Family Abuse Restraining Order

You can apply for a FAPA restraining order if:  

1. Someone abused you at least once in the last 180 days. Do not count the time the other person was in jail or more than 100 miles away. Abuse includes: 
   • Physically hurting you, threatening to hurt you, or trying to hurt you; or  
   • Forcing you to have unwanted sex.  
2. You have good reasons to think the other person will hurt you again soon. 
3. You or the other person lives in Oregon. 
4. The other person is an adult (18 or older). 

For adults (18 and older): You can get a restraining order against:  

• The other parent to your children;  
• Your spouse or ex-spouse;  
• Someone you had a sexual relationship with in the last two years;   
• A romantic partner you live with or used to live with; or  
• A family member (includes people related to you through marriage or adoption). 

For minors (under 18): You can get a restraining order against:   

• Your spouse or ex-spouse; or 
• Someone you had a sexual relationship with. 

You may qualify for a FAPA restraining order if someone has recently: 

• Hit, punched, shoved, or pushed you; 
• Choked or strangled you; 
• Thrown things at you; 
• Tried to hit you with a car; 
• Driven recklessly with you in a car trying to scare you; 
• Used a gun or other weapon to scare you;  
• Threatened to kill you or hurt you; 
• Forced you to have unwanted sex;  
• Punched walls or damaged your house during a fight; 
• Broken your property during a fight; or 
• Said or done things that made you afraid you were about to be hurt.

Most likely no. FAPA restraining orders only protect people from physical violence and sexual assault. 

If you are a person with a disability, or a person over 65, you may qualify for the Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Restraining Order. This restraining order can protect people from verbal and financial abuse.  

Visit this page for information about how to get a restraining order in Oregon. 

You can ask a judge to order the other person to:  

• Not contact you;  
• Stay away from your home, work, or other places you go often; 
• Move out of your shared home (see next question for more information); 
• Pay you emergency money to help you stay safe; 
• Give you back your pet if you’re worried the other person will hurt your pet; or 
• Not have guns or ammunition. 

You can also ask a judge for other protections to help you stay safe.  

Every FAPA restraining order is different. You can choose which protections you need to stay safe. For example, you may want the other person to be able to contact you by phone, but not see you in person or come to your house.     

If the other person does not follow your FAPA restraining order, you can call the police for help. 

Yes. A judge can make the other person move out of your home if you can answer yes to at least one of these questions:    

• Are you married to the person who is hurting you?  
• Is your name on the lease or rental agreement?  
• Do you own the home you are living in?  

The other person can challenge the order making them move out by asking for a contested hearing. At a contested hearing, a judge will decide who gets to stay in the home. For more information on contested hearings, visit the contested hearing page. 

Yes. A FAPA restraining order can:  

• Give you temporary custody of the kids you have with the other person; 
• Include rules for when the other parent sees your kids;  
• Have rules to keep you safe at pick-ups and drop-offs; 
• Require the other parent to have supervised visits if it’s not safe for them to be alone with your kids; 
• Tell the other parent they can’t use drugs or alcohol when they’re with your kids; 
• Tell the other parent to stay away from your kid’s school or childcare; or 
• Tell the other parent not to contact you through your kids. 

Domestic violence organizations in some counties provide free supervised parenting time and supervised exchanges. To see if this help is available where you live, talk with your local domestic violence resource center.

But you can't get a restraining order if you are only worried for your kids' safety and not your own.  

No. The rules on contact only apply to the other person. But, if your FAPA restraining order includes a temporary plan for your children, you must follow that plan, too.    

It’s usually not a good idea to contact the other person.

Maybe. After you get your restraining order, you may have to go back to court for a contested hearing. A contested hearing is a court date where both sides get to talk to a judge. At this hearing, both sides can present evidence and argue their case to the judge. You will have a contested hearing if one of these things is true:  

• A judge automatically schedules this hearing. If a judge wants more information before making a temporary plan for your kids, the judge can automatically schedule a hearing. On your court papers, this hearing will be called an exceptional circumstances hearing, but it is the same thing as a contested hearing.      
• The other side requests a hearing. If a judge doesn’t set a hearing, you will only have one if the other person disagrees with your restraining order and requests a hearing. The other person has 30 days from when they get a copy of your order to request a hearing.  

For more information on contested hearings, visit the contested hearings page. 

• If you got your FAPA order before January 1, 2024: Your order will last for one year from the date you got the order.  
• If you got your FAPA order on or after January 1, 2024: Your order will last for two years from the date you got the order.  

A FAPA restraining order may last less than one or two years if a judge ends the order early after a contested hearing. For more information on contested hearings, visit the contested hearing page.  

You can ask the court to end your restraining order early (this is called dismissing your order) by turning in forms with the court. You can find the forms to dismiss a Family Abuse Restraining Order on Oregon's state court website or at your local circuit court.

Yes, you can change (or modify) your restraining order. There are two ways to change your FAPA restraining order:   

• At a contested restraining order hearing. If you have a contested hearing, you can ask the judge to make changes at this hearing. For more information on contested hearings, visit the contested hearings page.    
• By turning in a separate application. You can also ask to change your restraining order by turning in an application at the court. You can get a copy of this application on Oregon's state court website, or at your local circuit court. Each county has a different process for changing a restraining order. Call your local courthouse for more information. Keep in mind that the other side can request a hearing if they disagree with your changes.  

You can ask the court to extend your restraining order for two more years (or just one year if your request is made before January 1, 2024). This is called "renewing" your restraining order. You can find the forms to dismiss a Family Abuse Restraining Order on Oregon's state court website or at your local circuit court. 

If you want to extend your restraining order, you must turn in a renewal application before your restraining order ends. The other side can disagree by asking for another court hearing with a judge.  

The custody order in your FAPA restraining order is only temporary. It will eventually go away.  

In most cases, your temporary custody order lasts as long as you have your restraining order. But your temporary custody order can end early if:  

• You get long-term custody in a separate divorce or custody case; or  
• A judge writes in an expiration date for your temporary custody order on your restraining order. (A judge can only do this if your restraining order changed a prior custody order.) 

You may call the police. The police must arrest the other person if they have enough evidence that the other person disobeyed your order.   

If you don’t call the police, you should keep evidence of the violation. You may need this if you decide to call the police later.