Virginia Restraining Orders: Types, Filing, and Violations

Virginia restraining orders — called protective orders in the statute — are free to file and can be issued the same day you ask for one. Which court hears your case depends on your relationship to the person you need protection from, and the order you ultimately receive after a hearing can last up to two years, with no limit on how many times you can extend it.

Which Court You File In

Virginia splits these cases between two courts based on your relationship to the respondent. If the person is a family or household member, you file in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. The definition is broad: current or former spouses, parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, half-siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws living in your home, anyone you share a child with, and anyone who has lived with you within the past 12 months.¹

If the person is a neighbor, coworker, acquaintance, or stranger, you file in the General District Court under a separate chapter of the Code.²

In either court, you have to show that the respondent committed an act of violence, force, or threat that caused you bodily injury or placed you in reasonable fear of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury. Stalking, criminal sexual assault, forceful detention, and any criminal offense resulting in physical harm or the fear of it all qualify.²

The Three Levels of Protection

Virginia issues protective orders in three stages. Each covers a different window of time, and you move from one to the next as your case progresses.

Emergency Protective Order

This is the fastest option. Any judge or magistrate can issue one at any hour, including nights and weekends, when a law enforcement officer or the victim swears under oath that violence or a credible threat has occurred.³ Police often request these at the scene.

The order expires at 11:59 p.m. on the third day after it is issued. If that falls on a day the court is closed, it automatically extends until 11:59 p.m. on the next business day.⁴ It is a bridge, not a long-term solution. File for a preliminary order before it expires.

Preliminary Protective Order

A preliminary order carries you from filing to the full hearing. A judge can issue it without the respondent present if you show immediate and present danger of further abuse, or provide evidence that abuse recently occurred.⁵

The order itself names the date of the full hearing, which must happen within 15 days. The preliminary order stays in force until that hearing. If the court is closed or the hearing is continued for good cause, protection continues until the rescheduled date.⁵

Full Protective Order

After the hearing, a judge can issue a full protective order lasting up to two years.⁶ If the respondent was convicted of a violent crime against you, the court can issue a protective order for any reasonable period, including up to the respondent’s lifetime.⁷ People often call this a “permanent” protective order, but that is not the statutory label; the two-year cap applies to most civil cases, with extensions available.

What the Order Can Actually Do

Protective orders do more than tell the respondent to stay away. The family abuse track offers broader relief than the general track.

In family abuse cases, the court can order any combination of the following:⁸

No further abuse, and no contact with you or your family members.
Exclusive possession of a shared home, requiring the respondent to leave. The order does not affect property title.
A bar on the respondent shutting off utilities, and an order restoring service if needed.
Sole use of a shared cellphone number or electronic device, including a prohibition on using technology to track your location.
Exclusive possession of a vehicle you own or co-own, with the respondent still responsible for insurance and registration.
A requirement that the respondent provide and pay deposits for alternative housing for you.
Counseling or treatment for the respondent.
Possession of companion animals you own.
Temporary custody or visitation of minor children.

For non-family orders, the available relief is narrower: the court can prohibit violence, threats, and contact, and can grant possession of companion animals.⁶

How to File

Filing costs nothing. The court cannot charge you for the petition or for having the sheriff serve the respondent.⁶

Use Form DC-611 for family abuse cases in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and Form DC-383 for non-family cases in General District Court.⁹ Both are available at the clerk’s office during business hours. The I-CAN! Virginia program walks you through online questions and generates completed forms you can print and file.¹⁰

Describe the most recent acts of violence or threats with specific dates and facts: what happened, where, and any injuries or threatening statements. Bring supporting evidence to the hearing — photos of injuries, screenshots of threatening messages, medical records, police reports. The stronger the factual record, the better your chances when the judge decides whether to issue a full order.

You will also need identifying information so the sheriff can serve the respondent: full name, home address, physical description, and workplace if you know it. If you have any information about whether the respondent possesses firearms, tell the court.

