Restraining Orders

What protections can I get in a protection from abuse order?

The protections you may get depend on what kind of order it is and what the judge believes you need to be safe.

Protections in an emergency “ex parte” order

When you file for a protection order, the judge may give you a temporary or emergency “ex parte” order without the abuser being present. In this kind of order, the judge can:

• order the abuser to:
  • stop abusing or threatening to abuse you, your children, or others named in the order;
  • stop harassing, annoying, or stalking you, your children, or others named in the order;
  • stop contacting you or your children in any way- including verbally, in writing, by phone, electronic message, in person, or through someone else;
  • not do anything that makes you, your children, minors, or others named in the order, reasonably afraid of being physically hurt;
  • not have physical or violent contact with you or your property;
  • stay at least 300 feet away from your home, even if you live together, as well as from your work, your children’s school, and other places you, your children, or others named in the order regularly visit where the abuser has no good reason to be;
  • leave your home, regardless of who owns it;
  • not stop you from taking your children, and ask the police to help you get them safely;
  • not take your children away from you if you have legal custody;
  • not take your children out of “the jurisdiction of the court,” which often means taking them out of the state; and
  • not destroy, sell, get rid of, or hide any property you both own;¹
• grant you:
  • temporary custody of your children;
  • permission to have and use a car or personal items, regardless of who owns them; you can ask for a police escort to help you safely get your belongings; and
  • anything else needed to keep you, your children, or other family or household members safe.¹

Protections in a final protection order

A final protection order can give all the same protections as an emergency order, plus the judge can:

• let you live in the family home and evict the abuser or, if you and the abuser both agree, you can move out and the abuser can provide “suitable alternate housing” for you; however, the judge can only order this if the abuser has a legal responsibility to support you or your children;
• award you child support and spousal support;
• make the abuser pay your attorney’s fees and court costs;
• grant the abuser supervised or unsupervised visits with your children, or deny visits if needed to keep you or your children safe; and
• make the abuser give you temporary use of a car if:
  • you don’t have other transportation; and
  • the abuser has more than one car or other transportation.² 

Protections about firearms

Alabama law does not specifically allow judges to take away the abuser’s guns as one of the protections in your protection from abuse order. However, under Alabama Gun Laws, once you get a final protection order that was issued after notice to the abuser and a hearing, it becomes illegal for the abuser to have a gun while the order is active.³

Also, federal gun laws apply to all states and territories. These laws may make it illegal for an abuser to have a gun if they have a final domestic violence protection order against them that meets certain requirements. Go to Federal Gun Laws to get more information.

¹ Ala. Code § 30-5-7(b)
² Ala. Code § 30-5-7(c)
³ Ala. Code § 13A-11-72(a)(1)(d), (h)(8)