Extreme Risk Protection Orders
What is an Extreme Risk Protection Order?
Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) are court orders that keep guns, including firearms, rifles, and shotguns, away from people who are at high risk of using them to hurt other people or themselves. An ERPO can take guns away from someone who already has them, and can prevent someone from buying guns. They are also known as “Red Flag Orders.”
It is important to know that an ERPO cannot order a person to stay away from you, stop harassing or threatening you, or have no contact with you. There are other Orders of Protection that can do that.
Who Can Get an Extreme Risk Protection Order?
Family and household members of the high risk person can ask the court for an ERPO. This includes people who are married or divorced, are or were in a dating relationship, people who have a child in common, and people related by blood or marriage.
Police officers, district attorneys, certain medical and mental health providers, and some school employees can also ask for an ERPO.
What information does the judge look at before issuing an Extreme Risk Protection Order?
The judge considers the following factors:
- Threats or violence against self or others
- Violation of an Order of Protection
- Charge or conviction involving use of a weapon
- Reckless use or display of a firearm, rifle or shotgun
- Alcohol or substance abuse in the past 6 months
- Obtaining a firearm, rifle, shotgun, deadly weapon or dangerous instrument in the past 6 months
- Intentional cruelty causing physical pain to animals in the past 6 months
How can I apply to the court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order?
To apply for an ERPO, complete the ERPO Application and bring it to the Supreme Court in the county where the high risk person lives. The judge can make a decision the same day your application is filed. You can go to the NY Courts website to find the steps to prepare and file your ERPO application.
The application will ask you for your name and address. If you feel that giving this information puts you in danger, check the “disclosure” boxes near the bottom of the form. By doing this, you are asking the court to keep your personal information private.
You must sign your completed application in front of a person called a Notary before bringing it to court.
For more information about ERPO, and an overview of the hearing process, please visit the NY Courts website or go to the National ERPO Resource Center