What Happens After You File

If the court is closed when you need help, a magistrate can issue an emergency order right away. During business hours, the clerk processes your petition and a judge may issue a preliminary order the same day if you show immediate danger.

The sheriff’s office then serves the respondent in person with the order and notice of the full hearing, which must be scheduled within 15 days of a preliminary order.⁵ The protections are not enforceable until service happens.

At the full hearing, both sides can present testimony, witnesses, and evidence. The judge decides whether you have shown that the respondent committed an act of violence, force, or threat and that continued protection is warranted. If the judge rules for you, the clerk gives you certified copies. Every protective order entered in Virginia goes into a statewide registry maintained by the State Police and accessible to law enforcement through the Virginia Criminal Information Network.¹¹

You have to attend your own hearing. If you do not show up, the preliminary order expires and you start over.

Penalties if the Respondent Violates the Order

Violating a family abuse protective order — contacting you, returning to restricted property, or committing further abuse — is a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500.¹² The judge must impose some jail time and cannot fully suspend the sentence.¹³

The charge becomes a Class 6 felony if the respondent assaults you and causes serious bodily injury, or secretly enters your home while you are there or enters and waits for you to arrive.¹³

Violations of non-family protective orders are handled as contempt of court.⁶ If you believe the respondent has violated your order, call law enforcement right away. Officers can verify the order on the spot through the statewide registry.

Firearms and the Respondent

A full protective order issued after a hearing can trigger a federal ban on the respondent possessing firearms or ammunition. The ban applies when the order meets three conditions: the respondent received notice and had a chance to participate in the hearing, the order restrains the respondent from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or their child, and the order either includes a finding that the respondent poses a credible threat or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force.¹⁴

Emergency and preliminary orders issued without the respondent present generally do not trigger this federal prohibition, because the respondent has not had an opportunity to participate. The ban attaches once a full order is entered after a hearing. For this statute, “intimate partner” covers spouses, former spouses, co-parents, and anyone who has cohabited with the respondent in a romantic relationship. Transferring firearms to a person known to be subject to a qualifying order is itself a federal offense.

Extending or Changing the Order

Before a full protective order expires, you can file a written motion to extend it. Each extension can last up to two years, and there is no limit on how many extensions you can request.⁶ The court schedules an extension hearing within 15 days and may issue a temporary ex parte order to keep you protected in the meantime. Extension requests get priority on the court’s calendar.

Either party can file a written motion to dissolve or modify the order at any time. If you are the petitioner and want to dissolve the order, the court can do so without a hearing. If the respondent wants changes, the court schedules a hearing and both sides argue their position.⁶

If You Move Out of Virginia

Your Virginia protective order remains enforceable if you or the respondent moves. Federal law requires every state, tribe, and U.S. territory to give full faith and credit to valid protective orders from other jurisdictions, as long as the issuing court had proper jurisdiction, the respondent received notice and an opportunity to be heard, and the order was entered in response to a petition or complaint.¹⁴

You do not have to register the order in the new state for it to be legally enforceable, but carrying a certified copy helps local officers act quickly. Virginia’s entry of your order in the state Protective Order Registry also lets out-of-state law enforcement verify it through national databases.¹¹

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 16.1-228 – Definitions
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-152.7:1 – Definitions
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 16.1-253.4 – Emergency Protective Orders Authorized in Certain Cases; Penalty
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-152.8 – Emergency Protective Orders Authorized
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-152.9 – Preliminary Protective Orders
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-152.10 – Protective Order
7
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 19.2 – Chapter 9.1 Protective Orders
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 16.1-279.1 – Protective Order in Cases of Family Abuse
9
Supreme Court of Virginia. Form DC-383 – Petition for Protective Order
10
Virginia Court System. Assistance with Protective Orders
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-387.1 – Protective Order Registry; Maintenance
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 18.2 – Article 3 – Classification of Criminal Offenses and Punishment Therefor
13
Virginia’s Judicial System. JDR Manual – Protective Orders
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts