A harassment prevention order is a restraining order that does not depend on any relationship between the two people. It can be sought against a neighbor, a coworker, a classmate, an acquaintance, a former friend, or a complete stranger. The law behind it is Chapter 258E of the Massachusetts General Laws, which is why these orders are often called 258E orders.

Whether you are the person being harassed or the person who has been served with an order, this page explains what the law requires, how the process works, and what happens next. We represent people on both sides.

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No relationship required

A 209A abuse prevention order is only available between family or household members, which includes people who are or were in a substantive dating relationship. A harassment prevention order has no such limit. The law says simply that "a person suffering from harassment" may ask the court for protection.

That is what makes 258E orders different, and it is why they come up in so many settings where no one would think of a restraining order at first: property line disputes, workplace conflict, school, and online contact.

What counts as harassment

The legal definition is narrower than the everyday meaning of the word. Rude, offensive or upsetting behavior is not enough on its own. There are two ways to meet the definition.

Three or more acts. The person asking for the order has to show at least three separate acts that were:

deliberate and malicious, meaning motivated by cruelty, hostility or revenge;
aimed at a specific person;
intended to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property; and
that actually did cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property.

Each of the three acts has to be shown to have been done with that intent. And "fear" has a specific meaning here. Massachusetts's highest court has said it means fear of physical harm, or fear of physical damage to property. Fear of embarrassment, of losing money, or of bad publicity does not count.

A single act. In some cases one act is enough: forcing someone into sexual relations by force, threat or duress, or committing one of the crimes listed in the law. The list includes stalking, criminal harassment, rape, and several sexual assault offenses.

When the harassment is words

Many 258E cases are about what someone said or wrote rather than what they did. The courts have been clear that the law cannot be used to punish protected speech. When an order is based on speech alone, the speech must amount to a true threat or to "fighting words," meaning a direct, personal insult likely to provoke violence. Speech that is harassing, insulting or defamatory in the ordinary sense, but is neither of those things, does not qualify. Criticism of a public official, however harsh, generally does not qualify either.

This is often the central question in a 258E hearing, on either side.

Where it happens

Neighbors. Disputes between neighbors are one of the most common sources of 258E cases. An order can require the other person to stay away from your home, which can be complicated when they live next door. What the order allows and prohibits should be read closely.

The workplace. An order can require the other person to stay away from your workplace. When both people work in the same place, that has real consequences for both of them, and employers often become involved.

School. When the person the order is sought against is under 18, the case is heard in the Juvenile Court. Records of 258E cases involving a minor are withheld from public inspection except by court order.

Online and social media. Messages, posts and comments can be acts of harassment when they meet the definition above. Two things matter a great deal. First, the court has to be satisfied that the person named actually sent them. Messages from anonymous or fake accounts may not be attributed to someone without evidence connecting them. Second, when the conduct is words alone, the limits on speech described above apply. Posting the same material in more than one place may be treated as one act, not several.

258E and 209A compared

	Abuse prevention order (209A)	Harassment prevention order (258E)
Who it's between	People who are or were married, who live or lived together, who are related by blood or marriage, who have a child together, or who are or were in a substantive dating or engagement relationship	Anyone. There is no family or dating relationship requirement
What has to be shown	Abuse: physical harm or an attempt to cause it; being put in fear of imminent serious physical harm; being forced into sexual relations; or coercive control	Harassment: three or more deliberate, malicious acts aimed at you, meant to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or property damage, that actually did. Or, in some cases, a single act, such as forced sexual relations or certain crimes listed in the law, including stalking and criminal harassment
Where it's filed	District Court, Probate and Family Court, Boston Municipal Court or Superior Court (dating-relationship cases can't go to Superior Court)	District Court, Boston Municipal Court or Superior Court. If the other person is under 18, Juvenile Court
What the court can order	No abuse, no contact, leave and stay away from a home or workplace, temporary custody, support, and payment for losses, among others	No abuse or harassment, no contact, stay away from a home or workplace, and payment for losses
Firearms	A judge must order surrender of firearms, ammunition and any gun license when an emergency or temporary order issues and the person asking shows a substantial likelihood of immediate danger	The same rule applies
How long it lasts	Up to one year at a time. It can be extended, or made permanent	Up to one year at a time. It can be extended, or made permanent
Violating it	A crime: up to a $5,000 fine, up to 2½ years in a house of correction, or both	A crime: up to a $5,000 fine, up to 2½ years in a house of correction, or both
Filing fee	None	None

If your situation involves a family member, household member or dating partner, see our page on getting a 209A order.

