Domestic Violence Resources

Scope

This file is a plain-language guide to domestic violence resources in New Jersey: what domestic violence means under New Jersey law, how to reach help right away (emergency and non-emergency), a brief overview of temporary and final restraining orders, and where to find shelters, services, legal help, and safety-planning support. It does not repeat the step-by-step restraining order process (covered in the Family Court topic, 05-06), and it does not cover criminal prosecution, divorce, or custody proceedings.

Legal Explanation

A note on what is NJ-specific. Everything tied to New Jersey courts, the New Jersey hotline, or New Jersey agencies below is NJ-specific. The National Domestic Violence Hotline [S4] is a national (not NJ-specific) service and is labeled as such. All sources were checked on 2026-08-20; hotline numbers, hours, and procedures can change, so the check dates matter [S1][S3][S4][S6].

What domestic violence means under New Jersey law (NJ-specific). Under the 1991 Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (PDVA), "domestic violence occurs when one of the crimes listed below is committed against a person protected under" the Act [S2]. The crimes the official FAQ lists are: homicide; assault; terroristic threats; kidnapping; criminal restraint; false imprisonment; sexual assault; criminal sexual contact; lewdness; criminal mischief; burglary; criminal trespass; harassment; stalking; criminal coercion; robbery; contempt of a domestic violence order; crimes involving risk of death or serious bodily injury; and cyber-harassment [S2]. The parties must have had a specific relationship, at present or in the past: marriage, separation, divorce, living together in the same household now or in the past, dating or having dated in the past, or having a child in common — and the gender of the parties is not a factor [S2]. The court's self-help page describes the protected relationship the same way: a person who has experienced domestic violence by a spouse or former spouse, by a present or former household member, or (regardless of age) by someone with whom they have a child, are expecting a child with, or have had a dating relationship [S1]. Under the PDVA, the defendant must be 18 years old or a minor who is considered emancipated (for example, through military service, pregnancy or having a child, or emancipation by a court or administrative agency) [S2]. The court's pages do not print the statute's own section number, so none is cited here.

Getting help right away (emergency and non-emergency). The court's self-help page opens with this message: "If you are - or someone you know is – living in fear of intimate partner violence, call the Domestic Violence 1-800-572-7233" [S1]. That number is the New Jersey Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline; the state's Division on Women page confirms it as 1 (800) 572-SAFE (7233), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and describes it as providing confidential access to domestic violence information and services, including crisis intervention, referral, and advocacy, and as bilingual and accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired (NJ-specific) [S3]. For the restraining order process, each county has its own phone number for temporary restraining orders, listed on the court's domestic violence page; if the county line cannot be answered right away, the voicemail tells callers to call 9-1-1 if it is an emergency (NJ-specific) [S1]. Nationally — for anyone anywhere in the United States — the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), by chat with a live advocate, or by texting START to 88788; the organization describes the service as free, confidential, and available 24/7 (national) [S4]. The same national page also lists other helplines, including one for Native Americans and Alaska Natives (StrongHearts, 844-762-8483) and one for young people experiencing abuse (National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, 866-331-9474) (national) [S4]. The state's Division on Women page lists additional New Jersey hotlines: the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) hotline at 1 (800) 601-7200, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which connects people affected by sexual violence with rape crisis centers; and the Women's Referral Central hotline at 1 (800) 322-8092, also 24/7, which provides information and referrals on issues including housing, legal assistance, and social services (NJ-specific) [S3]. For free civil legal help, LSNJ's LSNJLAW Hotline is 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529), open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., providing free legal advice, information, and referrals to low-income New Jersey residents in civil legal matters for those who are financially eligible, in all languages and confidential (NJ-specific) [S6].

