How to File a Motion to Extend Your Personal Protection Order

Complete the forms using our Do-It-Yourself Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate a Personal Protection Order (PPO) tool. You will get the following forms:

• Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate Personal Protection Order, with a Notice of Hearing
• Order on Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate Personal Protection Order
• Personal Protection Order
• Proof of Service

Your motion will be signed electronically when you download your forms, as long as you answered that you would like your e-signature added.

Only the top part of your proposed order(s) will be filled in. Leave the rest of the proposed order(s) blank. These are for the judge to fill out.

Before you file, gather any evidence (documents or images) you want the judge to review with your motion, including the following:

• Police reports
• Medical records
• Photos
• Copies of e-mails or text messages
• Letters

If your court requires e-filing and you have any of these documents or images (police reports, photos, etc.), scan and save them as PDF files so you can file them with your motion in Step 3. If you need to convert documents or images from your phone into PDFs, you can download the free cell phone app called Genius Scan. If you have more than one PDF, combine them into one document and put them in chronological order OR label each attachment of evidence in chronological order (example: “1”, “2”, “3”). You can find instructions and free software to combine/merge pages into one PDF on the Adobe website.

Please be aware that the court does not have access to police department computer systems and cannot retrieve police reports. If you mention a police report in your motion and you want the judge to review it, you need to submit a copy with your motion. 

Some of the steps after this one may have slightly different information for you depending on how you will file with the court, so you may want to learn more about the choices in your area.

Each court decides how it will accept documents for filing. Contact your court to find out which methods are available. Depending on your court, you may be able to file by:

• In-person filing
• E-mail
• E-Filing using MiFILE
• Mail
• Fax

Click this link to check if you can e-file. You can also find contact information for your court on the Courts & Agencies page of Michigan Legal Help.

If you are filing either by e-mail or using MiFILE, you will not need to make copies.

If you are filing in person, make three copies of the Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate Personal Protection Order and any attachments.

In some counties the court clerk’s office will make the copies for you. Call the clerk’s office ahead of time to ask if you need to make your own copies.

Depending on your court, you may be able to file by:

• In-person filing
• E-mail
• E-Filing using MiFILE
• Mailing or dropping off documents
• Fax

Click this link to check if you can e-file. For information on how to e-file, read the articles on the E-filing Court Documents resource page.

If you have other questions about how to file, you can find contact information for your court on the Courts & Agencies page of Michigan Legal Help.

If you are filing in person, give the original and copies of your motion (including attachments) to the court clerk. The clerk will give you back the copies that the court doesn’t need. Keep them for later.

Please note that completing the documents on Michigan Legal Help or Law Help Interactive does not file anything with the court. 

If you e-filed:

After you upload and file your forms, monitor your MiFILE account to receive the completed order(s) or the Notice of Hearing from the judge. You should receive a response within three business days.

If the judge grants your motion, or if they set it for a motion hearing, you will need to have the Respondent served with a copy of each document you filed and each document you received from the court (see Step 5).

If you filed in person:

Ask the clerk if you should wait at the courthouse for the judge’s decision or call back later.

If the judge does not review your motion right away, you will have to return to the courthouse to pick up the signed order(s) or the Notice of Hearing. It should not take longer than three business days for the judge to review your motion.

If the judge grants your motion, or if they set it for a motion hearing, you will need to have the Respondent served with a copy of each document you filed and each document you received from the court (see Step 5).

Ask the clerk’s office for at least one extra copy of the Notice of Hearing, or of each order the judge signed.

If the judge extended your PPO without a hearing, you may want to get extra copies for your employer, your child’s school or childcare provider, and several copies to keep in your home, your car, etc.

If the court sets your motion for a hearing, you must serve a copy of each of the following forms to the Respondent at least seven days before the hearing:

• Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate Personal Protection Order, with the completed Notice of Hearing
• Any evidence you filed

How to serve: Arrange for the documents to be served to the Respondent by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the Respondent. The papers may be served by a professional process server, police officer, friend, or relative. Do not serve the Respondent yourself. The server’s address—not yours—should be the one on the return receipt.

If the judge grants your motion to extend the PPO ex parte (without a hearing), you must serve a copy of each of the following forms to the Respondent:

• Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate Personal Protection Order, with any evidence you filed
• Order on Motion to Modify, Extend, or Terminate Personal Protection Order
• The new Personal Protection Order with the extended date

How to serve: Arrange for the documents to be served to the Respondent by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the Respondent, or by personal delivery. The papers may be served by a professional process server, police officer, friend, or relative. Do not serve the Respondent yourself. If the papers are served by mail, the server’s address—not yours—should be the one on the return receipt.

The person who served the papers to the Respondent must complete a proof of service and return it to you so you can file it. A proof of service tells the court how and where the Respondent was served with the papers.

If the court set your motion for a hearing, use the Certificate of Service on the third page of the motion form as your proof of service. All documents served along with the motion must be listed in the “Attachments” section of the Certificate of Service.

If the judge granted you an extended order without a hearing, use the Proof of Service on the third page of the extended PPO. All documents that were served along with the new PPO must be listed in the “Attachments” section of the Proof of Service.

If service was done by registered or certified mail, the return receipt (the green card) signed by the Respondent must be filed with the Proof of Service. If you are e-filing, you will need to scan and save the return receipt to your device so you can upload and file it along with the Proof of Service.