Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceTrial Rule 65 sets the procedure for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in Indiana civil cases — notice and hearing requirements, a ten-day cap on ex parte orders, mandatory security, and a separate track for domestic relations protective orders.
(1)Notice. No preliminary injunction shall be issued without an opportunity for a hearing upon notice to the adverse party.
(2)Consolidation of hearing with trial on merits. Before or after the commencement of the hearing of an application for a preliminary injunc- tion, the court may order the trial of the action on the merits to be advanced and consolidated with the hearing of the application. Even when this consolidation is not ordered, any evidence received upon an application for a preliminary injunction which would be admissible upon the trial on the merits becomes part of the record on the trial and need not be repeated upon the trial.
(3)Assignment of cases--Judge to act promptly. Assignment of cases shall not be affected by the fact that a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction is sought, but such case shall be assigned promptly and the judge reg- ularly assigned to the case shall act upon and hear all matters relating to temporary restrain- ing orders and preliminary injunctions. The judge shall make himself readily available to consider temporary restraining orders, conduct hearings, fix the manner of giving notice and the time and place for hearings under this rule, and shall act and require the parties to act promptly. If the party seeking relief or his attorney by affidavit establishes that the judge assigned to the case is not available or cannot be found to consider an application for a restraining order, to conduct a hearing, or to fix the manner of giving notice and the time and place for a hear- ing under this rule, he may apply to any other judge in the circuit who shall take all further action with respect to any temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction. If the affi- davit establishes that no other judge in the circuit is available or to be found, he may apply to the judge of any adjoining circuit. Unless an order is entered within ten [10] days after the hearing upon the granting, modifying or dissolving of a temporary or preliminary injunction, the relief sought shall be subject to the provisions of Rule 53.1.
(4)Modification of orders--Responsive pleadings. Upon the court’s own motion or the motion of any party, orders granting or denying tem- porary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions may be dissolved, modified, granted or reinstated. Responsive pleadings shall not be required in response to any pleadings or motions relating to temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions.
(B)Temporary restraining order--Notice--Hearing--Duration. A temporary restraining order may be granted without written or oral notice to the adverse party or his attorney only if:
(1)it clearly appears from specific facts shown by affidavit or by the verified complaint that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to the applicant before the adverse party or his attorney can be heard in opposition; and
(2)the applicant’s attorney certifies to the court in writing the efforts, if any, which have been made to give notice and the reasons supporting his claim that notice should not be required. Every temporary restraining order granted without notice shall be indorsed with the date and hour of issuance; shall be filed forthwith in the clerk’s office and entered of record; shall define the injury and state why it is irreparable and why the order was granted without notice; and shall expire by its terms within such time after entry, not to exceed ten [10] days, as the court fixes, unless within the time so fixed the order, for good cause shown, is exten- ded for a like period or unless the whereabouts of the party against whom the order is gran- ted is unknown and cannot be determined by reasonable diligence or unless the party against whom the order is directed consents that it may be extended for a longer period. The reasons for the extension shall be entered of record. In case a temporary restraining order is granted without notice, the motion for a preliminary injunction shall be set down for hearing at the earliest possible time and takes precedence of all matters except older matters of the same character; and when the motion comes on for hearing the party who obtained the tem- porary restraining order shall proceed with the application for a preliminary injunction and, if he does not do so, the court shall dissolve the temporary restraining order. On two (2) days’ notice to the party who obtained the temporary restraining order without notice or on such shorter notice to that party as the court may prescribe, the adverse party may appear and move its dissolution or modification and in that event the court shall proceed to hear and determine such motion as expeditiously as the ends of justice require.
(C)Security. No restraining order or preliminary injunction shall issue except upon the giving of security by the applicant, in such sum as the court deems proper, for the payment of such costs and damages as may be incurred or suffered by any party who is found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. No such security shall be required of a governmental organization, but such governmental organization shall be responsible for costs and damages as may be incurred or suffered by any party who is found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. The provisions of Rule 65.1 apply to a surety upon a bond or undertaking under this rule.
