ORS 107.705 is the definitions section of Oregon’s Family Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA). It sets out who can seek a FAPA restraining order, what conduct counts as “abuse,” and how courts read the behavioral terms — interfere, intimidate, menace, and molest — that appear in the order itself. If you don’t fit the relationship categories or your situation doesn’t match the abuse definition, FAPA isn’t available, regardless of how serious the conduct is. That is why this one statute does so much work.
The section contains eight definitions, numbered (1) through (8).1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 107-705 – Definitions for ORS 107.700 to 107.735 The two that decide most cases are the definition of abuse in subsection (1) and the definition of family or household member in subsection (4).
What Counts as Abuse
Under ORS 107.705(1), “abuse” means one or more of the following acts between family or household members:1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 107-705 – Definitions for ORS 107.700 to 107.735
- Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury.
- Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly placing another in fear of imminent bodily injury.
- Causing another to engage in involuntary sexual relations by force or threat of force.
Several things in this definition catch people off guard. The mental state can be reckless, not just intentional. Someone who throws objects without aiming or drives dangerously with a passenger can meet the standard without meaning to cause harm. The statute says “bodily injury,” not “serious bodily injury,” so bruises, cuts, and substantial pain all qualify. And the second category does not require any physical contact at all. A credible, immediate threat is enough, provided a reasonable person in the same position would feel endangered.
The word “imminent” in the fear-based category does real work. A vague possibility of future harm is not enough. The threat has to be of injury that could happen now or very soon.
Who Qualifies as a Family or Household Member
FAPA is only available when the parties have a domestic or quasi-domestic relationship. ORS 107.705(4) lists six categories:1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 107-705 – Definitions for ORS 107.700 to 107.735
- Current spouses.
- Former spouses.
- Adult persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption. This reaches in-laws and adult stepchildren, not only parents and siblings.
- People who are currently cohabiting or who have cohabited at any point in the past.
- People who have been in a sexually intimate relationship within the two years immediately before filing the petition.
- Unmarried parents of a shared child, regardless of whether they ever lived together or had a romantic relationship.
Two of these categories have edges that matter. The two-year window for sexually intimate partners is a hard cutoff measured from the filing date. If the relationship ended more than two years before the petition, that category is closed, and the petitioner has to fit somewhere else on the list. The “unmarried parents” category exists because married parents of a shared child are already covered as spouses or former spouses.
When FAPA Isn’t the Right Tool
If none of the six categories fits, FAPA is not available. A neighbor, a coworker, a casual acquaintance, or a sexually intimate partner from more than two years ago all fall outside subsection (4). Oregon has separate protective order processes for stalking and for elder abuse that cover situations outside the family or household context.
The Behavioral Terms the Order Prohibits
Subsections (5) through (8) define four verbs that appear in the standard restraining order itself. A FAPA order typically bars the respondent from doing any of them, and because of how enforcement works, a violation of any one can trigger arrest. The definitions use an objective “reasonable person” standard, meaning the question is not what the respondent intended but how a reasonable person in the petitioner’s position would experience the conduct.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 107-705 – Definitions for ORS 107.700 to 107.735
- Interfere means to act in a way that would reasonably be expected to hinder or impede the petitioner. Blocking someone from leaving a room, hiding car keys, or disabling a phone are examples.
- Intimidate means to act in a way that would reasonably be expected to threaten the petitioner into doing something, or into refraining from doing something, out of fear.
- Menace means to act in a way that would reasonably be expected to threaten the petitioner. The difference from intimidation is subtle: menacing focuses on the threatening conduct itself rather than on whether it compelled or deterred a specific behavior.
- Molest means to act with hostile intent or injurious effect in a way that would reasonably be expected to annoy, disturb, or harass the petitioner.
The objective standard is the point of these definitions. A respondent cannot defeat enforcement by claiming not to have meant any harm when the conduct is of a kind a reasonable person would find threatening or harassing.
The Smaller Definitions
ORS 107.705(2) defines “child” as an unmarried person under 18 years of age.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 107-705 – Definitions for ORS 107.700 to 107.735 This matters because FAPA orders can include temporary custody and parenting time provisions for children of the parties. Subsection (3) defines “declaration under penalty of perjury” by reference to the format required under Oregon court rules, which is the form the petition itself must take.
How the Definitions Connect to a Petition
The definitions in ORS 107.705 feed directly into the filing requirements in ORS 107.710. The petition must allege that the petitioner was the victim of abuse (as defined in 107.705(1)) committed by the respondent within the 180 days before filing, and that the petitioner is in imminent danger of further abuse.2Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.710 – Petition to Circuit Court for Relief Both pieces have to be present. A past act of abuse by itself is not enough without a current threat, and a current threat is not enough without a recent qualifying act.
The 180-day period has one notable adjustment: any time the respondent spent incarcerated or living more than 100 miles from the petitioner does not count against the 180 days.2Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.710 – Petition to Circuit Court for Relief A respondent who was in jail for 60 days during the period gives the petitioner effectively 240 days from the abuse to file.
If the court finds abuse, imminent danger, and that the respondent presents a credible threat to the petitioner’s physical safety, ORS 107.718 authorizes the actual relief: no-contact and stay-away provisions, a move-out order where appropriate, temporary custody and parenting time, emergency monetary assistance, protection for pets and service animals, and a prohibition on the respondent intimidating, molesting, interfering with, or menacing the petitioner or any child in the petitioner’s custody.3Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 107.718 – Restraining Order Those last four verbs are the ones ORS 107.705 defines, which is why the definitions section is doing more than housekeeping. It is the dictionary the court and law enforcement reach for every time the order has to be read or applied.