Filing for a Peace Order in Maryland

A Maryland peace order is a civil stay-away order that protects you from someone you are NOT in a close domestic relationship with — a neighbor, coworker, classmate, stranger, or a dating partner you never lived with — under Courts & Judicial Proceedings §3-1501. You must file in the District Court within 30 days of the incident, and a judge can order the person to stay away and stop contacting you for up to six months. If the person who harmed you is under 18, a special juvenile process applies — explained below.

Updated June 2026 · ~9 min read · By Emden Law — 30+ years of Maryland trial experience, Rockville

What a peace order is — and who it's for

A peace order is Maryland's civil "stay-away" remedy for conflicts outside a domestic relationship, governed by Courts & Judicial Proceedings §3-1501 and following. It covers respondents such as neighbors, coworkers, classmates, strangers, and dating partners who never lived with you and weren't in a recent sexual relationship with you. An employer can also file a peace order on behalf of an employee facing threats or violence at work, as long as the employee is notified first.

The dividing line between a peace order and a protective order is the relationship. Protective orders (Family Law §4-501) are for domestic situations; a peace order is for everyone else — and, as you'll see below, its remedies are narrower.

The 30-day rule and what counts

Two things must line up for a peace order. First, timing: under CJP §3-1503, you must file within 30 days of the act you're complaining about. This window is unforgiving — if you wait 31 days, the court is required to turn the petition down no matter how serious the incident was. Second, the act must be one of the statute's predicate acts, which include:

• serious bodily harm, or placing you in fear of imminent serious bodily harm;
• assault in any degree;
• false imprisonment;
• harassment or stalking;
• trespass or malicious destruction of property;
• misuse of telephone or electronic communication;
• revenge porn; and
• unlawful visual surveillance — new as of October 1, 2025 (for example, aiming a hidden or doorbell camera into an area where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy). A judge can order the devices removed or repositioned.

Where to file and what it costs

Peace orders can only be filed in the District Court (or with a District Court commissioner when court is closed). The Circuit Court has no jurisdiction over adult peace orders.

Unlike protective orders — which are free — peace orders carry a $46 filing fee and a $40 service fee. If you can't afford the fees, you can ask the court to waive them by filing a Request for Waiver of Prepaid Costs (Form CC-DC-089). Be aware of one wrinkle: a judge can waive the $46 filing fee for financial hardship, but the $40 service fee cannot be waived.

The stages and the standard of proof

Like protective orders, peace orders move through interim (commissioner, when court is closed), temporary (a District Court judge, usually without the other person present, lasting up to 7 days), and final (a District Court judge after a full hearing) stages.

To grant a final peace order, the judge must find, by a preponderance of the evidence, two things: that the respondent committed a predicate act within the 30-day window, and that they are likely to commit another act against you. That second requirement — a likelihood of future harm — is specific to peace orders and is often where these cases are won or lost.

What a peace order can — and can't — do

A judge can order the respondent to:

• stop committing or threatening the predicate act;
• refrain from contacting or harassing you;
• stay away from your home, workplace, or school; and
• attend counseling or mediation.

What a peace order cannot do is just as important: it does not evict the person from a shared home, decide custody, or order financial support. Those remedies exist only in the domestic-relationship protective order track. A final peace order lasts up to six months (CJP §3-1505). Unlike a protective order, it isn't extended for a further term — so if the conduct continues as the order nears its end, talk with an attorney about your options.

How the three Maryland orders compare

Filing for your child

Minors can't file on their own, so a parent or legal guardian files the peace order petition on the child's behalf as a "next friend." District Court policy is clear that commissioners and clerks will not hear a case brought by an unrepresented minor — an adult, social-services staff, or the State's Attorney must bring it. The adult is listed as the person filing, but the child is the protected party named on the order.

When the person who harmed you is under 18

This is one of the most misunderstood corners of Maryland law, so it's worth getting right. If the person who harmed you is a minor — even if you are an adult — you generally cannot get a standard protective order against them. In practice, Maryland commissioners and District Court judges will not hear protective-order cases against minors; the juvenile courts have jurisdiction over offenses by children. The only realistic path is a juvenile peace order under CJP §§3-8A-19.1 through 3-8A-19.5 and Maryland Rule 11-505.

Three things make this process different:

• It starts at the Department of Juvenile Services, not the courthouse. You cannot walk in and file with a clerk. The complaint goes first to an intake officer at the county Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) where the incident occurred. The intake officer has up to 25 days to review it and can do one of three things: authorize a formal petition to the juvenile court, propose an informal adjustment (a supervised agreement without a court order), or decline the request (which you can appeal). This step exists because the juvenile system leans toward guidance over punishment — it filters out minor disputes so the court process is reserved for genuine threats and repeated or serious conduct.
• The grounds are narrower. A juvenile peace order relies on the predicate acts in CJP §3-8A-19.1(b) — essentially the same criminal-type acts as an adult peace order (assault, serious bodily harm, stalking, malicious destruction, and the like), within the past 30 days. You cannot use the broader definition of "abuse" available in the domestic-violence protective-order statute.
• There is one hearing — and a higher burden of proof. Because the DJS intake handles the preliminary screening, there is no interim or temporary stage. The juvenile court (the Circuit Court sitting as a juvenile court) summons the child and parents and holds a single hearing. And the standard is tougher than in adult court: the judge must find by clear and convincing evidence — not just a preponderance — that the minor committed the act and is likely to do it again (CJP §3-8A-19.2).

If granted, a juvenile peace order can require the minor to stay away, have no contact, and attend counseling, and it lasts up to six months. If both children attend the same school, the order may require the school to keep them separated. Because the burden is high and the process runs through DJS rather than a courtroom counter, this is an area where experienced guidance genuinely helps.

Preparing for your hearing

Gather what proves the conduct: photos, printed texts or messages, any recordings, and the names of anyone who saw what happened (they can be subpoenaed). You have the right to be represented, and at the final hearing the rules of evidence apply — so an attorney who can present your timeline and meet the "likely to recur" requirement is a real advantage. Emden Law helps petitioners build and present these cases.

Staying safe

A court order is a legal tool, not a physical shield, and filing can sometimes escalate a tense situation. Make a safety plan, and if you are in immediate danger, call 911 — don't wait on paperwork. Around-the-clock help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). For long-term address confidentiality, Maryland's "Safe at Home" Address Confidentiality Program (Secretary of State) provides a substitute address that courts and agencies must accept.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes and every case turns on its specific facts. Consult a licensed Maryland attorney about your situation. (Maryland Attorneys' Rules of Professional Conduct 19-307.1.)