How to Document Text Message Harassment for a Protective Order

The messages keep coming. Late at night, from new numbers, after you have asked the person to stop. You are thinking about asking a court for a protective order, and you want to know what the judge will need to see.

This post covers what to save, how to keep a log, and how to get ready for the hearing. For the bigger picture, including reporting to police, see our guide to documenting text message harassment.

If you are in danger right now, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers free, confidential support 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. If someone may be monitoring your phone or computer, contact the hotline or read this from a device the other person cannot access, such as a work computer, a library computer, or a trusted friend's phone.

This is general information, not legal advice. Protective order laws, names, and procedures differ from state to state. For your situation, check with a local attorney, a victim advocate, or your court's self-help center.

The short answer

To use texts in a protective order case, you generally need to show the judge three things:

1. What was said, and when. Complete messages with dates, times, and the sending number.
2. Who sent them. Enough to connect the messages to the person named in your petition.
3. The pattern. How often, how long, whether it continued after you asked them to stop, and how it affected you.

Keep every message, save copies with the details visible, keep a written log, and organize it all in date order.

Is texting someone harassment?

Not every rude or unwanted text is illegal. Each state writes its own harassment, stalking, and protective order laws. Some ideas come up again and again:

• A pattern, or course of conduct. Many laws look at repeated contact over time rather than a single message.
• Threats. Threatening messages can matter a great deal, even when there are only a few.
• Unwanted contact after a clear request to stop. If you told the person to stop contacting you and they kept going, that message is important evidence. Save it.
• The effect on you. Many laws consider whether the conduct caused fear for your safety or serious emotional distress.

At the federal level, the interstate stalking law, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A, covers using electronic communication services in a course of conduct, with intent to harass, intimidate, or injure, that places a person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress. Most harassment and protective order cases, though, are handled in state court under state law.

What the order is called where you live

The same basic idea goes by different names: protective order, restraining order, order of protection, stalking order, harassment order, peace order, or protection from abuse order. Some states have separate orders depending on whether the person is a family member, a former partner, or someone else. WomensLaw.org has state-by-state information, and your court's self-help center or clerk's office can tell you which form fits.

What to save, and how

Do not delete, and think before you block

Keep the whole conversation, including the parts you wish you had not sent. A gap invites questions.

Blocking is a safety decision, and only you can weigh it. Before you block, save what you already have. On an iPhone, Apple's support page says that when you block a number or contact, messages they send are not delivered to you, and they can still leave a voicemail but you won't get a notification. That means blocking may stop the record of new messages as well as the messages themselves. On Android, blocking works differently depending on the phone and the messaging app, so check your app's settings to see where blocked messages go, if anywhere. An advocate can help you think through the tradeoff.

On iPhone, also go to Settings, then Apps, then Messages, then Keep Messages, and choose Forever so old texts are not removed automatically.

Save from the phone itself

Capture the messages from the phone that received them, not from a forwarded copy. Then:

• Keep whole threads, not single messages. Include the messages before and after each key text so the context is clear.
• Make sure dates, times, and the phone number are visible. A screenshot showing only a contact name, with no number and no date, is easier to challenge.
• Use screenshots plus an export. Screenshots show what you saw on your screen. An export from the phone or a backup can show the date, time, and sender on every message across the whole conversation. Our guide to printing and exporting your texts walks through the options for iPhone and Android.
• Keep the original phone. Do not reset it, trade it in, or give it away while the case is open. The judge or the other side may ask to see the messages on the device.
• Back up to a place you control, separate from the phone.

For more on how courts treat these copies, see are text message screenshots admissible in court and can text messages be used in court.

If you already have an export file (CSV, XML, JSON, or .txt), our free texts-to-PDF tool turns it into a PDF with the date, time, and sender on every message. It runs in your browser, so your messages never leave your device.

When the messages come from new or hidden numbers

Some people switch numbers, use apps that give them a second number (such as TextNow or Google Voice), or spoof caller ID. You can still document it:

• Record every number in your log, with the dates each one was used.
• Note what ties the messages to the person: nicknames, shared history, details only they would know.
• Tell the court and police about the pattern of new numbers. Phone companies and app providers keep account records, and a court or police may be able to get them through a subpoena or other legal process. WomensLaw's page on proving spoofing notes that you may be able to ask a judge to sign a subpoena for phone records, and that app-based spoofing may require records from the app itself.