(D)Form and scope of injunction or restraining order. Every order granting temporary injunction and every restraining order shall include or be accompanied by findings as required by Rule 52; shall be specific in terms; shall describe in reasonable detail, and not by reference to the complaint or other document, the act or acts sought to be restrained; and is binding only upon the parties to the action, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and upon those persons in active concert or par- ticipation with them who receive actual notice of the order by personal service or otherwise.
(E)Orders--Domestic Relations Cases. Parties wishing protection from domestic or family violence in Domestic Relations cases shall petition the court pursuant to IC 34-26-5. Subject to the provisions set forth in this paragraph, in an action for dissolution of marriage, separation, or child support, the court may issue an Order, without hearing or security, if either party files a verified petition alleging an injury would result to the moving party if no immediate order were issued.
(1)Joint Order. If the court finds that an order shall be entered under this paragraph, the court may enjoin both parties from:
(a)transferring, encumbering, concealing, selling or otherwise disposing of any joint property of the parties or asset of the marriage except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life, without the written consent of the parties or the per- mission of the court;
(b)removing any child of the parties then residing in the State of Indiana from the State with the intent to deprive the court of jurisdiction over such child without the prior written consent of all parties or the permission of the court; and/or
(c)changing any insurance policies (including beneficiary designations) in place as of the date that the family law action was commenced, including without limitation life, health, dental, optical, prescription drug, auto, personal property, liability, and homeowners/renter’s insurance, without the prior written consent of the parties or the permission of the court.
(2)Separate Order Required. In the event a party seeks to enjoin by an order the non-mov- ing party from abusing, harassing, or disturbing the peace of the petitioning party or any child or step-child of the parties, or exclude the non-moving party from the family dwell- ing, the dwelling of the non-moving party, or any other place, and the court determines that an order shall be issued, such order shall be addressed to one person. A joint or mutual order shall not be issued. If both parties allege injury, they shall do so by separate petitions. The trial court shall review each petition separately and grant or deny each peti- tion on its individual merits. In the event the trial court finds cause to grant both petitions, it shall do so by separate orders.
(3)Effect of Order. An order entered under this paragraph is automatically effective upon service. Such orders are enforceable by all remedies provided by law including contempt. Once issued, such orders remain in effect until the entry of a decree or final order or until modified or dissolved by the court.
(F)Statutory Provision Unaffected by this Rule. Nothing in this rule shall affect provisions of statutes extending or limiting the power of a court to grant injunctions. By way of example and not by way of limitation, this rule shall not affect the provisions of 1967 Indiana Acts, ch. 357, §§ 1-8 1 relating to public lawsuits, and Indi- ana Acts, ch. 7, §§ 1-15 2 providing for removal of injunctive and mandamus actions to the Court of Appeals of Indiana, and Indiana Acts, ch. 12 (1933) 3. 1 IC 34-4-17-1 to 34-4-17-8. 2 IC 34-4-18-1 to 34-4-18-13 (Repealed). 3 IC 22-6-1-1-to 22-6-1-12.
Amendment History
This rule’s current text took effect July 1, 2023. For the full history of earlier amendments and adoption orders, see the Indiana Office of Court Services.
Plain-English Summary
Trial Rule 65 covers two kinds of emergency relief a court can order before a case is finally decided: the preliminary injunction and the shorter-fused temporary restraining order. Section (A) governs preliminary injunctions. None can issue without giving the other side a chance to be heard at a hearing, though the court can fold that hearing into the trial itself — evidence taken at the injunction hearing counts as trial evidence too, so nobody has to repeat it later. Because these motions move fast, the rule keeps them with whichever judge is already assigned to the case, with a chain of backup judges if that judge cannot be reached, and requires a ruling within ten days of the hearing; missing that deadline makes the relief sought subject to Trial Rule 53.1, Indiana's rule addressing what happens when a judge fails to rule on time. Orders granting or denying this kind of relief can be dissolved, modified, or reinstated on the court's own initiative or a party's motion, and nobody has to file a written response before the court acts.
