A court order is a written directive from a judge that commands someone to act, stop acting, or accept a legal consequence, and the types of court orders you’re most likely to encounter fall into a handful of recognizable categories: injunctions, subpoenas, search warrants, protection orders, gag orders, and consent decrees. Each has its own purpose, its own procedural rules, and its own consequences for ignoring it. Understanding which type you’re dealing with is the first step in figuring out what it requires of you and how much time you have to respond.
Interim Orders and Final Orders
Before getting into specific types, the most basic split among court orders is between temporary directives and permanent ones. Interim orders (sometimes called temporary or preliminary orders) address urgent issues while a case is still pending. A judge might grant one parent custody while a divorce works its way through court, or freeze a bank account to prevent someone from draining it before trial. These keep the situation stable until the judge has enough evidence to make a lasting decision.
Final orders close out a case. Once entered, the rights and obligations of everyone involved are set, and the losing party’s options narrow to appealing or moving to modify. In federal court, you generally have 30 days from entry of a final order to file a notice of appeal, or 60 days if a federal government party is involved.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 Miss that window and the order stands.
Court orders also split along civil and criminal lines. Civil orders resolve private disputes between people or businesses, typically awarding money damages or requiring a party to do (or stop doing) something. Criminal orders arise when the government prosecutes someone for breaking the law, and they impose penalties like fines, probation, or incarceration.
Injunctions and Temporary Restraining Orders
An injunction is a court order that either forces someone to take a specific action or prohibits them from doing something. A mandatory injunction might require a property owner to tear down a fence built on a neighbor’s land. A prohibitory injunction might bar a former employee from using a company’s confidential information.
Courts don’t hand these out lightly. Under the framework the Supreme Court set in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, a party seeking a preliminary injunction must show a likelihood of winning the case, a likelihood of irreparable harm without the order, that the balance of hardships favors them, and that the injunction serves the public interest.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders
Temporary restraining orders are a faster, more limited version. Under Federal Rule 65, a court can issue a TRO without notifying the other side at all, but only when the applicant shows through an affidavit or verified complaint that waiting for a hearing would cause immediate and irreparable harm. The applicant’s attorney must also certify what efforts were made to notify the opposing party and explain why notice shouldn’t be required.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders – Section: Temporary Restraining Order TROs are short-lived by design, buying time until a full hearing.
Subpoenas
A subpoena is a formal command to participate in a legal proceeding. There are two main types. A subpoena to testify requires a person to appear at a trial, hearing, or deposition and answer questions under oath. A subpoena to produce documents requires someone to hand over specific records, electronic files, or physical items relevant to the case.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 45 – Subpoena The two can be combined into a single subpoena requiring a person to show up and bring documents.
In federal court, either the court clerk or an attorney authorized to practice before the court can issue a subpoena.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 45 – Subpoena Ignoring one is treated as contempt, which can mean fines or jail time.
Search Warrants
A search warrant authorizes law enforcement to search a specific location and seize particular items. The Fourth Amendment sets the baseline: no warrant may issue unless it’s supported by probable cause, backed by an oath or affirmation, and specifically describes the place to be searched and the items to be seized.5Congress.gov. Fourth Amendment Search Warrant Requirements A judge or magistrate must independently evaluate the evidence before signing off, which is what separates a lawful search from an unconstitutional one.
Protection Orders
Protection orders (often called restraining orders) create legal boundaries between individuals, typically prohibiting contact, requiring physical distance, or barring someone from a shared residence. They frequently arise from domestic violence situations and can be issued on an emergency basis when a judge determines there’s an immediate safety risk. Violating a protection order is a separate criminal offense in most jurisdictions, on top of whatever consequences the underlying case carries.
Gag Orders
A gag order restricts what parties, attorneys, or witnesses can say publicly about a pending case. Courts use them to protect a defendant’s right to a fair trial when media coverage threatens to taint the jury pool. Because gag orders press against the First Amendment, they face serious constitutional scrutiny. The Supreme Court’s decision in Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart established that courts must weigh the extent of pretrial publicity, whether less restrictive alternatives would work, and how effectively the gag order would actually prevent the harm before imposing one.
