What Is a Domestic Violence Protective Order?

Domestic violence affects an estimated 10 million people. It impacts people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. It can happen when people are married, living together, dating, and with people who have broken up.

Each state and the federal government has its own definition of domestic violence. In general, abusive, harassing, and threatening acts between close family members, spouses, ex-spouses, co-parents, current and former cohabitants, and current and former dating partners are considered domestic violence

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH), leaving an abusive relationship is the most unsafe time for a victim. If you're trying to end a relationship with an abusive person, you need a safety plan. Part of your safety plan may include a domestic violence protective order—a court order to keep your abuser away from you.

What is a Protective Order?

A protective order (also called a "protection order") is a legal document that is meant to stop abusers from harming or harassing their victims. All states have laws that allow judges to grant protective orders, though enforcement tools and procedures for how to get orders vary from state to state.

Depending on where you live and the type of order you are seeking (more on that below) other names for protective orders may include:

• restraining orders
• civil protection orders
• orders of protection
• stay-away orders
• protection from abuse orders
• no-contact orders, and
• anti-harassment orders.

Types of Protective Orders

In most states, the four main types of domestic violence protective orders include:

• emergency protective orders
• criminal protective orders
• temporary restraining orders, and
• permanent restraining orders.

Emergency Protective Orders

If you've been the victim of a domestic violence-related crime or fear for your immediate safety or the safety of your family, call the police or 911. Ask the police officer who responds for an Emergency Protective Order (EPO). If an EPO is granted, a judge can order your alleged abuser to stay away from you, your home, and your work. EPOs can be granted 24/7 but typically only last a few days.

Criminal Protective Order

Domestic violence is a crime in all 50 states. Some states define domestic as a distinct crime. Other states impose additional punishment when a crime, like assault and battery, involves violence by a spouse, partner, or family or household member.

When prosecutors file domestic violence-related charges, they can ask a judge to issue a Criminal Protective Order (CPO) to protect the alleged victim from the defendant (the person charged with a crime) while the criminal case moves forward. A judge may also order a defendant to stay away from the alleged victim as a condition of bail or O.R. These types of protective orders typically end when the criminal case ends so many victims also seek a restraining order in family or civil court (see below).

Judges can issue another CPO when a defendant is convicted of a crime, including as a condition of probation.

Restraining Orders

If someone has been hurting, threatening, or stalking you, you can apply for a restraining order in civil court. Law enforcement and prosecutors aren't involved.

The person seeking protection is called the "protected person." The person you want protection from is called the "restrained person." If necessary, the protected person's children, property, and pets may also be protected by the order.

Restraining orders can be temporary or permanent.

Temporary Restraining Orders

When you ask for a restraining order, the court will set a date for a hearing on your request. In the meantime, a judge can quickly grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) if you are in immediate danger. A TRO protects you until you can have a full court hearing to determine whether the restraining order should be permanent, typically three weeks or so.

A judge decides whether to grant a TRO based on the information you provide, without hearing from the restrained person. For this reason, TROs are sometimes called "ex-parte orders." Ex-parte is a Latin term meaning "by or for one party."

Permanent Restraining Orders

Whether or not you get a TRO, you will have a hearing on your request for a permanent restraining order (also called a "final restraining order"). The judge will hear from you and the person you want protection from at this hearing. If granted, permanent restraining orders (PROs) are rarely permanent. In most states, they last one to five years with an opportunity for the protected person to renew or extend the order if necessary.

Other Protective Orders

If you need protection from someone other than an intimate partner or household member, you might be eligible for a different type of protective order. Many states offer orders of protection from:

• civil harassment (such as by a neighbor, former friend, classmate, fan, or landlord)
• elder abuse
• gun violence (called "red flag laws")
• workplace violence, and
• school violence.

What Does a Protective Order Do?

The primary purpose of a protective order is to do what the name suggests—protect someone from abuse, harassment, and threats. Once a judge grants a protective order, the protected person can call the police to enforce the order (more on that below).

There is no one-size-fits-all protective order. Judges craft protective orders based on the individual facts of each case. Here are some of the most common protective order terms. These terms can be imposed on any type of protective order—emergency, criminal, temporary, or permanent.

No Contact

A no-contact order is very strict. The restrained person is prohibited from contacting the protected person in any way, including by phone, text, email, social media, or even asking someone else to pass along a message.

No-contact orders can be tricky because they only go one way, meaning they don't prohibit the protected person from contacting the restrained person. If that happens, the restrained person must end the contact right away or risk violating the order. For example, if the protected person calls, the restrained person shouldn't answer or should hang up right away and text messages should be left on read.

Stay Away

A stay-away order requires the restrained person to stay a certain distance (often 100 yards) away from the protected person and their home, work, and school.

Peaceful Contact

In some cases, the protected person is okay with having contact with the restrained person if it is safe. A peaceful contact order prohibits the restrained person from harassing, threatening, stalking, blocking, abusing, battering, sexually assaulting, or disturbing the peace of the protected person.

Move Out

A move-out order (also called a "kick-out order" or a "residence exclusion order") requires the restrained person to move out of a home that is shared with the protected person.

