For the purpose of getting a protective order, a family or household member is defined as:

1. your spouse or ex-spouse;
2. someone with whom who you live(d) “as a spouse;”
3. someone who lived in the same household as you;
4. a sexual partner or intimate partner;
5. someone who you are dating or used to date;
6. someone with whom you have a child in common;
7. your parent or step-parent;
8. your sibling, step-sibling, or half-sibling;
9. your father-in-law, mother-in-law, step-father-in-law, or step-mother-in-law;
10. your child or stepchild;
11. your daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepdaughter-in-law, or stepson-in-law;
12. your grandparent or step-grandparent;
13. your aunt, aunt-in-law, or step-aunt;
14. uncle, uncle-in-law, or step-uncle;
15. your niece or nephew; or
16. your first or second cousin.¹

Note: If your relationship to the abuser is that you are a family member (as described in #7-16) of the abuser’s spouse, partner, etc. (as described in #1-6), you can still qualify for an order.¹ Here are a few examples:

• you can file against your boyfriend’s step-father who attempted to sexually abuse you;
• you can file against against the niece of your former sexual partner who is threatening you;
• you can file against the first cousin of your baby’s mother who is stalking you; or
• you can file against the brother of someone with whom you lived who sexually assaulted you.

If you are being abused by someone with whom who you do not have of the above relationships, you may qualify for a personal safety order.

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-27-204

If you are filing for a protective order against a spouse and there is currently a temporary order for divorce, annulment, or separate maintenance or custody from family court, then the magistrate can only consider incidents that happened after the temporary divorce order was issued. The order you would get from the magistrate is called a temporary emergency protective order.¹ The magistrate will then transfer the case to the family court where the judge will hold a hearing within 10 days. The family court judge will decide whether or not the temporary emergency protective order entered by the magistrate should be extended by the family court or should be vacated (dismissed).²

The only protections that could be in a temporary emergency protective order are ordering the respondent to:

1. top abusing you and/or your minor children;
2. not enter the school, business or place of employment of you or your family/household members for the purpose of violating the protective order; and
3. stop contacting, telephoning, communicating with, harassing or verbally abusing you.³

A temporary emergency protective order can only modify a custody or visitation order if there is clear evidence that the respondent abused a child.⁴

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-27-402(a), (b)
² W. Va. Code § 48-27-402(e)(1)
³ W. Va. Code § 48-27-402(c)
⁴ W. Va. Code § 48-27-402(d)

You can file a petition in the county where you live (either permanently or temporarily), in the county where the abuser lives, or in the county where the abuse took place. If you are getting a divorce, you can also file the petition in the county where the divorce proceedings are taking place.¹

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-27-302

A minor can file a petition on his/her own with or without the assistance of his/her parent. A guardian ad litem will be appointed to protect the minor’s best interests if:

• the minor files without a parent/guardian or next friend; or
• the abuser (respondent) is thie minor’s parent or household member, therefore making it unsafe for the child to return to his/her home.¹

¹ West Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Domestic Violence, Rule 23a(b)

In West Virginia, you may apply for a protective order against a current or former same-sex partner as long as the relationship meets the requirements listed in Who can get a protective order?  You must also be the victim of an act of domestic violence, which is explained here What is the legal definition of domestic violence in West Virginia?

You can find information about LGBTQIA victims of abuse and what types of barriers they may face on our LGBTQIA Victims page.

No, you do not need an attorney to file for a protective order – but it may be a good idea to have one.  This is especially important if the abuser has a lawyer.  Even if the abuser does not have a lawyer, if you can, try to get in touch with a lawyer to protect your legal rights.

If you cannot afford a lawyer but want one to help you with your case, you can find information on legal assistance and domestic violence agencies on the WV Finding a Lawyer page.

Also, the domestic violence organizations in your area and/or court staff may be able to answer some of your questions or help you fill out the necessary court forms.  Often, these domestic violence organizations have court advocates who can go with you to the hearing for support.  You can find local organizations on our WV Advocates and Shelters page.  

Go to the magistrate in the county where you live, where the abuser lives, or where the abuse happened - whichever is most safe and easy for you. See the WV Courthouse Locations page to find a courthouse near you.

It is sometimes helpful to bring the following information about the abuser to court with you, if you have it and can get to it safely:

• a photo
• addresses of residence and employment
• phone numbers
• a description and plate number of the abuser’s car and
• history of drugs or gun ownership.

