How to Get a Protection Order in Wyoming
Wyoming protection order process explained step-by-step.
Overview of Canadian Protection Orders
Who May Be Able to Apply
People who may be able to ask a court for some kind of protection order in Canada can include:
- Adults experiencing harm, threats, or ongoing intimidation from a current or former partner, family member, or someone they live with
- Parents or guardians applying on behalf of a child
- Someone authorized to act for another person who cannot apply on their own, such as a legal representative or designated support person, where allowed
The exact rules and names of orders are different in each province and territory. Local legal clinics, community agencies, and victim services can explain options in your area.
From Temporary Order to Hearing
In many parts of Canada, courts may be able to make a short-term or “temporary” protection order when there are safety concerns. The general pattern often looks like this:
- Applying for a temporary order: A person provides information (often by forms and sometimes by affidavit or short testimony). In some situations, this may happen without the other person present at first.
- Court considers urgency: A judge or justice of the peace reviews the information and decides whether to make an immediate, short-term order and what conditions to include.
- Service on the other person: If an order is made, it usually must be formally delivered (“served”) to the other person, often by police or a professional process server, so they know the conditions and the hearing date.
- Police database entry: In many regions, police receive a copy or are notified so they know the order exists and can respond to possible breaches.
- Follow-up hearing: A court hearing is scheduled where both sides can attend, present information, and the judge decides whether to continue, change, or end the order.
Missing a scheduled hearing can affect whether a temporary order continues. If attending feels unsafe, a legal clinic, duty counsel, or support worker may help you plan how to appear more safely.
Common Protections That May Be Included
The exact protections depend on the law in your province or territory and what the judge decides. Some common types of conditions can include:
- No contact by any means (in person, phone, text, online, through others), except for limited purposes if the court allows it
- Staying away from specific places, such as a home, workplace, school, or childcare location
- Temporary decisions about who can stay in a shared home
- Limits on communications, such as only written communication or only through a third party or an app, for practical matters like child arrangements
- Conditions about weapons, such as not owning or possessing firearms or other listed items
- Conditions about substance use where it relates to safety concerns, depending on local law
- Conditions to protect children’s safety and routines, such as pick-up and drop-off arrangements in a public or supervised place
Judges usually choose conditions based on the information they receive about current safety risks. If certain behaviours worry you, it can help to mention them clearly when you apply or speak in court.
How Long Protection Orders May Last
Time limits differ across Canada and depend on the type of order, the law used, and the judge’s decision. In general:
- Emergency or interim orders may last only until the next court date or for a short, fixed period (such as days or a few months) unless renewed or replaced.
- Some civil protection orders have a set maximum length (for example, one or two years), with the possibility of applying to extend them.
- Family-court-related orders may last until changed by another order or until a specific event happens (for example, a final family court decision or a child reaching a certain age).
- Criminal-release conditions (such as bail or probation terms) follow criminal law timelines and end when that legal process or sentence ends, unless changed earlier by the court.
If you are unsure when an order ends or what it covers, you can usually ask the court clerk, duty counsel, or a local legal help service to review the written order with you.
Some people also look at national and provincial support listings, such as options linked from DV.Support, to find organizations that can explain available protections in their area.