Restraining Orders

Updated:

December 31, 2021

What is the legal definition of domestic violence in Washington?

This section defines domestic violence for the purposes of getting a domestic violence order for protection.

Domestic violence is when one or more of the following things occur between intimate partners or family/household members:

physical harm;
bodily injury;
assault;
making you fear immediate physical harm, bodily injury, or assault;
nonconsensual sexual conduct;
nonconsensual sexual penetration;
coercive control;
unlawful harassment; or
stalking.¹

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.010(9)

What types of orders for protection are there? How long do they last?

There are two types of domestic violence orders for protection in Washington:

Ex parte temporary order for protection.
An ex parte temporary order for protection is designed to protect you until the court hearing for a final order for protection. When you file your application for a temporary order for protection, the judge will hold a hearing either in person or by telephone where you will tell the judge why you need the order for protection. (The abuser will not have notice of this hearing or be present, which is what is meant by the term “ex parte.”) The hearing will be either on the day the petition is filed or the following day that court is in session.¹ A judge will grant the temporary order only if s/he believes that you are in immediate danger of a severe injury.²

Temporary orders last for a fixed period of up to 14 days. If the court permits service of the abuser by publication or mail, the order will last for a fixed period up to 24 days.³

Your ex parte temporary order should clearly state the expiration date.⁴

Final order for protection.
A final order for protection can be issued only after a court hearing in which you and the abuser both have a chance to tell your sides of the story, present evidence, witnesses, etc. The hearing will be no more than 14 days from the date you got your temporary order or no more than 24 days if the abuser was notified by publication or mail.³

Generally, the order for protection can be for a fixed period (specific amount of time) or permanent (forever). If it only lasts for a fixed period, you can ask to have it renewed.⁵

Note: If the judge included in the order that the abuser cannot contact his/her minor children, then that part of the order for protection can only last up to one year (but you can apply to renew that part of the order at the end of the one-year period).⁵ To get more information about renewing your order, please see How do I change or extend my order for protection?

For information on other types of orders available in Washington, see What other types of orders may help me?

¹ R.C.W. § 26.50.070(3)
² R.C.W. § 26.50.070(1)
³ R.C.W. § 26.50.070(4)
⁴ R.C.W. § 26.50.070(5)
⁵ R.C.W. § 26.50.060(2), (3)

What protections can I get in a domestic violence order for protection?

In a temporary, ex parte domestic violence order of protection, the judge can order the following relief:

order the abuser not commit acts of domestic violence against you;
order the abuser to stay away from your residence (either shared with the abuser or your own), work, school or from the school or day care of your child;
prohibit the abuser from coming within a certain distance from a specific location;
order the abuser to not interfere with your custody of the minor children or remove the children from the jurisdiction of the court;
order the abuser not to contact you or your children or members of your household;
order the abuser not to harass you, follow you, keep you under physical or electronic surveillance, or cyberstalk you;
order the abuser not to use telephonic, audiovisual, or other electronic means to monitor the actions, location, or communication of you, your children, or members of your household; and
require the abuser to surrender his/her firearms if certain conditions are met.¹Note: You can read about the conditions that must be met for the judge to order the firearm removed on our WA Statutes page in section (1) of RCW 9.41.800.

As part of a final domestic violence order of protection, the judge can order the following relief:

order the abuser not commit acts of domestic violence against you;
order the abuser not to harass you, follow you, keep you under physical or electronic surveillance, or cyberstalk you;
order the abuser not to use telephonic, audiovisual, or other electronic means to monitor the actions, location, or communication of you, your children, or members of your household;
remove the abuser from the home that you share;
order the abuser to stay away from your residence, work, school or from the school or day care of your child;
prohibit the abuser from coming within a certain distance from a specific location;
order the abuser not to contact you or your children or members of the your household;
give one parent temporary custody of children;
set a schedule for visitation with minor children;
grant you possession of essential personal items including pets; (Note: You can get sole custody or control of any pet owned by you, the respondent, or your child. The abuser can also be prohibited from coming within a specific distance or to specific locations where the pet is regularly found);
grant you use of a vehicle;
order the abuser to pay administrative court costs and service fees, and to reimburse you for costs incurred in bringing the action (such as reasonable attorney’s fees);
order the abuser to participate in a batterers’ treatment program;
require the respondent to submit to electronic monitoring;
require the abuser to surrender his/her firearms if certain conditions are met (Note: You can read about the conditions that must be met for the judge to order the firearm removed on our WA Statutes page in section (1) of RCW 9.41.800.); and
order any other relief that the judge believes is necessary for your protection and the protection of your family or household members.²

Whether or not a judge orders any or all of the above depends on the facts of your case.

Note: A domestic violence protection order cannot:

order child support;
order maintenance (alimony);
assign most property to either party; or
establish permanent child custody.³

¹ R.C.W. § 26.50.070(1)
² R.C.W. § 26.50.060(1)
³Washington Courts website

In which county can I file for a domestic violence order for protection?

The law says that you “should” file your petition in the county where you live. However, the law also says you “may” file in:

the county where the act happened that is causing you to file for a protection order;
the county where a child to be protected by the order primarily lives;
the county where you lived before you relocated, assuming you relocated due to the abuser’s actions; or
the court closest to your current home or your prior home if you left that home due to the abuser’s actions.¹

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.075

If the abuser lives in a different state, can I still get an order against him/her?

If you live in Washington but the abuser does not, the judge may not have “personal jurisdiction” (power) over an out-of-state abuser. This means that the court may not be able to grant an order against him/her. However, under Washington law, there are a few ways that a court can have personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state abuser:

After you file your petition, the abuser gets personally served with the court petition while s/he is in Washington;
The abuser gives in (“submits”) to the jurisdiction of the Washington state court by:
- agreement (“consent”);
- “entering a general appearance,” which often means s/he show up in court at the return court date; or
- filing a responsive document in court without objecting to personal jurisdiction, which has the effect of waiving any objection to personal jurisdiction;
The actions of the abuser, or someone acting as an “agent” of the abuser, that you listed in your petition as your reason for needing the protection order took place:
- in Washington; or
- outside of Washington but the actions are part of an ongoing pattern that has a negative effect on you or a member of your family or household; or
As a result of the actions that are listed in your petition as your reason for needing the protection order, you or a member of your family or household has sought safety or protection in Washington and currently live(s) in Washington; or
Due to any other reason listed in section 4.28.185 of the law or in the Constitutions of Washington or the United States.¹

Note: For the court to have jurisdiction due to the reasons listed in #3 or #4, above, the abuser must have communicated with you or a member of the your family, directly or indirectly, or made known a threat to the safety of you or a member your family, while the victim lived in Washington.²A threat can be “communicated” or “made known” in any of the following ways: in person, through publication, by mail, telephone, through an electronic communication site or medium, by text, or through other social media.³

You can read more about personal jurisdiction in our Court System Basics - Personal Jurisdiction section.

If the judge in your state refuses to issue an order, you can file for an order in the courthouse in the state where the abuser lives. However, remember that you will likely need to file the petition in person and attend various court dates, which could be difficult if the abuser’s state is far away.

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.080(1)
² R.C.W. § 7.105.080(2)
³ R.C.W. § 7.105.080(3)(a)

Legal Information: Washington