How long a protective order lasts in Utah depends on the type, but the common answer is three years from the date the court enters the final order. Some provisions inside an order expire much sooner, one type has no expiration date at all, and every type has its own rules for extending protection before it lapses.
The Three-Year Default
Four of Utah’s protective order types run on a three-year clock:
- Cohabitant abuse protective orders expire three years after the date entered.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 78B-7-606 – Expiration — Extension
- Civil stalking injunctions last three years from the date the temporary order was served on the respondent.2Utah Legislature. Utah Code Title 78B Chapter 7 Part 7 – Civil Stalking Injunctions
- Sexual violence protective orders last three years from the date the court issues the order, and can be extended one time for an additional three years. After that, the petitioner must file a new petition.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders
- Dating violence protective orders, which cover people who dated but never lived together, married, or shared a child, follow the same three-year framework.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders
Cohabitant abuse orders protect someone from abuse by a person they live with, used to live with, are related to by marriage, or share a child with. They are the most common type filed in Utah.
The 150-Day Deadline Inside a Cohabitant Abuse Order
A cohabitant abuse protective order is not one block of protection with one expiration date. It contains two categories of provisions on different clocks, and this trips up a lot of petitioners.
The criminal provisions, which include no-contact and stay-away requirements, run the full three years.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders The court cannot vacate these criminal provisions within the first two years unless specific conditions are met.
The civil provisions expire much sooner. Provisions covering child custody, temporary possession of a shared home, and property arrangements end 150 days after the order is entered. Either party can ask the court to extend them beyond 150 days, but the court must find good cause.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 78B-7-606 – Expiration — Extension
If your order includes custody or property provisions, mark day 150 on your calendar. Letting that date pass without filing a motion means those civil protections disappear even though the no-contact piece remains in force for the full three years. When a separate divorce, parentage, or custody case is already pending, the civil provisions can also be addressed through that case at any time.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders
Temporary Ex Parte Orders
Before a final order exists, the court can issue a temporary ex parte order based on the petitioner’s request alone. It stays in effect until the court holds a hearing, typically scheduled within 20 days.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders At the hearing, both sides present evidence and the judge decides whether to issue a longer-term order.
If the hearing cannot happen in time, often because the respondent has not yet been served, the judge can extend the temporary order. While it is active, it carries the same enforcement weight as a final order.
Civil stalking injunctions follow a slightly different pattern. After a temporary ex parte stalking injunction is served, the respondent has 10 days to request a hearing. If no request comes in that window, the temporary injunction automatically converts to a three-year civil stalking injunction. If the respondent does request a hearing, the judge can dismiss it, convert it to a three-year injunction, or modify it and make it effective for three years.2Utah Legislature. Utah Code Title 78B Chapter 7 Part 7 – Civil Stalking Injunctions
Criminal Stalking Injunctions Do Not Expire
One type of order has no three-year clock. A criminal stalking injunction is issued by a district court when someone is convicted of stalking or attempted stalking, and a conviction or a plea held in abeyance automatically serves as an application for a permanent injunction.4Utah Legislature. Utah Code 78B-7-902 – Permanent Criminal Stalking Injunction — Modification
These injunctions are truly permanent. The court can order the defendant to stay away from the victim’s home, workplace, and school, and prohibit any direct or indirect contact. The defendant can later petition the court to modify the injunction, but the burden rests on the defendant, and the victim’s safety is the court’s overriding concern.
People often confuse criminal stalking injunctions with civil stalking injunctions. The civil version comes from a petition filed by the victim and expires in three years. The criminal version comes from a stalking conviction and does not expire.
Extending a Protective Order Before It Lapses
For a cohabitant abuse protective order, the petitioner can extend the three-year protection by filing a motion before the order expires. The petitioner must show either a current reasonable fear of future harm, or that the respondent committed a protective order violation or qualifying domestic violence offense after the order was issued.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 78B-7-606 – Expiration — Extension
Timing matters. Once the order lapses, the ability to extend goes with it, and the petitioner has to start over with a new petition. Detailed descriptions of recent contact, law enforcement reports, and evidence of new threats all strengthen a motion to extend.
To prepare the paperwork, Utah’s court system now uses a program called MyPaperwork (which replaced the earlier OCAP system). It walks petitioners through the questions and generates the documents to file a motion to extend a cohabitant abuse protective order, civil stalking injunction, dating violence protective order, or sexual violence protective order.5State of Utah Judiciary. MyPaperwork You will need the original case number and the expiration date from the first page of the final order. Utah waives filing fees for protective order petitions and stalking injunctions, so filing a motion to extend costs nothing at the clerk’s window.
The respondent still has to be formally served with the motion and hearing notice. A sheriff’s deputy or private process server handles this; regular mail is not enough.6State of Utah Judiciary. Delivering or Serving Papers (Service of Process) A private process server typically runs $85 to $150; sheriff’s offices generally charge less.
At the hearing, the judge decides whether the legal standard for extension has been met. If granted, the signed order updates the expiration date in the statewide law enforcement database and the new timeline becomes enforceable immediately.
Sexual violence protective orders follow the same general extension approach but with a hard cap: one extension of three years, and then any further protection requires a new petition.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders
When the Respondent Asks for Early Dismissal
A protective order can also end before its three-year term if the respondent persuades the court to dismiss it. For a cohabitant abuse protective order, the respondent can file a Request to Dismiss Protective Order only after the order has been in effect for at least one year, and must convince the court that the order is no longer necessary.3State of Utah Judiciary. Protective Orders If you are the protected party and you receive notice of such a request, the hearing is your chance to explain why the protection still matters.