Child Custody and Visitation

If the protected person and the restrained person have a child together, the protected person can ask the court to make or change a child custody or visitation order. As with any custody decision, a judge will make a decision based on the best interests of the child. Restraining order-related custody orders are usually temporary. More permanent orders are typically made in family court. Learn more about child custody and domestic violence and how domestic violence impacts custody in your state.

Control of Property

Protective orders may determine who has control over certain property, including vehicles and pets, and prohibit the restrained person from selling, hiding, or getting rid of jointly owned property.

Financial Support

In some cases, the restrained person may be ordered to pay certain expenses (sometimes called "orders of maintenance"), including:

• rent or mortgage on a shared home
• part or all of some shared bills (like car payments, utilities, insurance)
• spousal support
• child support, and
• expenses caused by the abuse (for damaged property, counseling, temporary housing, and sometimes lawyer's fees and costs).

Firearms Restrictions

In many states, a restrained person must surrender any firearms they own and not purchase any new ones while the protective order is in place.

Under federal law, which applies to all states, certain people are prohibited from possessing, owning, receiving, or buying guns and ammunition, including people with misdemeanor or felony domestic violence convictions and some people subject to domestic violence restraining orders.

Counseling or Treatment Programs

Protective orders may require the restrained person to attend programs like anger management or a batterer intervention program.

How to Get a Protective Order

You don't need to do anything to get an emergency protective order or criminal protective order. A law enforcement officer or the district attorney will request these types of orders on your behalf, typically when your alleged abuser is arrested and charged with a crime.

If you want to ask a judge for a civil restraining order, you'll need to go to family or civil court. Each state has its own process and forms for making this type of request. Here's an overview of the general steps.

Step 1: Complete All Required Forms

You can get the necessary forms at your county courthouse or online. At a minimum, the forms tell the judge your name, the name of the person you want protection from, a description of your relationship, a description of the abuse you've suffered, and the orders that you want the judge to make.

Step 2: File Your Forms at the Courthouse

Bring your completed forms to your local courthouse or file your forms online if your court allows electronic filing. There is typically no cost to apply for a domestic violence-related protective order. If you are asking for a temporary restraining order, a judge will review your request within a day or two. You'll get certified copies of the court papers, including a copy of the TRO if it was granted, and a hearing date.

Step 3: Serve the Other Person

You must have someone who isn't involved in the case serve (deliver) the court papers to the person you want restrained by a certain deadline. The deadline will be on court papers. Consider having a sheriff or marshal serve the paperwork if the situation is volatile. Many government agencies serve restraining order court papers for free. The temporary restraining order can be enforced as soon as it is served on the restrained person. You or the person who served the papers must file a form called "proof of service" with the court.

Step 4: Go to Court

Gather evidence that will help your case, such as medical records, police reports, photos, and witnesses. Bring the evidence to court on the day of your hearing. The judge will give both sides a chance to speak and decide whether to grant or deny the restraining order. If the order is granted, keep a copy it, including proof of service, on you at all times.

Step 5: Get Help If the Order Is Violated

Call 911 or the police if your restraining order is violated.

How Long Does a Protective Order Last?

Not all protective orders last the same amount of time. Emergency protective orders usually last a few days. Criminal protective orders remain in effect while the criminal case is ongoing or longer if the defendant is convicted of a crime and the judge orders a CPO at sentencing.

Temporary restraining orders offer protection for the few weeks between when a person files for a restraining order and the court hearing on their request. If a permanent or final restraining order is granted after a hearing, it typically lasts one to five years in most states with an option for the protected person to apply to renew or extend it.

What Happens When Someone Violates a Protective Order?

Protective orders tell the restrained person what to do and not do. For example, the order might tell the restrained person to stay away from and have no contact with the protected person.

Punishments vary from state to state, but violations of a restraining order are serious and can lead to being held in contempt of court, new criminal charges, jail or prison, and fines.

Can Protective Orders Be Enforced in Other States?

People who rely on protective orders often wonder what will happen to the order if they travel or relocate to another state. Are protective orders enforceable beyond the county or state where they were issued?

Federal law requires law enforcement and courts to give full faith and credit to protective orders issued in another jurisdiction if the restrained person had notice of the order and an opportunity to be heard on the allegations of abuse. The jurisdiction that issues the order decides who is eligible for protection, what terms to impose, and how long the order lasts. The jurisdiction that enforces the order decides how violations of the order are handled and what punishment to impose. (18 U.S.C. 2265 (2024).)

Can Protective Orders Be Modified?

Protective orders can be modified or terminated early, but only by a judge. For example, a judge might consider changing a no-contact order to a peaceful contact order if the restrained person completes anger management and the protected person feels safer.

To ask to change or end a domestic violence-related restraining order, you have to file a request with the court explaining what you are asking for and why.

Find Help and Resources for Domestic Violence

If you are experiencing domestic or family violence, get help. There are local and national organizations that offer free, confidential support 24/7. A good place to start is the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.

If you've been served with a restraining order, accused of violating a restraining order, or charged with a crime, talk to a criminal defense lawyer.