defendant to stop abusing you or your minor children. § 6108(a)(1).
• Your home. Grant you possession of the residence, to the exclusion of the defendant, when the home is jointly owned or leased, owned or leased by the entireties, or owned or leased solely by you. § 6108(a)(2). If the defendant is the sole owner or tenant but has a duty to support you or the children living there, the court can still grant you possession or, with your consent, order the defendant to provide suitable alternate housing. § 6108(a)(3).
• Children. Award temporary custody or visitation. The court "shall consider any risk posed by the defendant to the children as well as risk to the plaintiff." § 6108(a)(4). If your petition alleges, and the court finds after a hearing, that the defendant abused the children or poses a risk of abuse toward them, the defendant may not be granted custody, partial custody or unsupervised visitation. § 6108(a)(4)(i). A finding that the defendant abused you or a child permits supervised custodial access. A finding of serious abuse, or of a risk of abuse, permits visits only at a secure facility or no custodial access. § 6108(a)(4)(ii)–(iii). If you want protection for your children, say so in the petition and describe what happened to them.
• Support. After a hearing, order temporary financial support, health coverage, unreimbursed medical expenses and rent or mortgage payments, to the extent the defendant has a duty of support. § 6108(a)(5).
• No contact. Prohibit contact, "including, but not limited to, restraining the defendant from entering the place of employment or business or school of the plaintiff or minor children and from harassing the plaintiff or plaintiff's relatives or minor children." § 6108(a)(6).
• Firearms. Prohibit the defendant from acquiring or possessing firearms for the duration of the order, and require the relinquishment of firearms and any firearm license. § 6108(a)(7).
• Your losses. Order the defendant to pay "reasonable losses suffered as a result of the abuse, including medical, dental, relocation and moving expenses; counseling; loss of earnings or support," along with the cost of repairing or replacing property the defendant damaged, destroyed or took, and other out-of-pocket losses. The court may also order reasonable attorney fees. § 6108(a)(8).
• Stalking and harassment. Direct the defendant to refrain from stalking or harassing you and other designated persons. § 6108(a)(9).
• Pets. Grant you temporary ownership rights over a companion animal. § 6108(a)(9.1).
• Other relief. Grant "any other appropriate relief sought by the plaintiff." § 6108(a)(10).

Two follow-up filings petitioners miss:

• Support. PFA support "shall be temporary." The person receiving it "must file a complaint for support … within two weeks of the date of the issuance of the protection order. If a complaint for support is not filed, that portion of the protection order requiring the defendant to pay support is void." § 6108(a)(5). See our child support page and support conference guide.
• Custody. PFA custody terms are temporary. Nothing in the Act bars either parent from filing a custody case. § 6108(a)(4)(v). If you need a long-term arrangement, start the custody case. Our custody page and custody-factors article explain how a later custody judge weighs safety.

How long it lasts. "A protection order or approved consent agreement shall be for a fixed period of time not to exceed three years." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(d). Either party may later ask the court to amend it.

Extensions. Under § 6108(e)(1), an order can be extended in three situations:

• after a petition, notice and a hearing, the court finds that the defendant committed further abuse after the final order, or "engaged in a pattern or practice that indicates continued risk of harm";
• a contempt petition or charge is pending when the order would expire;
• you ask for an extension, and the defendant is incarcerated and will be released within the next 90 days, or was released within the past 90 days. In this situation, you do not need to show new abuse.

A contempt conviction also leads to an extension if you ask for one. § 6114(b)(4). Mark the expiration date on your calendar, and act before it passes.

If the order is violated

Call the police. If the defendant violates the order's terms on abuse, your residence, custody, contact, firearms, stalking or harassment, or a companion animal, police may arrest "without warrant upon probable cause whether or not the violation is committed in the presence of the police officer or sheriff." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6113(a).

File a complaint yourself. A plaintiff may file a private criminal complaint alleging indirect criminal contempt for a noneconomic violation. It can be filed "with the court, the office of the district attorney or the magisterial district judge in the jurisdiction or county where the violation occurred." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6113.1(a). For a missed support or reimbursement payment, which a private criminal complaint does not cover, you may petition the court that issued the order for civil contempt; that petition can address a violation of any provision. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6114.1(a).

• Lehigh County. The court describes two routes. Report the violation to the police, who may file the paperwork or direct you to the Family Court Office. Or go to the Family Court Office between 8:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. to complete an indirect criminal contempt complaint; staff then take you before a judge.
• Northampton County. Report violations to the police, or file under § 6113.1.

