WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

Legal Information: District of Columbia

Restraining Orders

View all
Updated: 
April 5, 2024

How do I get an extreme risk protection order?

You can file for an extreme risk protection order if you are related to the respondent, are dating, living with, or have a child with the respondent, or are a certain type of professional. You can start the process by filing a petition at the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Your petition must:

  • be written;
  • include facts that support your claim that the respondent presents a significant danger of causing bodily injury to himself/herself or others by having possession or control of, purchasing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition; and
  • include information about the number, types, and location of the respondent’s firearms and ammunition if you have that information.1

Your petition must be served to the Office of the Attorney General and the respondent.1

1 D.C. Code § 7-2510.02(a)

Legal Information

© 2008–2024 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.