Civil Protection Order Portal Design

Designing for Safety

Across the United States, most low-income survivors of domestic violence face urgent civil legal needs without meaningful support. Nearly all (98%) will experience a civil legal issue this year, and 88% will receive inadequate or no legal help.

In response, i4J partnered with the National Center for State Courts on a three-year initiative to improve how courts design online civil protection order portals, digital tools that enable survivors to safely and independently seek legal protection.

Project Impact

For many survivors, filing a protection order is a critical step toward safety, but the process can be confusing, overwhelming, and difficult to navigate without legal help. Well-designed court portals can expand access, but poorly designed ones can create new barriers.

This project focused on ensuring that these tools are clear and easy to navigate for people without legal training, support survivor needs, reduce errors and incomplete filings, and improve efficiency for courts and staff.

Over three years, this initiative:

Improved usability and accessibility for self-represented litigants, especially in rural and underserved communities
Identified and reduced common barriers in online filing processes
Supported courts in redesigning and building more effective portals
Developed scalable design patterns adaptable across jurisdictions
Produced research-backed national guidance for portal design

Research Approach

This work followed a clear progression from exploration to evaluation to new design:

Year 1 (Nevada): Understand user needs and explore potential solutions
Year 2 (Indiana): Evaluate and improve an existing system
Year 3 (Wisconsin): Design a new human-centered solution from the ground up

Working alongside courts in multiple states, this project produced research, prototypes, and practical guidance to support more user-centered and effective digital filing experiences nationwide. Keep reading to learn more about the research and findings in each state.

Design Guidance

Insights from all three phases informed the development of national design guidance for civil protection order portals. These resources help courts and partners design and improve portals that better serve survivors.

COMING SOON: Download the design guidance to apply these insights in your jurisdiction.

The sections below highlight key findings and design contributions from each year of the project.

Year 1: Nevada

Understanding User Needs and Barriers and Exploring Solutions

In 2023, i4J partnered with the Nevada Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts to explore how a statewide Domestic Violence Protection Order portal could better serve survivors. In Nevada, where rates of domestic violence are among the highest in the nation, access to a safe, clear, and usable filing process is especially critical. This phase focused on understanding user needs, barriers, and opportunities.

The team interviewed survivors, advocates, and court stakeholders to understand how people currently navigate the protection order process and where breakdowns in the filing process occur.

Key insights included:

Survivors often struggle to navigate fragmented resources and unclear filing pathways
Safety concerns, such as privacy and risk of retaliation, directly shape how users engage with online systems
Rural users face additional barriers, including limited access to technology and support services

Design responses explored:

Guiding users step-by-step through the filing process
Integrating legal information and support resources into the workflow
Reducing cognitive load during high-stress moments

This phase tested prototype designs and produced actionable design recommendations that informed Nevada’s portal development and also contributed directly to statewide court website design guidance. Insights from this project highlight common challenges courts may face when building new systems, and present data-driven recommendations that can be applied by any jurisdiction.

Explore the work:

UX Discovery Final Report: Nevada Protection Order Portal (full report)
UX Discovery for Nevada’s New Domestic Violence Protection Order Portal (2-page brief)

Year 2: Indiana

Evaluating and Improving an Existing Statewide System

In 2024, i4J partnered with the Indiana Supreme Court to evaluate its existing civil protection order portal. Indiana operates a mature, statewide system with integrated e-filing and court infrastructure, making it a valuable opportunity to assess how a live system performs for real users at scale. This phase focused on identifying usability challenges and improving a system already in use across the state.

The team analyzed user interactions to identify usability challenges and barriers to completion.

Key insights included:

Confusing navigation and multi-step workflows
Legal language that is difficult for self-represented users to understand
Points in the process where users are more likely to make errors or abandon filing

Design responses focused on:

Streamlining workflows to reduce confusion
Improving language clarity for self-represented users
Reducing errors that delay or prevent successful filings

The redesign applied trauma-informed design principles to reduce stress and increase user control throughout the experience. The result was a more intuitive and accessible system for users, along with improved efficiency for courts through more complete filings and fewer errors.

Insights from this phase informed national design guidance and highlight common usability challenges courts may encounter when evaluating existing systems.

Explore the work:

UX Evaluation Report: Indiana Civil Protection Order Portal (full report)
Indiana Civil Protection Order Portal Project Brief (2-page brief)

Year 3: Wisconsin

Creating a New, Integrated Solution from the Ground Up

In 2025, i4J partnered with the Wisconsin court system to design a new, fully integrated restraining order portal that better serves both petitioners and courts. Building on insights from Nevada and Indiana, this phase reimagined the petitioner experience from start to finish.

In Wisconsin, obtaining a restraining order involves a multi-step process of filling out multiple duplicative paper forms and filing in person, or navigating two separate complex websites to fill out, download, and then upload a petition to file online.

The team examined how users move through the full restraining order process, from filing to next steps in court, and where fragmentation and confusion occur. Building on insights from Nevada and Indiana, this phase focused on reimagining the experience from start to finish, designing a system that supports users holistically while aligning with court operations.

Key insights included:

The process is fragmented across forms, systems, and in-person steps
Users must navigate complex legal requirements under time pressure
Support resources are inconsistent and not integrated into the user journey

Design responses focused on:

Guiding users through the full process in one cohesive experience
Integrating legal information, court requirements, and support resources into the workflow
Enabling more seamless e-filing and system integration
Aligning user needs with court processes to improve efficiency

This phase demonstrates how courts can move beyond improving individual steps to designing end-to-end digital experiences that better support both users and court staff. It provides a forward-looking model for building modern, user-centered court technology.

Insights from this work directly informed national design guidance and offer practical direction for courts developing new systems.

Explore the work: Coming soon!