You will need to tell the court the following things in the Petition:
- Who you are and who hurt you.
- How the defendant hurt you.
- How you or the child you are protecting know the defendant.
- Where the defendant can be located in person. The most recent time the defendant hurt or injured you, and how the defendant hurt or injured you, or threatened to hurt or injure you, including where and when this happened.
- Any other injuries or threats you received from the defendant, including how the injuries or threats happened, and where and when you were hurt or threatened.
- Whether there are any minor children (under age 18) who might be affected by the case.
- Whether you want all or certain parts of your case kept confidential from the public.
- What you would like the court to do for you. For example, you could ask the court to order the defendant to stop the abuse and stay away from you, your home, school, or where you work. The court could order defendant not to contact you personally or through another person whether by phone, social media, writing, or any other way.
- What kind of Protective Order you want the court to issue.
- That you would like to sign up with the Iowa Protective Order Notification service (IowaPON). This is a free, confidential service that can tell you when your protective order is served on the defendant and when your protective order will end.