IF YOU ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER - CALL 911. THE POLICE CAN ASSIST YOU WITH OBTAINING AN EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE ORDER
If there are incident(s) of family abuse, the court can order a person to have no contact, or limited contact, with the victim or victim's children, or to leave the home and stay away for a certain period of time. This is called a Protective Order (sometimes known as a Restraining Order). If a person does not follow the rules and violates the protective order, that person can be arrested.
The law clearly states that Family Abuse is an act involving violence, force, or threat, including any forceful detention which results in physical injury or places one in reasonable fear of death, sexual assault or bodily injury, and is committed by a person against a family or household member.
How to Get a Protective Order
Call Domestic Relations as soon as possible for an appointment - 703-246-3040 (8am - 4:30pm)
Clients will be screened over the phone and an appointment will be made the same day, if possible
Notify the screener if an interpreter is needed for the appointment
Allow at least 2 hours for the appointment, or longer if an interpreter is needed
Please, make child care arrangements. If you must bring children, please try to bring an adult to accompany them as this is a lengthy process.
Protective Orders involving juvenile victims are filed in Domestic Relations, whether or not they involve family members. An adult parent/guardian must accompany the child to the appointment.
Even though a judge signs the Protective Order, it does not go into effect until it has been given to the person you are filing against. This is called serving or being served.
If the person is in Virginia and you give the court the person's correct home and work address, the Sheriff's Department will serve the person free of charge. If the person is to be served outside of Virginia, if the person cannot be served in time to arrange to be at court, or if you want the person served right away, you will have to pay a private process server to do it. The person can be served at home or at work. However, you must have the right address for the person, otherwise, the person cannot be served and the protective order will not go into effect.
Keep the protective order with you at all times. If the person violates (does not obey) the protective order, call 911 and show the order to the police. The person can be arrested for not obeying the order. Remember that a protective order is only a piece of paper--it is not a bodyguard. If you are in danger, call 911.
You must return to court because a preliminary protective order is temporary and only good until a full protective order hearing is held.
Hope Cards for Final Protective Orders
Hope Cards are laminated cards, similar in size and shape to a credit card, that contains all the essential information about a civil protective order in a durable, easy-to-read format.
Hope Cards are FREE and available to anyone with a valid FINAL protective order that lasts 12 months or longer, is issued by a Virginia Court, and is valid 12 months or longer from date of application. Hope Cards are not issued for emergency protective orders, preliminary protective orders, or “no contact” orders. Cards are also available for any individuals covered by the order (protected parties). For more, visit the Hope Card Program website.
The Supervised Visitation & Exchange Programprovides a safe environment for visitation and the exchange of children for offsite visitation with a noncustodial parent.
Information & Forms
For more information & the necessary forms to begin the protective order process, please download:
