In 2018, The Florida Legislature passed the
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Public Safety Act in response to a tragic
school shooting. The law is designed to
enhance public safety by restricting firearm
and ammunition possession by a person
who poses a danger to himself or herself
or others.
What can you do if you believe
someone poses a danger to himself or
herself or others if he or she has access
to firearms or ammunition?
Contact your local law enforcement office.
Only law enforcement may ask a court to
enter a Risk Protection Order against
someone who may be a danger to himself
or herself or others.
Contact your local police department
or sheriff’s office and provide them
with the information you have. They
may seek a risk protection order from
a court under section 790.401,
Florida Statutes.
If a protection order is granted, the
person subject to the order (the
respondent) must immediately
surrender all of his or her firearms,
ammunition, and any license to carry a
concealed weapon or firearm to the law
enforcement officer who serves the
order on the respondent. The order will
remain in place until the date written on
the order unless it is extended or
vacated by the court after a hearing.
Once a protection order has been
entered, the respondent may make one
written request for a hearing to vacate
the order. At the hearing, the
respondent has the burden of proving
by clear and convincing evidence that
the order should be vacated based on
the reasons set out in section 790.401,
Florida Statutes.
Within 30 days prior to the expiration of
the order, the petitioner (law
enforcement) may file a motion to
extend the order and the court will hold
a hearing to determine if the order
should be extended.
Risk Protection Orders
Risk Protection Orders
Other information law enforcement
should consider:
Risk protection forms
are available online at
www.flcourts.org
If you have information for law
enforcement, please provide your:
Name: _________________________________
Contact Information: _________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
What can you do to help the process?
You can provide law enforcement with
information that you know about the
person, his or her mental health condi-
tion, any threats or acts of violence that
were made, any other facts that raise a
concern for safety, and any firearms and
ammunition in the person’s possession.
Name: ___________________________________
Address:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Mental health concerns:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Threats or acts of violence:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Other safety concerns:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Law enforcement will need a
description of the type of firearm(s) in
the possession of the person you are
concerned about and the number of
each type. Examples: 2 handguns, 1
pistol, 3 rifles, and 2 shotguns. The
pictures below are just examples and
may not look exactly like the firearm(s)
in your case. Please pick the one(s) that
most closely resemble the firearms you
are describing.
Law enforcement will need a
description of the type of ammunition
in the possession of the person you
are concerned about and the number
of each type. Examples: about 200
bullets, 4 boxes of bullets, 20 shotgun
shells, and 3 clips/magazines. The
pictures below are just examples and
may not look exactly like the ammuni-
tion in your case. Please pick the one(s)
that most closely resemble those you
are describing.
