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Legal Information: District of Columbia

Restraining Orders

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Laws current as of August 30, 2024

Who can file for an extreme risk protection order?

You can file for an extreme risk protection order if there is significant danger that the respondent will cause bodily injury to himself/herself or others by having possession or control of, purchasing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition and:

  1. you are related to the respondent by:
    • blood;
    • adoption;
    • guardianship;
    • marriage
    • domestic partnership;
  2. you and the respondent:
    • have a child in common;
    • live together; or
    • have or had a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship – or the respondent was trying to have one of those relationships with you; or
  3. you are filing in your official capacity as any of the following:
    • any sworn member of a law enforcement agency operating in the District of Columbia; or
    • a mental health professional.1

1 D.C. Code § 7-2510.01(2)

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