Restraining Orders

To extend (renew) your order, you must file a “petition for renewal” at any time within 90 days before the order expires. Your petition should include the reasons for extending the protection order. If the abuser violated the order in any way, you could mention this in your petition as well.¹ 

The judge is supposed to extend your order unless the abuser can prove to the judge that there has been a substantial change of circumstances and that they will not commit acts of stalking against you, your children, or your family or household members once the order expires.² To decide if there has been a substantial change of circumstances, the judge will consider:

1. whether or not the abuser has done any of the following since the protection order was issued:
   
   • committed or threatened:
     1. domestic violence;
     2. sexual assault;
     3. commercial sexual exploitation;
     4. stalking;
     5. abandonment, abuse, financial exploitation, or neglect of a vulnerable adult; or
     6. other harmful acts;
   • violated the protection order;
   • expressed a desire to commit suicide (suicidal ideation) or attempted suicide;
   • been convicted of a crime;
   • either:
     1. accepted responsibility for the stalking that was the basis for the protection order; or
     2. successfully completed perpetrator treatment or counseling since the protection order was entered;
   • continued abusing alcohol or drugs, if this was a factor in the protection order;
2. the amount of time that has passed since the order was entered;
3. if the abuser is a minor:
   
   • the circumstances surrounding their youth when the initial abuse happened; and
   • developmental factors, including the impact of time on their development; and
4. other factors relating to a substantial change in circumstances.³

The judge cannot deny a motion to extend your order for any of the following reasons:

1. The abuser has not violated your protection order;
2. You or the abuser are a minor;
3. You did not report the acts that caused you to need the protection order, or any violations of your order, to law enforcement;
4. A no-contact order or a restraining order preventing the abuser from contacting you has been issued in a criminal proceeding or a domestic relations proceeding;
5. The request you are making to the court could be granted in a different court action;
6. The amount of time that has passed since the abuser’s last act that caused you to need the protection order; or
7. The abuser no longer lives near you.⁴

If you are protected by an order and you turned 18 while it is in effect, you can file a motion to renew the order within 90 days before it expires, like any other petitioner. If you turned 18 within a year after the order expired, you have a year from the expiration date to ask for the order to be extended. You can include new facts that happened after the order expired, but you aren’t required to do so.⁵ 

The court will schedule a hearing within 14 days from the date you file your petition, or 30 days if the abuser is going to be notified by mail or publication. The abuser must be notified at least five days before the hearing.¹ A judge may extend your order by granting an extension for a specific amount of time or may enter a permanent order.⁶

The judge cannot change the terms of your extended protection order unless you request the change.⁷

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.405(1)
² R.C.W. § 7.105.405(4)(c)
³ R.C.W. § 7.105.405(5), (13)
⁴ R.C.W. § 7.105.405(6)
⁵ R.C.W. § 7.105.405(1), (10)
⁶ R.C.W. § 7.105.405(8)
⁷ R.C.W. § 7.105.405(7)