Restraining Orders

If your order for protection involves parenting time and custody provisions, or if you have an outstanding or pending custody or parenting time case, the law requires that you give notice to the other parent and to any other individual who has parenting time, such as grandparents, before you relocate. The notice must be given at least 90 days before the move. This notice must be made by registered or certified mail and provide detail about the move including new location, phone numbers, reasons for move and proposed new parenting time schedule.¹ Note: If the court finds that including your new address and phone number in the notice would create “a significant risk of substantial harm” to you or the child, the judge can order that you don’t have to include it.²

If you are a participant in the Attorney General’s Address Confidentiality Program, you must give the office of the Attorney General written notice about your change of address at least seven days before it occurs.³

If you provide your new address to the court, they are supposed to keep it confidential. Under Indiana state law, any information regarding a protected person is kept in a confidential part of that person’s file, and the public does not have access to it. However, your new address and other contact information might be released to court officials in your new state or to law enforcement officials in either Indiana or your new state.⁴ If you feel unsafe giving your new address, you may use the address of a friend you trust or a P.O. box instead.

¹ IC § 31-17-2.2-3
² IC § 31-17-2.2-4
³ IC § 5-26.5-4-2
⁴ IC § 5-2-9-7