3.3 Protective Order Registry

The Louisiana Protective Order Registry (LPOR) is a statewide database for all court orders that prohibit abuse against a current or former spouse, dating partner, family or household member, and victims of stalking and sexual assault. All temporary restraining orders or protective orders prohibiting a person from harming a family member, household member, or dating partner, including orders entered under Louisiana’s general civil injunction statute, must be immediately entered on a Uniform Abuse Prevention Order Registry form, and forwarded to the clerk of court, who must file the order with the Louisiana Protective Order Registry no later than the following day.1  This requirement is a key safety and enforcement feature for victims of domestic violence. Orders that are not prepared on the uniform order form and that are not entered into the Protective Order Registry are more difficult to enforce because law enforcement may have difficulty verifying the order’s validity, may not have clear authority to enforce them, and are sometimes less responsive to non-registry orders. Also, it is easier for abusive partners to purchase guns in violation of the law if a protective order is not in the registry.2  Protective Order Registry forms are available on the Louisiana Supreme Court’s website.3  Note that the Registry has a variety of different LPOR forms that differ based upon what statute the petitioner is filing under, and whether the filing is an original petitioner or a petition-in-reconvention.

Even though the Registry helps ensure that orders are available to law enforcement, it is important that victims also retain a physical, certified copy of their protective order. Occasionally, orders are not timely submitted to the Registry by the clerk’s office, or the Registry could have technological difficulty or hurricane-related problems. In circumstances like these, having a physical copy of an order to show police can be critical for safety and enforcement.

• 1La. C.C.P. art. 3607.1.
• 2In February 2023, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the federal law prohibited firearms possession by individuals subject to a protective order violated the Second Amendment. United States v. Rahimi, 61 F.4th 443 (5th Cir. 2023). While this result calls into to question the constitutionality of Louisiana’s similar ban on firearms possession, as of this writing, the Louisiana statute has not been declared unconstitutional and remains in force.
• 3LPOR Forms, La. Sup. Ct.