Protection From Abuse (PFA) Orders

Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act (23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6101 to 6122) provides emergency protection for victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. PFA orders are powerful, fast-acting, and free to file.

Who Can File

Spouses or former spouses, persons who have lived as spouses, parents and children, other persons related by blood or marriage (siblings, grandparents, and in-laws, for example), current or former sexual or intimate partners, and persons who share biological parenthood. A dating relationship qualifies only if it rises to a sexual or intimate partnership; a casual or non-intimate dating relationship does not confer PFA standing. Same-sex relationships are covered.

What a PFA Order Can Do

• Order the abuser to stay away from you, your home, your workplace, and your children's school
• Evict the abuser from the residence you share, if the home is owned or leased by you alone, owned or leased jointly by the two of you, or held by the entireties. If the abuser is the sole owner or lessee, the court can order eviction only where the abuser owes a duty of support to you or to minor children living there, and even then the court may instead, with your consent, order the abuser to provide suitable alternate housing.
• Award temporary custody of children
• Order the abuser to relinquish firearms and any firearm license, and prohibit the abuser from acquiring or possessing a firearm while the order is in effect. A final order entered by the court must include these terms. A court-approved consent agreement may include them. The court may also order the abuser to relinquish other weapons or ammunition that were used or threatened to be used in an incident of abuse.
• Prohibit contact by any means: in person, phone, text, email, social media, or through third parties
• Order the abuser to pay temporary support and reimburse losses (medical expenses, lost earnings, property damage)
• Protect companion animals: Under Act 146 of 2024 (effective January 17, 2025), PFA orders can prohibit the abuser from harming, threatening, or contacting the victim's pets, and can grant the victim temporary possession of companion animals. Read more about Act 146.

The Process

Emergency / Ex Parte Order: A judge reviews your petition (usually the same day you file or the next business day) and can issue a temporary PFA order without the abuser present. This temporary order is effective immediately and lasts until the full hearing.

Full Hearing: Within 10 business days, the court holds a hearing where both parties can present evidence and testimony. If the court finds abuse occurred, it enters a final PFA order lasting up to 36 months (3 years). The order can be extended.

Violation: Violating a PFA order is a criminal offense, indirect criminal contempt, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of $300 to $1,000. Each violation is separately punishable, and on conviction the court must, at the plaintiff's request, grant an extension of the protection order.

Firearms Relinquishment

A final PFA order entered by the court must prohibit the defendant from acquiring or possessing a firearm for the duration of the order, and must direct the defendant to relinquish firearms and any firearm license (23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(a.1)(1), (a)(7)). A court-approved consent agreement may include the same terms, but it is not required to. On a temporary ex parte order, relinquishment is not automatic: the court may direct it only where the petition shows abuse involving a firearm or other weapon, or an immediate and present danger of abuse (§ 6107(b)(3)). The court may also order relinquishment of other weapons or ammunition that were used or threatened to be used in an incident of abuse.

Where relinquishment is ordered, the defendant must turn over the items listed in the order within 24 hours of service of a temporary order or entry of a final order, or by the close of the next business day if the sheriff's office is closed. The court may set a different time for cause shown at the hearing, and "cause" is limited to an inability to retrieve a specific firearm within 24 hours because of where the firearm is. Failure to comply is a separate criminal offense.

Federal law imposes an independent prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), and it does not track the Pennsylvania rule. It reaches only an order that issued after notice and an opportunity to participate, that restrains the defendant as to an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner or of the defendant, and that either includes a finding of a credible threat to physical safety or by its terms prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. Federal law defines "intimate partner" more narrowly than Pennsylvania defines who may petition: a spouse, a former spouse, a person who is a parent of a child of the defendant, or a person who lives or has lived with the defendant (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(32)). Pennsylvania allows PFA petitions from a wider group, including relatives by blood or marriage, so some Pennsylvania orders fall outside the federal prohibition. Do not assume a particular order does. The cohabitation prong is broad, so a sibling or an in-law who shared a home with the defendant can still fall within it, and an order protecting the defendant's own child is covered on its own terms. The Pennsylvania firearms bar applies either way: a defendant subject to a final PFA order is prohibited from possessing a firearm under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6105(c)(6).

PFA and Custody

A PFA order can award temporary custody, but it does not permanently resolve custody; a separate custody action must be filed in the Family Court division. The PFA and its underlying allegations will be considered in custody determinations: § 5328(a)(2) requires the court to consider any history of abuse, and under Act 8 of 2024, if the court finds an ongoing risk of abuse by a preponderance of the evidence, there is a rebuttable presumption that only supervised physical custody should be awarded (§ 5323(e.1)). See Child Custody: Best Interest Factors & Safety Protections for the full breakdown of these changes.

Under § 6108(a)(4), a defendant in a PFA proceeding shall not be granted custody, partial custody, or unsupervised visitation if the court finds after a hearing that the defendant abused the minor children or poses a risk of abuse, or has been convicted of interference with custody of children (18 Pa.C.S. § 2904) within two calendar years prior to filing the PFA petition.

Practical Advice

Document everything: Photographs of injuries, screenshots of threatening messages, police reports, medical records. The more evidence you have, the stronger your case.

Safety planning: If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The Bucks County Domestic Violence hotline is available 24/7: A Woman's Place at 1-800-220-8116. They provide emergency shelter, legal advocacy, and counseling.

Filing is free: There is no filing fee for a PFA petition, and the court provides the forms. You do not need a lawyer to file, but having one significantly increases your chances of obtaining a final order at the hearing.

Legal and factual content on this page was last verified: Aug. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.