Remember to bring some form of identification (a driver’s license or other identification that includes your picture) to show to the clerk who will notarize your petition.

Write briefly and clearly about the facts that show that you deserve to be granted a protective order. Describe most recent threats or violence, using descriptive language (slapping, hitting, grabbing, threatening, etc.) that fits your situation. Include details and dates, if possible. If you have a question, ask the clerk. The clerk may answer questions, but may not tell you what to write.

Do not sign the application until you have shown it to a clerk. The form must be signed in front of a notary public or a judge. There are notaries and judges at the courthouse.

Once you have finished, give the petition to the clerk. The clerk will bring them to a magistrate for you.¹

¹ West Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Domestic Violence Civil Proceedings, Rule 8

If the magistrate grants your emergency order, you will be given a court date for a “hearing” of your petition, usually within 10 days. This hearing will be in front of a judge at the time shown on a piece of paper called “the Notice of Hearing.” The abuser will also be asked to come to court at which time s/he will have a chance to fight against you getting a final order. The court and law enforcement are normally responsible for notifying the abuser of the hearing.

Hearings for final orders are held in the family court.  You must go to the hearing if you want a final order.  If you do not go to the hearing, your emergency order will expire and you will have to start the process over.  It is generally best to have a lawyer represent you at the hearing if you can, especially if you think the abuser will have one.  Go to our WV Finding a Lawyer page for legal referrals.

If the abuser does not show up for the hearing, the judge may still grant you a protective order, or the judge may order a new hearing date if the abuser has not been served.  If the judge orders a new hearing date, make sure to ask the judge to extend your emergency order until then.¹

To get a 90-day final order or a 180-day order, you must:

• Prove that the abuser has committed an act(s) of domestic violence (as defined by the law) against you or your children; and
• Convince a judge that you need the specific protections you asked for in the petition.²

To qualify for a one-year final order, you have to prove at a hearing that one of the following “aggravating factors” exists:

• There has been a serious violation of a past protective order;
• Two or more protective orders have been entered against the abuser (by anyone) within the previous five years;
• The abuser has one or more prior convictions for domestic battery or assault or a felony crime of violence while you were a family or household member;
• The abuser was convicted of stalking or harassment against someone who currently has an order of protection against the abuser; or
• That given the overall circumstances of your case, a one-year order is necessary to protect the physical safety of you and/or anyone else listed on the petition.³

See the At the Hearing page for ways you can show the judges you were abused.

It is extremely important that you attend the hearing.  If you absolutely cannot attend the hearing, call the clerk and ask how you can get a “continuance” for a later court date.  If you think you might not be safe, or might not be able to tell the judge your story in front of the abuser, call one of the domestic violence organizations in your area to find out if someone can go with you to the hearing.  (Go to WV Advocates and Shelters to find an organization in your area).

¹ West Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Domestic Violence Civil Proceedings, Rule 14
² W. Va. Code § 48-27-501
³ W. Va. Code § 48-5-505(a),(b)

If you were denied an emergency protection order, you can file a petition for appeal in the family court within five days of the denial of the order.¹ If you were denied a final protection order, you have the right to appeal your case to the circuit court. The appeal must be filed at the circuit court clerk’s office within ten days from the judge’s denial of the order. A Circuit Court hearing on the appeal will be held within ten days of the date the appeal is filed. If either side is not happy with the Circuit Court decision, that party can appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. The Supreme Court’s decision is final. Appeal forms are available at the circuit court clerk’s office.² Since appeals are complicated, it may be best to have an attorney help you with the appeal. To find an attorney, go to our WV Finding a Lawyer page. You can read more about appeals on our Preparing for Court - By Yourself page in the File an Appeal section.

In addition, you may also be able to reapply for an order of protection if a new incident of domestic abuse occurs after you are denied the order. You may also consider reporting the abuser to the police if you believe that a crime was committed.

Whether or not you get a protective order, there are still some things you can do to stay safe. It might be a good idea to contact one of the domestic violence resource centers on our WV Advocates and Shelters page for help. You will also find information on safety planning on our Safety Tips page.

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-27-510(a)
² W. Va. Code § 48-27-510(b); See West Virginia Courts’ Domestic Violence Protective Orders brochure

Here are some things you may want to consider doing.  However, you will have to evaluate each one to see if it works for your situation.