Restraining orders in brief (NJ-specific; the full step-by-step process is in the Family Court topic, 05-06). A restraining order is a document issued by the court that sets out terms the defendant must follow [S1]. The process has two steps. Step 1 is the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO): you apply in person or by phone in the county where you live, where the person you are applying against lives, where the incident took place, or where you are staying; the offices are open every weekday (the self-help page states 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., while the FAQ states 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. for filing at the Domestic Violence Unit of the Superior Court Family Division — see conflicts log); on weekends, evenings, holidays, or when the courts are closed, you go to your local police department [S1][S2]. At the courthouse, a staff person sits with you and fills out an application, and then you go before a hearing officer or judge who listens to you and decides; a copy of the order is sent to the police to give to the other party [S1]. Another hearing is scheduled within ten days, and the other party can ask for an earlier date [S1]. At any time, you can ask to talk to a domestic violence advocate, who can help with the court process and safety planning [S1]. Step 2 is the Final Restraining Order (FRO) hearing, where both parties appear and the judge hears both sides [S1]. In New Jersey, an FRO is permanent — it continues forever unless changed by the court — and it requires that you be fingerprinted and may include penalties such as a fine and loss of weapons; the order also includes a warrant for law enforcement to search for and seize weapons for safekeeping, and it can address child support, child custody, and parenting time [S1]. Violations are treated seriously: the order has two parts — if the defendant violates the contact restraints in Part 1, the plaintiff can report it to the local police, and the police will arrest the defendant and file a criminal charge; if the defendant does not comply with Part 2 (financial and parenting issues), the plaintiff must file for relief in the family court where the order was issued [S1]. The court does not provide lawyers in these cases, but you may hire one, and the court points people who want a lawyer to the Lawyer Referral Service or Legal Services of New Jersey [S1].

Shelters, services, and safety (NJ-specific). The New Jersey Division on Women (DOW), part of the state Department of Children and Families, "develops, promotes, and expands women's rights" in areas that include violence against women, and it funds, monitors, and evaluates programs for women [S3]. DOW administers state and federal funding and oversees programming in domestic violence, including a Domestic Violence Direct Services program, a Domestic Violence Liaison Program, a Batterer Intervention Program, the Address Confidentiality Program, and a Culturally Specific Initiative [S3]. Through the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), the state administers what the DOW page calls "the primary federal funding stream dedicated to the support of emergency shelter and related assistance for victims of domestic violence and their children" [S3]. The court's domestic violence page is the place to start for the court process: it lists county phone numbers for temporary restraining orders and additional resources including the domestic violence FAQ, and it notes that court staff will provide a safe and confidential environment when you seek custody or child support from an abuser, and that the location where you are staying can remain confidential [S1]. The New Jersey Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) provides a confidential substitute address for people who qualify, with a toll-free non-emergency hotline at 1 (877) 218-9133, which the state describes as providing access to domestic violence information and services, including application procedures, referral, and advocacy (NJ-specific) [S3]. For safety planning, the court's page says a domestic violence advocate can help you with the court process and safety planning, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (national) offers safety-planning tools ("Plan for Safety") to help people stay safer [S1][S4]. This file does not list county-by-county shelter names because none of the official pages checked here publishes such a list; the hotlines above provide confidential referrals to local services [S3].

Legal help (NJ-specific). Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ) describes itself as providing "free legal help to low-income New Jerseyans" [S5]. Its LSNJLAW Hotline (1-888-LSNJ-LAW / 1-888-576-5529) provides free legal advice, information, and referrals in civil matters to financially eligible low-income New Jersey residents, weekdays 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., with online intake available at lsnjlawhotline.org; calls are strictly confidential and legal help is available in all languages and to the hearing-impaired (NJ-specific) [S6]. In domestic violence restraining order cases specifically, the court does not provide lawyers, and the court's own page directs people who want a lawyer to the Lawyer Referral Service or Legal Services of New Jersey (NJ-specific) [S1].

ELI-10: Explain It Like I'm 10

[HYPOTHETICAL — NOT A REAL CASE] Elena is a grown-up who helps water the flowers at the community garden. She is friendly and funny, but lately she has been quiet. One evening she tells her neighbor Rosa that someone in her house yells at her, scares her, and sometimes hurts her, and she does not know what to do or who to call. Rosa says: "There is a number you can call at any hour — even the middle of the night — and a real person will answer." That night, Elena calls. A kind voice listens without judging, tells her she is not alone, gives her phone numbers for places that help, and explains that there is a paper called a "restraining order" that a judge can sign to tell the scary person to stay away. The next morning, Rosa goes with Elena to the big courthouse building. A staff person sits with her, helps her fill out the papers, and then she talks to a hearing officer who listens to her side right away — the scary person is not in the room yet — and signs the paper that same day. The paper tells the scary person to stay away from her, and the police get a copy. Within about ten days, both Elena and the scary person sit before a judge, who listens to both sides and decides what the final rules will be. In New Jersey, that final order does not run out — it stays in effect forever unless a judge changes it. And Elena is not alone through any of it: she can have a helper called an advocate with her, and there is even a program that gives her a secret mailing address so the scary person cannot find her through the mail.

