How to Get a Protective Order in Virginia
A clear overview of Virginia Emergency, Preliminary, and Final Protective Orders.
Understanding Emergency, Interim, and Longer-Term Protection Orders in Canada
How Protection Orders Generally Work
Across Canada, courts and justice systems offer different types of protection orders to help reduce contact and increase safety when someone is experiencing relationship harm. Names and details vary by province and territory, but many systems use a structure similar to emergency, short-term (interim or preliminary), and longer-term (final) orders.
Emergency Protection Orders
Emergency-type orders are usually designed for urgent situations where there are immediate safety concerns.
- They may be available 24/7, sometimes through on-call judges or justices of the peace.
- In many areas, police or shelter staff can help someone apply, especially outside regular court hours.
- They can often be requested without the other person (the respondent) being present at the first stage.
- They are usually short term, often lasting days or a few weeks, until a fuller hearing can be held.
These orders can create quick, temporary boundaries while longer-term options are explored.
Interim or Preliminary Protection Orders
After an initial emergency step, a court may put an interim or preliminary order in place.
- These orders often continue or adjust the emergency conditions until a full hearing can be scheduled.
- They may be made after the other person has been notified, or sometimes still on a temporary basis if service has not yet happened.
- The court might set a date for both sides to attend and share information.
The goal is usually to keep safety conditions in place while the court gathers more information and decides on a longer-term approach.
Longer-Term or “Final” Protection Orders
What some people think of as a “final” order is usually a longer-term protection order made after the court has reviewed more information or held a more complete hearing.
- They are often set for a fixed time period (for example, several months or years), but this can vary.
- They may replace or extend earlier emergency or interim orders.
- They can sometimes be changed, renewed, or cancelled (varies by province/territory and by order type).
Filing Basics: Starting a Protection Order Request
Processes differ across Canada, but many people follow similar basic steps when asking for a protection order:
- Finding the right court or office: This might be a family court, provincial court, or other designated court, depending on the province/territory and the relationship involved.
- Completing forms: There are usually standard forms where a person explains their relationship to the respondent, describes safety concerns in general terms, and lists the protections they are asking for.
- Explaining safety concerns: Courts usually look at patterns of behaviour and recent incidents that affect safety, including threats, harassment, or other controlling behaviour.
- Including information about children: If children are involved, the forms may ask how they have been affected and what safety steps are being requested for them.
- Filing the documents: Documents are typically filed at a courthouse or electronically where that option exists.
Service: Notifying the Other Person
After a protection order application is filed, the other person usually needs to be formally notified. This is called “service.”
- Who serves: Service might be done by police, a sheriff, a process server, or another adult who is not part of the case, depending on local rules.
- No self-service: In many places, the applicant is not allowed to personally hand the documents to the other person for safety and fairness reasons.
- What is served: Documents can include the application, any temporary order granted, and notice of the hearing date.
- Proof of service: The court often needs a form or statement confirming that the respondent received the documents.
In some emergency situations, the first order may be granted without service (ex parte), but the respondent is usually served soon after so they know the conditions and hearing date.
Hearings: What to Expect
Protection order hearings can be brief or more detailed, depending on the situation and the type of order.
- Scheduling: The court sets a date and time. In some places, urgent cases may be heard quickly, while other hearings may take longer to schedule.
- Who attends: The applicant and the respondent are usually both invited to attend, either in person, by phone, or by video, depending on the court’s options.
- Sharing information: Each person may have a chance to speak, answer questions, or present documents. The judge or decision-maker focuses on safety and risk.
- Language support: Interpreters can sometimes be requested in advance if language or communication support is needed.
- The decision: The court may grant an order, refuse it, change the terms, or set another date to consider more information.
Common Protections Included in Orders
Protection orders can contain different terms depending on local law and individual circumstances. Some common types of protections may include:
No-contact and Communication Limits
- Requiring the respondent not to contact the applicant directly (in person, by phone, text, email, social media).
- Restricting contact through third parties, except for specific practical reasons (for example, lawyer-to-lawyer communication).
- Allowing limited contact only for certain topics, such as arranging time with children, often in a specific way (e.g., by email or through an agreed third party).
Stay-Away and Location Conditions
- Ordering the respondent to stay away from the applicant’s home, workplace, or school.
- Creating distance limits (for example, not coming within a certain number of metres of the applicant or a specific address, if allowed by local rules).
- Including other important places, such as a child’s school or daycare, frequently visited locations, or places of worship.
Temporary Living and Property Arrangements
- Granting temporary, non-final use of a shared home to one person, even if both names are on the lease or title (availability varies by province/territory).
- Setting rules for collecting personal belongings, sometimes with police or a third party present.
- Restricting the respondent from damaging, selling, or hiding certain property for a period of time.
Conditions Related to Children
- Temporary rules for parenting time or decision-making responsibilities, focused on safety.
- Specifying that exchanges of children take place in a public location or through a neutral third party.
- Prohibiting the respondent from taking children out of a certain area, province, or country, where allowed.
Other Possible Terms
- Requiring the respondent not to possess certain weapons where the law allows.
- Restricting the respondent from posting about the applicant online.
- Allowing police to enforce the order if it is breached, subject to local laws.
Working Protection Orders into a Safety Plan
Protection orders are one tool among many. Some people also consider safety planning around housing, technology, work, and community supports. Additional support options across Canada, including referrals to local services, can be found through resources listed at DV.Support.
If it feels safe, it may help to:
- Keep a copy of the order somewhere accessible, and consider sharing a copy with trusted people who need to know the conditions (for example, school staff).
- Ask about how police in your area receive and enforce protection orders.
- Review the expiry date and ask, well in advance, what options exist for updating or renewing the order if needed.