Consent Decrees
A consent decree is a court order that both sides agree to, typically to settle a case without a full trial. What separates it from a private settlement is that the court adopts it as an official order, so violating the terms is contempt of court rather than a breach of contract. Consent decrees are common in civil rights cases, environmental enforcement, and antitrust matters. They can be difficult to modify later, because unlike a regular settlement, changing the terms means going back to the judge.
Default Judgments
Default judgments belong in any list of court orders because they’re what happens when someone ignores a lawsuit entirely. If you’ve been sued and don’t respond, the court can enter judgment against you, meaning the other side wins automatically without having to prove its case at trial.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default For a monetary claim, the clerk can enter judgment for the full amount requested. For other types of claims, the court holds a hearing to determine damages, but the underlying liability is already decided.
Terms You’ll See on the Order Itself
Whatever type of order you’re holding, the language on the page is peppered with Latin and procedural shorthand. A few terms show up often enough to be worth knowing.
Ex parte means “for one party.” An ex parte order is issued after hearing from only one side, without notice to the other. Federal Rule 65 allows TROs on an ex parte basis, but only when waiting for a two-sided hearing would cause irreparable harm.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders Ex parte orders are typically short-lived and followed quickly by a full hearing.
Sua sponte means the judge acted on their own initiative, without either party asking. A judge might dismiss a case sua sponte after realizing the court lacks jurisdiction, or raise a legal issue that both attorneys missed.
Show cause orders demand that a party explain why the court shouldn’t take a specific action against them. You’ll see these when someone appears to have violated a prior order or blown a deadline. The burden shifts to the person who received the order: come to the hearing with a good explanation, or face the consequences.
Stay means a pause on the legal effect of an order or an entire proceeding. A stay of execution, for example, prevents the winning party from collecting on a judgment while the losing party pursues an appeal. Getting one usually requires convincing the court that the appeal has merit and that enforcing the order in the meantime would cause irreparable harm.
Nunc pro tunc means “now for then” and refers to an order that applies retroactively. Courts use these to correct clerical errors so the record reflects what the judge actually intended. If a judge meant to enter an order on March 1 but it wasn’t filed until March 15 due to an administrative error, a nunc pro tunc order backdates the filing to March 1.
What Happens When You Don’t Comply
A court order isn’t a suggestion, regardless of which type it is. Every order remains enforceable until a judge formally vacates it or it reaches its expiration date, and it doesn’t matter whether you agree with the underlying decision. The primary enforcement tool is contempt of court, and federal law gives courts broad authority to punish disobedience of any lawful order by fine, imprisonment, or both.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 401 – Power of Court
Civil contempt is forward-looking. The point isn’t to punish you for what you did but to pressure you into complying. A judge might impose daily fines that accumulate until you follow the order, or send you to jail with the understanding that you’ll be released the moment you comply. People sometimes describe this as carrying the keys to your own cell. Because the goal is coercion rather than punishment, civil contempt fines have no fixed statutory cap.
Criminal contempt is backward-looking. It punishes past disobedience and upholds the court’s authority. In federal cases that don’t rise to the level of a separate criminal charge, fines max out at $1,000 and imprisonment at six months.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 402 – Contempts Constituting Crimes
When a court order requires payment and the losing party won’t pay voluntarily, the winning party can pursue collection through garnishment, with the writ served on whoever holds the debtor’s assets, whether an employer for wages or a bank for account funds.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 3205 – Garnishment Law enforcement can also physically remove someone from a property, seize assets to satisfy a judgment, or arrest a person who violates a protection order.
If you disagree with an order, the response is to challenge it through the proper channels: a motion for reconsideration under Federal Rule 59(e) within 28 days,10Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment a motion for relief from a final order under Rule 60(b),11United States Court of International Trade. Rule 60 – Relief From a Judgment or Order or an appeal within the 30- or 60-day window.12Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken Filing an appeal doesn’t automatically pause the original order. If you need the order frozen while the appeal proceeds, you must separately request a stay. The worst response to any court order is no response at all.