If you are seeking a harassment prevention order

Being harassed wears a person down. It can make your own home, your street, or your workplace feel unsafe. You do not have to keep absorbing it, and you do not have to have a family or dating relationship with the person to ask a court for help.

Where to file. In the District Court, the Boston Municipal Court or the Superior Court covering where you live. If the other person is under 18, in the Juvenile Court covering where you live.

What it costs. There is no filing fee, and no charge for certified copies of the order.

Timing. There is no deadline for filing after the last incident. The court cannot turn you away only because time has passed.

What the court can order. That the other person stop harassing or abusing you, have no contact with you, and stay away from your home or workplace. The court can also order them to pay for losses caused by the harassment, including lost earnings, property damage, the cost of new locks, medical expenses, the cost of an unlisted phone number, and reasonable attorney's fees.

The first hearing. You fill out a complaint and a sworn statement describing what happened. If you show a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment, the judge can issue a temporary order without the other person present. The police then serve it.

If the courts are closed. A judge can issue an emergency order by telephone through the police when the court is closed, on the same standard. You then go to court on the next business day to file.

The hearing after notice. Within ten court business days, there is a second hearing where the other person can attend and respond. You have to prove harassment by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. This is where preparation matters most. Bring your evidence: dates, messages, photographs, witnesses, police reports. Organize it around the separate acts, because the court will be looking for at least three of them.

Your address. Your home address, phone number and workplace information are kept confidential in the court's records. Your addresses will appear on the order the other person receives unless you ask for them to be withheld.

Other options. A harassment prevention order is a civil order. When you file, you will be given information about whether the conduct could also support a criminal complaint.

What a lawyer adds

The forms are designed to be filled out without a lawyer, and many people do. A lawyer helps most where the case is harder: when the acts need to be separated and proven one by one, when the harassment is mostly words and the speech question will decide the case, when the other side has a lawyer, or when you are also seeking payment for your losses. The hearing after notice is where an order is continued or ends, and it goes better with someone who has done it many times standing next to you.

If a harassment prevention order has been filed against you

Being served with a 258E order can come as a shock, especially when the other person is a neighbor or someone you work with and will keep seeing. The order you have now is temporary. It was issued without you there. The hearing after notice is your chance to be heard, and it is coming soon: no later than ten court business days after the order was issued. Find the date and time on the order.

Follow the order exactly until a court changes it, even if you believe it is unfair or false. Do not contact the other person to explain. If they contact you, do not respond. Violating the order is a separate crime, and police are required to arrest when they have probable cause to believe an order was violated.

Go to the hearing. If you do not appear, the temporary order continues without you.

Know what the other side has to prove. At least three separate, deliberate, malicious acts, each aimed at the person, each intended to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or property damage, and actually causing it. Or one of the single acts the law lists. Fear here means fear of physical harm or property damage. The questions that often decide these cases:

Are there really three separate acts, or one continuous event, or conduct that was not aimed at the person at all?
Was each act malicious, or was it a dispute, an argument, or ordinary conduct someone found upsetting?
If the case is about words, were they a true threat or fighting words, or were they protected speech?
Can the messages or posts actually be tied to you?

Prepare. Gather your own evidence: the full message threads, not just the pieces the other side chose, photographs, witnesses, and anything that shows what really happened and when.

If there is also a criminal case. Several of the acts that can support a 258E order are also crimes. If you have been charged, or could be, whether you should testify at the hearing is a decision to make with a lawyer before you walk in. It raises the same issues we describe on our 209A defense page.

What is at stake

Firearms. When a temporary or emergency order issues and the judge finds a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment, the judge must suspend any license to carry or firearms identification card and order you to surrender your firearms and ammunition. If the order is continued, the surrender can continue for as long as the order lasts. You can ask the court to review a surrender order, and that review is heard within ten court business days. If you need a firearm for your job, you can file an affidavit and ask for an expedited hearing on that issue within two business days.

Separately, the firearms licensing law treats anyone currently subject to a harassment prevention order as a prohibited person. A license to carry or firearms identification card must be denied, suspended or revoked, and it can be reinstated only once every disqualifying condition has ended.

Your home and your work. An order can require you to stay away from the other person's home and workplace. When that is next door, or the same workplace, it changes your daily life.

Money. The court can order you to pay the other person's losses caused by the harassment, including their attorney's fees.

The record. See below.

Violating a harassment prevention order

Violating a 258E order is a crime. It carries a fine of up to $5,000, up to two and a half years in a house of correction, or both, plus an additional $25 fine. The court can also order a treatment program and payment of the other person's damages. A violation charge is a criminal case, and it is defended like one.