Section (B) covers the temporary restraining order, the version a court can issue without notifying the other side at all — but only under tight conditions. The party asking for it must show, through an affidavit or a verified complaint, specific facts proving that irreparable harm will land before the other side can be heard, and the attorney has to certify in writing what efforts were made to give notice and why notice should be skipped. An order granted this way must state the date and time it issued, go on file with the clerk immediately, explain the injury and why it could not wait, and expire within ten days unless the court extends it for good cause, the party against whom it runs cannot be found despite a reasonable search, or that party agrees to a longer extension. Once a restraining order issues without notice, the request for a preliminary injunction jumps to the front of the docket, and the party who obtained the restraining order has to follow through on that request or the court will dissolve the order. The other side, meanwhile, can move to dissolve or modify the restraining order on two days' notice, or less if the court allows it.
Section (C) requires security before any restraining order or preliminary injunction can issue — a bond sized to cover the costs and damages of anyone later found to have been wrongfully restrained. Governmental organizations are excused from posting the bond itself, but they remain on the hook for those same costs and damages if the order turns out to have been wrongful. Trial Rule 65.1 spells out how a party can go after a surety on one of these bonds without filing a separate lawsuit. Section (D) requires every order to include findings, describe specifically what conduct is restrained rather than pointing back to the complaint, and it binds only the parties, their agents and attorneys, and anyone else who gets actual notice and acts in concert with them.
Section (E) carves out a separate track for domestic relations cases. A person seeking protection from domestic or family violence proceeds under Indiana's separate protective order statute rather than this rule. But in a dissolution, legal separation, or child support case, either party can get a restraining order without a hearing or security just by filing a verified petition showing that an immediate order is needed. Some of that relief — freezing joint property or blocking insurance changes — can bind both parties in a single joint order. Anything aimed at stopping one party from abusing or harassing the other, or excluding someone from a shared home, has to run against one person at a time, addressed in a separate order after the court reviews each petition on its own merits. These orders take effect automatically once served and stay in force, enforceable by contempt, until a final decree or a later court order changes them. Section (F) confirms that none of this displaces other Indiana statutes that expand or limit a court's power to grant injunctions, including the state's public-lawsuit statutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction in Indiana?
A temporary restraining order under Section (B) can issue without notice to the other side in narrow emergency circumstances and lasts no more than ten days unless extended. A preliminary injunction under Section (A) requires notice and an opportunity for a hearing before it can issue, and it stays in place for the duration of the case unless dissolved or modified.
Can an Indiana court issue a TRO without notifying the other side?
Yes, but only if specific facts in an affidavit or verified complaint clearly show that immediate, irreparable injury will occur before the other side can be heard, and the requesting attorney certifies in writing what efforts were made to give notice and why notice should not be required.
How long does a temporary restraining order last in Indiana?
Up to ten days from entry, unless the court extends it for a like period for good cause shown, the party being restrained cannot be located after reasonable diligence, or that party consents to a longer extension. The reasons for any extension go into the court record.
Do I have to post a bond to get a preliminary injunction or TRO in Indiana?
Generally yes. Section (C) requires security in an amount the court finds proper before a restraining order or preliminary injunction can issue, to cover costs and damages if the order turns out to have been wrongful. Governmental organizations do not have to post the bond itself, but they can still be held responsible for those costs and damages.
What happens if a judge does not rule on a preliminary injunction within ten days of the hearing?
The relief sought becomes subject to Trial Rule 53.1, which governs what happens when a judge fails to rule on a matter within the time this rule requires.
Can the other side challenge a TRO that was issued without notice?
Yes. On two days' notice to the party who obtained the order — or shorter notice if the court allows it — the other party can appear and move to dissolve or modify it, and the court must hear and decide that motion as quickly as the situation requires.
How does Trial Rule 65 handle restraining orders in divorce and child support cases?
Section (E) lets either party in a dissolution, legal separation, or child support case obtain a restraining order without a hearing or security by filing a verified petition showing that immediate injury would result otherwise. Orders freezing joint property or insurance changes can bind both parties jointly; orders aimed at one party's conduct toward the other must run against a single person and are reviewed and issued separately. Someone seeking protection from domestic or family violence specifically instead petitions under Indiana's separate protective order statute.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure (T.R. 65). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Indiana, under its inherent constitutional rulemaking power (reaffirmed by Ind. Code 34-8-1-1 and 34-8-2-1); originally enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 1969. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:TRO indianatemporary restraining order indianapreliminary injunction indianaindiana injunction bond requirementhow to get a restraining order in an indiana civil casetrial rule 65 indianaindiana domestic relations restraining order