• Review the order before you leave the courthouse.  If something is wrong or missing, ask the clerk to correct the order before you leave.
• Be careful as you’re leaving the courthouse.  If you are very fearful, try to leave with someone or speak with the security guard about safety as you leave.  You might also wait a while for the abuser to leave so you don’t run into him/her on your way out.  For more safety tips, see our Safety in Court page.
• Make several copies of the protective order as soon as possible.
• Keep a copy of the order with you at all times.
• Leave copies of the order at your work place, at your home, at the children’s school or daycare, in your car, with a sympathetic neighbor, and so on.
• Give a copy to the security guard or person at the front desk where you live and/or work along with a photo of the abuser.
• Give a copy of the order to anyone who is named in and protected by the order.
• If the court has not given you an extra copy for your local law enforcement agency, you might want to take one of your extra copies and deliver it to them.

Ongoing safety planning is important after receiving the order.  People can do a number of things to increase their safety during violent incidents, when preparing to leave an abusive relationship, and when they are at home, work, and school.  Many batterers obey protective orders, but some do not.  It is important to build on the things you have already been doing to keep yourself safe.  We have safety planning suggestions on our Safety Planning page.  Advocates at local domestic violence organizations can assist you in designing a safety plan and can provide other forms of support.  To find an advocate in your area please visit the WV Advocates and Shelters page.

Either you or the abuser may petition the court to change a term of your protective order.¹ To ask that it be changed, you will have to go to the clerk of court where you first got the order to file a petition to modify your order. The petition is shown on the West Virginia Courts website here.

If you have a 90-day order or a 180-day order and want to extend it for another 90 days, you have to submit a request in writing to the court where you got the order and it can be extended without another court hearing.² You would have to file a Request to Extend 90-Day or 180-Day Protective Order before your current order expires. Then, the clerk will send a notice of the extension to the respondent (abuser) by mail.³ Note: The West Virginia Courts website has a notice with information about extending a protective order when the parties to the protective order are also parties to an action in family court - you can read that information here and you may be able to ask the clerk for clarification.

If you have a one-year order and want to extend it, the court can extend it for whatever period of time the court considers necessary to protect the physical safety of you or anyone protected by the order. You would have to prove that the abuser materially (significantly) violated the existing protective order or s/he significantly violated a protective order issued by the judge in your divorce case. The order can only be extended after a court hearing where the abuser has the right to be present.⁴

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-27-505(f)
² W. Va. Code § 48-27-505(a)
³ See Request to Extend 90-Day or 180-Day Protective Order; W. Va. Code § 48-27-505(d)
⁴ W. Va. Code § 48-27-505(c)

According to federal law, which applies to all states, territories, and tribal lands, the courts are not supposed to make available publicly on the internet any information that would be likely to reveal your identity or location. This applies to all of these documents:

• the petition you file;
• the protection order, restraining order, or injunction that was issued by the court; or
• the registration of an order in a different state.¹

¹ 18 USC § 2265(d)(3)

Stalking is when someone repeatedly behaves in a way, or causes another person to behave in a way, that s/he knows, or should know, will cause you to:

• fear for your safety;
• fear for the safety of others; or
• suffer significant emotional distress.¹

This behavior (course of conduct) includes when the stalker, directly or indirectly:

• follows, monitors, observes, surveils, or threatens you;
• contacts or communicates with you without your agreement (consent), including electronically; or
• interferes with or damages your property or pet.

¹ W. Va. Code §§ 53-8-4(a)(2); 61-2-9a(a)
² W. Va. Code § 61-2-9a(h)(2)

There are two types of personal safety orders: temporary ex parte orders and final orders (issued after notice and the opportunity to participate in a hearing).

Temporary ex parte personal safety orders
When you file a petition for a personal safety order, you can ask for a temporary ex parte personal safety order to be issued immediately. The judge can grant you a temporary order if s/he has reasonable cause to believe that the respondent has committed a specific act of abuse against you. The judge will schedule the hearing for your final order within ten days of service of the order.¹

Final personal safety orders
After the respondent has been served with notice of the case and has had an opportunity to participate in the court hearing, the judge can grant a final personal safety order. The judge can grant you a final personal safety order if the judge finds that the abuser:

• committed a sexual offense or attempted sexual offense;
• stalked you; or
• repeatedly threatened you with bodily injury and knows (or should know) that these threats would cause you to reasonably fear for your safety.²

A final personal safety order can last for up to two years.²

¹ W. Va. Code § 53-8-5(c)(1)
² W. Va. Code §§ 53-8-6(C); 53-8-4(a)

When you and the abuser live in different states, the judge may not have “personal jurisdiction” (power) over an out-of-state abuser. This means that the court may not be able to grant an order against him/her.