See our page on violation of a harassment prevention order under G.L. c. 258E, § 9.

How long an order lasts, and what comes after

Duration. An order issued after the hearing lasts no more than one year. The date and time it expires are written on the order.

Extension. At the end, the person who got the order can ask the court to extend it, or to make it permanent. To extend it, they have to make the same showing required at the first hearing. The earlier order does not create a presumption that a new one should issue. The fact that no harassment happened while the order was in place is not, by itself, a reason to deny an extension.

Changing an order. Either side can ask the court to modify an order at any time, with notice to the other side.

Appeal. An order issued after the hearing can be appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court. An appeal can generally still go forward after the order has expired. Appeals have strict deadlines, so talk to a lawyer right away if you think the order was wrongly issued.

The record. When a harassment prevention order issues, it is reported to the Commissioner of Probation's statewide records system, which judges check when a new order is sought. If a judge vacates an order, the police must destroy their records of it. But an order that simply expires, or is not extended, is not erased. The courts have held that removing a 258E order from the statewide records is available only in the rare case where a judge finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the order was obtained through fraud on the court. That is why the hearing after notice matters so much, on both sides.

Official court forms and resources

Harassment prevention orders — Mass.gov
Request a harassment prevention order — Mass.gov
Harassment prevention order court forms — Massachusetts Trial Court

Frequently asked questions

What is a 258E harassment prevention order?

It is a Massachusetts court order protecting a person from harassment by someone else, with no family, household or dating relationship required. It can order the other person to stop harassing, to have no contact, and to stay away from a home or workplace. The name comes from Chapter 258E of the General Laws.

What is the difference between a harassment prevention order and a restraining order?

A harassment prevention order is a kind of restraining order. The order most people mean by "restraining order" is a 209A abuse prevention order, which is only available between family members, household members and dating partners. A 258E order covers everyone else, but it requires proof of harassment as the law defines it, which is a different standard.

Can I get a harassment prevention order against a neighbor or coworker?

Yes. No relationship is required. You have to show three or more deliberate, malicious acts aimed at you, meant to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or property damage, that actually did, or one of the single acts the law lists. An order can require the other person to stay away from your home or workplace.

What counts as harassment under 258E?

Three or more willful and malicious acts aimed at a specific person, each intended to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or property damage, and actually causing it. Or a single act of forced sexual relations or one of the crimes the law lists, such as stalking or criminal harassment. Fear means fear of physical harm or property damage.

Can a harassment prevention order be based on texts or social media posts?

Yes, if they meet the definition. But when an order rests on words alone, the words have to be a true threat or fighting words. Speech that is simply rude, insulting or defamatory is not enough. The court also has to be satisfied that the person named actually sent the messages.

Is there a filing fee?

No. There is no fee to file a harassment prevention order, and no charge for certified copies of the order.

How long does a harassment prevention order last?

Up to one year after the hearing. At the end, the court can extend it or make it permanent, but the person asking for the extension has to make the same showing required at the first hearing.

How do I fight a harassment prevention order?

Go to the hearing after notice, which is held within ten court business days of the temporary order, and come prepared. The other side has to prove harassment more likely than not. The questions are usually whether there were really three separate acts, whether each was malicious and intended to cause fear, and, where words are involved, whether they were protected speech.

Does a harassment prevention order go on my record?

A 258E order is a civil order, not a criminal conviction. It is recorded in a statewide system maintained by the Commissioner of Probation that judges check. That record is removed only in rare cases where a judge finds the order was obtained through fraud on the court.

Will I have to give up my guns?

You may. When a temporary or emergency order issues and the judge finds a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment, the judge must suspend any gun license and order you to surrender firearms and ammunition. You can ask the court to review that, and if you need a firearm for work, you can ask for an expedited hearing.

What happens if I violate a harassment prevention order?

It is a crime, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, up to two and a half years in a house of correction, or both. Police are required to arrest when they have probable cause to believe an order was violated. If you are charged, treat it as the criminal case it is.

Can a harassment prevention order be appealed?

Yes. An order issued after the hearing can be appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the appeal can generally go forward even after the order has expired. Appeals have strict deadlines.

Talk to us

Whether you need protection or you have been served with an order, the hearing comes quickly and what happens there matters. Call 978-969-2890. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

H. Ernest Stone, Attorney PC
900 Cummings Center, Suite 321-U, Beverly, MA 01915

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Harassment Prevention Orders (258E): Restraining Orders Against Neighbors, Coworkers and Others