Restraining Orders

For the purposes of getting a civil anti-harassment order, the law defines “unlawful harassment” as:

1. a series of intentional acts by the abuser over a period of time that seriously alarms, annoys, harasses, or harms you without “serving a legitimate or lawful purpose,” and these acts must reasonably cause you to suffer substantial emotional distress; or
2. a single act of violence or a threat of violence directed at you that seriously alarms, annoys, harasses, or harms you without serving a legitimate or lawful purpose, and this single act must reasonably cause you to suffer substantial emotional distress.¹

For a single act to qualify as harassment, it must include a malicious and intentional threat or the presence of a firearm or other weapon.²

To decide if the actions are for a legitimate or lawful purpose, the court will consider whether:

• the abuser started the current contact between you two, or whether you both contacted each other;
• the abuser has been given clear notice that all future contact with you is unwanted;
• the acts appear designed to alarm, annoy, or harass you;
• the abuser is acting to try to protect a legal interest in their property or liberty, to enforce a law, or to meet a legal obligation;
• the abuser’s acts unreasonably interfere with your privacy or create an intimidating, unfriendly (hostile), or offensive living environment for you; and
• there was a court order in the past that limited the abuser’s contact with you or your family.³

¹ R.C.W. §§ 7.105.010(7)(a); 7.105.010(37); 7.105.225(1)(f)
² R.C.W. § 7.105.010(3637)
³ R.C.W. § 7.105.010(7)(b)

The judge in a protection order case has broad powers to issue orders that are appropriate to your situation, including:

• ordering the abuser:
  • not to do the following against you or anyone else protected by the order: 
    • acts of domestic violence;
    • nonconsensual sexual conduct or nonconsensual sexual penetration;
    • sexual abuse;
    • stalking;
    • acts of abandonment, abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation against a vulnerable adult; and
    • unlawful harassment;
  • not to contact you or your children or your family members or members of your household;
  • to stay away from your home, even if you share it with the abuser, as well as your work, school, or from the school or day care of your children;
  • not to come within a certain distance from a specific location;
  • to participate in a domestic violence perpetrator treatment program or a sex offender treatment program;
  • to get a mental health or chemical dependency evaluation;
  • not to attend the same school as you or your children, if the order protects your children;
  • to pay the court costs and fees for your petition, including reasonable attorneys’ fees;
  • not to harass you, follow you, keep you under physical or electronic surveillance, cyberharass you, or use telephonic, audiovisual, or other electronic means to monitor the actions, location, or communication of you, your children, or members of your household;
  • to submit to electronic monitoring, unless the abuser is a minor;
  • to surrender their firearms and not have access to any other firearms, if certain conditions are met; Note: See section (1) of RCW 9.41.800 on our Selected Washington Statutes page for these conditions;
  • not to engage in abusive litigation or make false reports to investigative agencies;
  • not to make false statements against you to damage your reputation (libel) or to send harassing communications to third parties;
  • not to have or distribute intimate images of you, and to take down and delete any such images the abuser may have posted;
• making a temporary order about the living arrangement of your children, which can suspend visitation under a parenting plan if appropriate;
• making an order regarding possession of your essential personal property, including a pet owned by you, your children, or the abuser;
• making an order regarding the use of a vehicle; or
• prohibiting the transfer of any assets you jointly own with the abuser and ordering other financial relief.¹

Note: The judge can only include the following protections in a full anti-harassment protection order, not in a temporary one:

• ordering the abuser to stay away from the home that you share with the abuser;
• making a temporary order about the living arrangements of your children, which can suspend visitation under a parenting plan if appropriate; and
• prohibiting the transfer of any assets you jointly own with the abuser and ordering other financial relief.² 

Whether or not a judge orders any or all of the above depends on the facts of your case.

It’s also important to know that the law discourages the use of “mutual” protection orders of any type. Mutual protection orders are when a judge issues two orders at the same time, with each party getting one order naming them as the petitioner. It is a common tactic for someone trying to control a partner to ask for a protection order against the victim. However, if both you and the abuser file for an order, the judge should try to issue only one order against the person the judge believes is the abuser.³ 

Note: The judge cannot require that you, as the petitioner, get any services, including drug testing, victim support services, mental health assessments, or a psychological evaluation.⁴

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.310(1)
² R.C.W. § 7.105.310(2)
³ R.C.W. § 7.105.310(6)
⁴ R.C.W. § 7.105.310(4)(a)