There are a few ways that a court can have personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state abuser:

1. The abuser has a substantial connection to your state. Perhaps the abuser regularly travels to your state to visit you, for business, to see extended family, or the abuser lived in your state and recently fled.
2. One of the acts of abuse “happened” in your state. Perhaps the abuser sends you threatening texts or harassing phone calls from another state but you read the messages or answer the calls while you are in your state. The judge could decide that the abuse “happened” to you while you were in your state. It may also be possible that the abuser was in your state when s/he abused you s/he but has since left the state.
3. If you file your petition and the abuser gets served with the court petition while s/he is in your state, this is another way for the court to get jurisdiction.

However, even if none of the above apply to your situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t get an order. If you file, you may be granted an order on consent or the judge may find other circumstances that allow the order to be granted.

You can read more about personal jurisdiction in our Court System Basics - Personal Jurisdiction section.

Note: If the judge in your state refuses to issue an order, you can file for an order in the courthouse in the state where the abuser lives. However, remember that you will likely need to file the petition in person and attend various court dates, which could be difficult if the abuser’s state is far away.

You can file for a personal safety order against anyone who committed one of the three specific acts of abuse against you as long as:

• s/he is not a member of your family or household; and
• you do not have a romantic relationship with him/her.¹

You can also file for a personal safety order on behalf of a minor child or an incapacitated adult if you are the parent, guardian, or custodian of that person.²

¹ W. Va. Code §§ 53-8-1(4); 53-8-4(a); See West Virginia Legal Aid, Personal Safety Orders in West Virginia
² Petition for Personal Safety Order on the West Virginia Judiciary website

If the abuser disobeys any of the restrictions in the order, you can call the police to report the violation. If the police have “probable cause” to believe the abuser is violating the order, the officer must arrest the abuser. The officer should arrest the abuser even if s/he does not have an arrest warrant.¹

If the abuser disobeys any of the restrictions in the order, s/he could be found guilty of committing a misdemeanor. If the abuser is convicted for a first offense of violating a personal safety order, s/he could face:

• a fine of up to $1,000;
• being put in jail (incarcerated) for up to 90 days; or
• both.²

If the violation is his/her second offense, s/he could face:

• a fine of up to $2,500;
• being put in jail (incarcerated) for up to one year; or
• both.³

¹ W. Va. Code § 53-8-11(b)
² W. Va. Code § 53-8-11(a)(1)
³ W. Va. Code § 53-8-11(a)(2)

Financial exploitation is when someone:

• steals or misuses your money or assets on purpose (“intentional misappropriation”); or
• reduces your assets (“diminishment”) by influencing you to act against your own free will (“undue influence”).¹

Financial exploitation does not include when a person makes an honest effort to help you manage your money or other things of value but you end up losing money.¹

¹ W. Va. Code § 55-7J-1(b)(3)

There are two types of orders: temporary financial exploitation protective orders and permanent financial exploitation protective orders.

A temporary financial exploitation protective orders can be issued ex parte from the magistrate court. Ex parte means that the respondent is not notified beforehand and is not present at the hearing.¹ If the magistrate court grants your temporary protective order, the clerk will transfer the case to the circuit court in your county. After the case is transferred, a clerk at the circuit court will schedule a hearing for a permanent order to take place within 20 days.²

After a hearing, the circuit court judge can issue a permanent financial exploitation protective order if s/he believes that the order is necessary to protect you. A permanent order does not have an expiration date. The judge must also find that:

• the respondent committed an act that falls under the legal definition of financial exploitation; and
• there is reason to believe the financial exploitation will continue without an order.²

The judge can issue an order “on consent” without finding that the respondent committed financial exploitation if the respondent agrees to have the order issued against him/her.²

In addition to the protective order, it’s possible to petition the court to freeze the assets of the person committing the financial exploitation in an amount equal to the alleged value of lost property or assets so that these assets can be used to pay back the victim for the value of his/her lost property or assets. Upon a finding that the elderly person, protected person, or incapacitated adult has been formally exploited, the judge can:

• grant injunctive relief, which means ordering the respondent to do or stop doing something;
• order the respondent to put money in escrow in an amount equal to the value of the assets that were exploited;
• order the respondent to return any property that was wrongly taken; or
• provide for the appointment of a receiver.³

¹ W. Va. Code § 55-7J-1(d)
² W. Va. Code § 55-7J-1(e)
³ W. Va. Code § 55-7J-5(a)

In a financial exploitation protective order, a judge can order that the respondent:

• return the property or assets that s/he improperly took, got control of, or used; and
• pay money damages (“actual damages”) for any damages you suffered or for the value of the property or assets lost because of the exploitation.¹

The judge can also order additional damages to be paid as punishment for the financial exploitation. If the respondent is not in a position of trust, the judge can order that s/he pay two times the amount of money damages you suffered or two times the value of the property or assets that were lost.² If the respondent is in a position of trust, the judge can order that s/he pay three times the amount.³

When you file for a financial exploitation protective order, you can also request that the judge order that the respondent:

• give an accounting of the status of your income and other resources;
• stop committing or threatening to commit acts of financial abandonment or abuse;
• stay out of your home;
• stay away from you and not have contact with you either directly or through another person;
• not come near your home, workplace, adult day program, or long-term care facility; and
• not transfer your property for up to 90 days.⁴

In addition, if you file a petition to freeze assets, you can get additional remedies ordered. See What types of financial exploitation protective orders are there? How long do they last? for more information.

¹ W. Va. Code § 55-7J-3(a)
² W. Va. Code § 55-7J-3(b)(1)
³ W. Va. Code § 55-7J-3(b)(2)
⁴ Petition for Temporary Financial Exploitation Order

If you have a valid West Virginia protective order that meets federal standards, it can be enforced in another state.  The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which is a federal law, states that all valid protective orders granted in the United States receive “full faith and credit” in all state and tribal courts within the US, including US territories. See How do I know if my protective order is good under federal law? to find out if your order qualifies.

Each state must enforce foreign protective orders in the same way it enforces its own orders.  Meaning, if the abuser violates your foreign protective order, s/he will be punished according to the laws of whatever state you are in when the order is violated.  This is what is meant by “full faith and credit.”

An ex parte temporary order can be enforced in other states as long as it meets the requirements listed in How do I know if my protective order is good under federal law?¹

Note: The state where you are going generally cannot extend your ex parte temporary order or issue you a permanent order when the temporary one expires. If you need to extend your temporary order, you will have to contact the state that issued the order and arrange to be at the hearing in person or by telephone (if that is an option offered by the court). However, you may be able to reapply for one in the new state that you are moving to if you meet the requirements for getting a protective order in that state – but, if you apply for one in a new state, the abuser would know what state you are living in, which may put you in danger.

¹ 18 U.S.C. § 2265(b)(2)

In some states, you will need a certified copy of your protective order. A certified copy says that it is a “true and correct” copy; it is signed and initialed by the clerk of court that gave you the order, and usually has some kind of court stamp on it. In West Virginia, a certified order has a stamped seal on it.

West Virginia is also a part of Project Passport which means that the first page of your order looks the same as orders in other Project Passport states. This means it may be easier to get your protective order enforced in one these states, which include:

• Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians (located in Alabama) Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia

The copy you originally received was most likely a certified copy. If your copy is not a certified copy, call or go to the court that gave you the order and ask the clerk’s office for a certified copy. It costs on average $0.50 per page to get a certified copy of a West Virginia protective order.

Note: It may be a good idea to keep a copy of the order with you at all times. You may also want to bring several copies of the order with you when you move to leave copies of the order at your work place, at your home, at the children’s school or daycare, in your car, with a sympathetic neighbor, and so on. You may also want to give a copy to the security guard or person at the front desk where you live and/or work and to anyone who is named in and protected by the order.

Yes, if you won’t be getting mail at your old address. The court that gave you your protective order needs to have an up-to-date address for you at all times. That’s because generally the court staff will communicate with you only by mail if anything happens to your protective order. For example, if the abuser asks the judge to dismiss the order or if your order is changed in any way. If you will not be receiving mail at your old address, you should provide the court staff with a new address where you can receive mail.

If you provide your new address to the court, they should keep it confidential. It should be kept in a confidential part of your file where the public will not have access to it. However, your new address could possibly be released to court officials in your new state or law enforcement officials. If you feel unsafe giving your new address, you may be able to use the address of a friend you trust or a P.O. Box instead.