Do not try to unmask the sender yourself by logging into their accounts or guessing passwords. Accessing someone else's accounts can be illegal and can hurt your case.

Keep a harassment log

A log turns hundreds of messages into a record a judge can read in minutes. Update it as things happen, and keep it factual.

A simple template:

The examples above are made up to show the format. Your log is yours.

Easy to forget: the date you asked them to stop, police report numbers, and changes you made because of the messages, like a new route home.

Other evidence that helps

Texts are rarely the only evidence. Also save:

• Call logs. Screenshot the recent calls list, including missed calls, with dates and times.
• Voicemails. Save or export the audio files, not only the transcript.
• Social media. Screenshot DMs, comments, and posts with the account name and date visible. Save them early; content can disappear.
• Emails. Keep the full email, including the sender's address and the date.
• Witnesses. Names and contact details of people who saw the messages or how they affected you.
• Police reports. Ask for the report number and the officer's name each time, and add them to your log.

Preparing for the protective order hearing

The process usually starts with a written petition describing what happened. Many courts can issue a short-term emergency order quickly, followed by a hearing where both sides can appear and the judge decides on a longer order. Timelines and steps vary by state and court.

To get ready:

• Put exhibits in date order. Number each exhibit and each page so you can point the judge to "Exhibit 3, page 2."
• Write a one-page summary. A short timeline listing the key dates: when contact began, when you asked them to stop, the threats, the new numbers, and any police reports, each pointing to an exhibit.
• Pick the messages that prove each point, and include enough of the surrounding conversation to show context. Bring the complete export too, in case the judge or the other side asks for it.
• Make copies, typically for the judge, the other side, and you. Ask the clerk what the court expects.
• Bring the phone, charged, with the messages still on it.
• Be ready to explain how you know who sent the messages and how you made your copies.

Many courts have self-help centers or victim advocates who help with the paperwork at no cost.

After the order: documenting violations

If the judge grants an order, read it closely so you know exactly what contact it prohibits.

Keep documenting the same way after the order is issued:

• Save every new contact the order prohibits, with date, time, and number or account.
• Add each one to your log, with the order's case number at the top.
• Report violations to police or the court as your order and local rules direct, and keep the report numbers.
• Do not respond to messages meant to provoke you, and do not retaliate. Replying can blur the record, and a judge looks at both sides' conduct. If you need to communicate about something like children or property, ask the court or an attorney how to do it safely.

Frequently asked questions

Is texting someone harassment?

It can be, depending on your state's laws. Repeated, unwanted messages that threaten you, alarm you, or keep coming after you have clearly asked the person to stop often cross the line. A single rude message usually does not. Your state's statutes and your court's self-help center can tell you the standard where you live.

What evidence do I need for a protective order?

Commonly: the messages with dates, times, and numbers visible; a log showing the pattern; the message where you asked them to stop; call logs, voicemails, and social media messages; and any police report numbers. Requirements depend on your state and the type of order.

Can I get a restraining order for text messages alone?

In many states, threatening or harassing messages can support a protective or restraining order without any in-person incident. Whether your messages are enough depends on your state's requirements and the facts. A victim advocate or the court clerk can explain the options.

Is it a good idea to block the person harassing me?

That is a safety decision only you can make. Save everything first. On iPhone, Apple says messages from a blocked number are not delivered to you, so blocking may also stop the record of new messages. Some people keep the thread muted instead; others block and accept the gap. An advocate can help you weigh it.

What if the texts come from different or spoofed numbers?

Log each number and the dates it was used, and note anything in the messages that points to the same person. Tell the court and police about the pattern. Phone companies and texting apps keep records that a court or police may be able to obtain through a subpoena.

Get your texts organized

If you have months of messages and a hearing coming up, start with TextEvidence to import your texts, search everything at once for threats or key dates, and export the messages that matter with every date, time, and sender in place.