Selected Statutes: Texas

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, an order under this subtitle is effective:
 

(1) for the period stated in the order, not to exceed two years; or
 

(2) if a period is not stated in the order, until the second anniversary of the date the order was issued.
 

(a-1) The court may render a protective order sufficient to protect the applicant and members of the applicant’s family or household that is effective for a period that exceeds two years if the court finds that the person who is the subject of the protective order:
 

(1) committed an act constituting a felony offense involving family violence against the applicant or a member of the applicant’s family or household, regardless of whether the person has been charged with or convicted of the offense;
 

(2) caused serious bodily injury to the applicant or a member of the applicant’s family or household; or
 

(3) was the subject of two or more previous protective orders rendered:
 

(A) to protect the person on whose behalf the current protective order is sought; and
 

(B) after a finding by the court that the subject of the protective order has committed family violence.
 

(a-2) If an order under this subtitle is rendered against a respondent who is a party to a suit for dissolution of a marriage in which the applicant or a member of the applicant’s family or household is the other party, the order is effective until the second anniversary of the date on which the final decree of dissolution of the marriage is approved and signed by the judge.
 

(a-3) If an order under this subtitle is rendered against a respondent who is a party to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which the applicant or a member of the applicant’s family or household is also a party, the order is effective until the second anniversary of the date on which the final order in the suit is rendered by the court.
 

(a-4) If an order under this subtitle is rendered against a respondent who is charged with a criminal offense involving family violence under Title 5, Penal Code, or an offense under Section 25.11, Penal Code, the order is effective until the second anniversary of the date of the final disposition of the criminal case.
 

(b) A person who is the subject of a protective order may file a motion not earlier than the first anniversary of the date on which the order was rendered requesting that the court review the protective order and determine whether there is a continuing need for the order.
 

(b-1) Following the filing of a motion under Subsection (b), a person who is the subject of a protective order issued under Subsection (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), or (a-4) that is effective for a period that exceeds two years may file not more than one subsequent motion requesting that the court review the protective order and determine whether there is a continuing need for the order. The subsequent motion may not be filed earlier than the first anniversary of the date on which the court rendered an order on the previous motion by the person.
 

(b-2) After a hearing on a motion under Subsection (b) or (b-1), if the court does not make a finding that there is no continuing need for the protective order, the protective order remains in effect until the date the order expires under this section. Evidence of the movant’s compliance with the protective order does not by itself support a finding by the court that there is no continuing need for the protective order. If the court finds there is no continuing need for the protective order, the court shall order that the protective order expires on a date set by the court.
 

(b-3) Subsection (b) does not apply to a protective order issued under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure.
 

(c) If a person who is the subject of a protective order is confined or imprisoned on the date the protective order would expire under Subsection (a), (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), or (a-4) or if the protective order would expire not later than the first anniversary of the date the person is released from confinement or imprisonment, the period for which the order is effective is extended, and the order expires on:
 

(1) the first anniversary of the date the person is released from confinement or imprisonment, if the person was sentenced to confinement or imprisonment for more than five years; or
 

(2) the second anniversary of the date the person is released from confinement or imprisonment, if the person was sentenced to confinement or imprisonment for five years or less.
 

(d) As soon as practicable after the release of a person who is the subject of a protective order from confinement or imprisonment, the Department of Public Safety shall update the statewide law enforcement information system maintained by the department to reflect the date that the order will expire following the person’s release.