Penalties. A contempt sentence may include "a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $1,000 and imprisonment up to six months," or the same fine with supervised probation of up to six months. 23 Pa.C.S. § 6114(b). After a conviction, the court must extend the order if the plaintiff asks. § 6114(b)(4). Separate criminal charges for the same conduct remain possible. § 6114(d).

Document every violation. Keep screenshots with dates, call logs, and the names of anyone who saw it. Write down the date and time of each incident.

The order binds the defendant, and your contact does not cancel it. "Resumption of coresidency on the part of the plaintiff and defendant shall not nullify the provisions of the court order." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(g). If your situation changes and you want the terms loosened or the order ended, ask the court to modify or dismiss it. Lehigh publishes separate petitions for dismissing a temporary order and a final order. Until a judge signs a new order, the old one stands.

Outside Pennsylvania. Federal law requires other states to give a qualifying protection order "full faith and credit" and to enforce it as if it were their own. 18 U.S.C. § 2265(a).

Firearms: what petitioners should know

• List them. List every firearm you know about on Attachment A.
• Temporary order. The court may order temporary relinquishment if the petition shows abuse involving a firearm or other weapon, or an immediate and present danger of abuse. In judging danger, the statute points to factors such as prior order violations, injuries, threats, escalating violence, stalking and substance abuse, so include those facts in the petition. § 6107(b)(3).
• Final order. A final order entered after a hearing must include the firearms provisions. § 6108(a.1)(1). Relinquishment is generally due "within 24 hours of service of a temporary order or the entry of a final order or the close of the next business day as necessary by closure of the sheriffs' offices, except for cause shown at the hearing." § 6108(a)(7).
• If they were not turned in. If you learn that firearms were not relinquished, tell the police or the sheriff. Failing to relinquish is a separate crime. 18 Pa.C.S. § 6105(a.1)(2).
• When the order ends. Firearms are not simply handed back. Return has its own statutory conditions under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.1.

Our PFA, custody, criminal and firearms guide explains how these tracks affect each other.

Your safety and your address

Your address. If you are staying at a domestic violence shelter or program, the court cannot require you to disclose its address: "Neither in the pleadings nor during proceedings or hearings under this chapter shall the court or hearing officer require disclosure of the address of a domestic violence program." 23 Pa.C.S. § 6112. For any other address, the court can consider whether disclosing where you or your children live would put you in danger, so tell the office if your address needs to stay confidential. Where the court concludes the defendant poses a threat of continued danger and you ask, it shall order law enforcement agencies, human service agencies and school districts not to disclose your or your child's whereabouts except by further order. § 6112.

Address Confidentiality Program. Pennsylvania's program "can provide you with an alternate mailing address to keep your address out of public records if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or child abduction." It is run by the Office of Victim Advocate, (800) 563-6399, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Help is available now:

• Turning Point of Lehigh Valley. 24-hour hotline (610) 437-3369. It serves Lehigh and Northampton Counties and provides PFA legal advocacy. turningpointlv.org
• National Domestic Violence Hotline. 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. thehotline.org
• Civil legal aid. North Penn Legal Services helps eligible low-income residents of Lehigh and Northampton Counties, including in protection from abuse cases. Intake is (877) 953-4250. nplspa.org

Northampton and Lehigh County at a glance

Court locations, hours and routing can change. Confirm the current instructions before you travel. The two official Northampton pages list different morning times for the Motions Judge's PFA session, so this guide does not state one.

How a lawyer helps a petitioner

A lawyer can:

• Check the case fits the statute. Confirm the relationship and the abuse category, and write a petition that is specific, accurate and tied to the statute.
• Organize the proof. Put evidence in order and line up witnesses, including subpoenas when needed.
• Present the case. Handle testimony, exhibits and objections, and deal with a defendant who has a lawyer.
• Negotiate an agreement. Protect the terms that matter: firearms, the residence, custody exchanges and length.
• Coordinate related cases. Connect the PFA with custody, support, divorce and any criminal case.
• Enforce and extend. File contempt complaints, pursue extensions, and ask for changes when circumstances change.

Because the firm also represents people responding to PFA petitions, we check for conflicts before discussing the facts of your case. If you were served with a petition instead, read the respondent's guide.

Talk to a Northampton County PFA lawyer

Madsen Law Offices represents people seeking protection, and people responding to petitions, in Northampton and Lehigh Counties. Our office is next to the Northampton County Courthouse. If you are considering a petition, or you already have a temporary order and a hearing date, call (484) 548-0529 or schedule a consultation. Next-day appointments are often available. If you are in danger now, call 911 first.