Now let's translate the story back to the real rule: the number Rosa told Elena about is the New Jersey Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-572-7233, which is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week [S1][S3]. The paper signed the same day is the Temporary Restraining Order, applied for in person or by phone at the county Domestic Violence Unit on weekdays, or through the local police when the courts are closed [S1]. The hearing within about ten days is the Final Restraining Order hearing, and the "forever" order is real: in New Jersey, a Final Restraining Order is permanent unless changed by the court [S1]. The helper is the domestic violence advocate, who assists with the court process and safety planning [S1], and the secret mailing address is the Address Confidentiality Program [S3]. There is also a national hotline — 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) — that works the same way for anyone in the United States, free, confidential, and 24/7 [S4].

Real Case Reference (if applicable)

No published judicial decision is cited in this file, and none is needed: this topic is a resources guide describing what New Jersey's official pages — the courts and the state's Division on Women — publish about domestic violence services, hotlines, and the restraining order process, not the holding of any litigated dispute. The governing framework is the 1991 Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, which the official court FAQ describes by listing the crimes and relationships it covers [S2]; the procedures and resources described above come from the court's domestic violence self-help page [S1] and the state's Division on Women page [S3].

Key Takeaways

• In New Jersey, domestic violence means one of the listed crimes under the 1991 Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (assault, harassment, stalking, cyber-harassment, and others) committed against a protected person — a spouse, former spouse, present or former household member, dating partner, or someone with whom you have a child; gender is not a factor [S2][S1].
• Immediate help: in an emergency, call 9-1-1 (as the county temporary restraining order phone lines instruct) [S1]; the New Jersey Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-572-7233 (1-800-572-SAFE), is answered 24/7 and is confidential, bilingual, and accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired [S3][S1]; the National Domestic Violence Hotline (national), 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), also offers call, chat, and text (START to 88788), free, confidential, and 24/7 [S4].
• A restraining order starts with a Temporary Restraining Order obtained the same day through the county Domestic Violence Unit (weekdays) or the local police (after hours), with a final hearing within ten days; in New Jersey the Final Restraining Order is permanent unless changed by the court, and violating its contact restraints is a crime reported to the police [S1][S2].
• The state's Division on Women funds and oversees domestic violence services including emergency shelter through the federal FVPSA program, and the Address Confidentiality Program (1-877-218-9133) provides a confidential substitute address [S3].
• Free legal help for financially eligible low-income New Jersey residents is available through LSNJ's LSNJLAW Hotline, 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529), weekdays 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; in restraining order cases the court does not provide lawyers but points to the Lawyer Referral Service or LSNJ [S6][S1][S5].
• Safety planning help exists: domestic violence advocates assist with the court process and safety planning, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (national) publishes safety-planning tools [S1][S4].

Sources

• [S1] New Jersey Courts, "Domestic Violence (Self-Help)," https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/domestic-violence (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S2] New Jersey Courts, "Domestic Violence FAQs (Self-Help)," https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/domestic-violence/faq (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S3] New Jersey Department of Children and Families, "Division on Women," https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/ (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S4] National Domestic Violence Hotline, https://www.thehotline.org/ (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S5] Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ), https://www.lsnj.org/ (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S6] Legal Services of New Jersey, "LSNJLAW Hotline," https://www.lsnj.org/get-legal-help/free-lsnjlaw-hotline (verified 2026-08-20).

Not Legal Advice

Not legal advice. This material is general public legal education about New Jersey law and procedure. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and may not reflect the most current law. Consult a licensed New Jersey attorney about your specific situation.