It may depend on the exact wording of the custody provision in your protective order.  You may have to first seek the permission of the court before leaving.  If the abuser was granted visitation rights with your children, then you may have to have the order changed, or show the court that there is a fair and realistic alternative to the current visitation schedule.

If you are unsure about whether or not you can take your kids out of the state, it is important to talk to a domestic violence advocate or lawyer who understands domestic violence and custody laws, and can help you make the safest decision for you and your children.  You can find contact information for local domestic violence organizations and legal assistance in the West Virginia area on our WV Places that Help page.

Your protection order can be enforced in West Virginia as long as:

• It was issued to prevent violent or threatening acts, harassing behavior, sexual violence, or it was issued to prevent another person from coming near you or contacting you.¹
• The court that issued the order had jurisdiction over the people and case. (In other words, the court had the authority to hear the case.)
• The abuser received notice of the order and had an opportunity to go to court to tell his/her side of the story.
  • In the case of ex parte temporary and emergency orders, the abuser must receive notice and have an opportunity to go to court to tell his/her side of the story at a hearing that is scheduled before the temporary order expires.²

Note: For information on enforcing a military protective order (MPO) off the military installation, or enforcing a civil protection order (CPO) on a military installation, please see our Military Protective Orders page.

As long as the child custody provision complies with certain federal laws,¹ West Virginia can enforce a temporary custody order that is a part of a protection order.

To have someone read over your order and tell you if it meets these standards, contact a lawyer in your area.  To find a lawyer in your area click here WV Finding a Lawyer.

¹ The federal laws are the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) or the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), and the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980.

To enforce an out-of-state order, law enforcement typically may rely on the National Crime Information Center Protection Order File (NCIC-POF). The NCIC-POF is a nationwide, electronic database that contains information about orders of protection that were issued in each state and territory in the U.S. The Protection Order File (POF) contains court orders that are issued to prevent acts of domestic violence, or to prevent someone from stalking, intimidating, or harassing another person. It contains orders issued by both civil and criminal state courts. The types of protection orders issued and the information contained in them vary from state to state.¹

There is no way for the general public to access the NCIC-POF. That means you cannot confirm a protection order is in the registry or add a protection order to the registry without the help of a government agency that has access to it.

Typically, the state police or criminal justice agency in the state has the responsibility of reporting protection orders to NCIC. However, in some cases, the courts have taken on that role and they manage the protection order reporting process.² NCIC–POF is used by law enforcement agencies when they need to verify and enforce an out-of-state protection order. It is managed by the FBI and state law enforcement officials.

However, not all states routinely enter protection orders into the NCIC. Instead, some states may enter the orders only in their own state protection order registry, which would not be accessible to law enforcement in other states. According to a 2016 report by the National Center for State Courts, more than 700,000 protection orders that were registered in state protection order databases were not registered in the federal NCIC Protection Order File.² This means that if a law enforcement officer is trying to enforce a protection order from another state that is missing from the NCIC, the victim would likely need to show the officer a hard copy of the order to get it immediately enforced. If you no longer have a copy of your original order, you may want to contact the court that issued the order to ask them how you can get another copy sent to you.

¹ National Center for Protection Orders and Full Faith & Credit
² See State Progress in Record Reporting for Firearm-Related Background Checks: Protection Order Submissions, prepared by the National Center for State Courts, April 2016

West Virginia state law gives full protection to a foreign protective order as long as you can show the officer a copy of the order and can truthfully tell the officer that you believe the order is still in effect. It does not have to be entered into the state or federal registry in order to be enforced by a West Virgina police officer, but the officer does need to believe that it is a valid (real) order.

While neither federal law nor state law requires that you register your protective order in order to get it enforced, if your order is not entered into the state registry, it may be more difficult for a West Virginia law enforcement official to determine whether your order is real. Meaning, it could take longer to get your order enforced

If you are unsure about whether registering your order is the right decision for you, you may want to contact a local domestic violence organization in your area.  An advocate there can help you decide what the safest plan of action is for you in West Virginia.  To see a list of local domestic violence organizations in West Virginia, go to our WV Advocates and Shelters page.

For your Canadian protective order to be enforced in West Virginia, it must be issued by a Canadian court in a civil proceeding that is related to domestic violence and prevent the abuser from doing any the following:

• being near you or anyone else protected by the order;
• contacting you or someone else named in the order;
• being within a certain distance of a specific location; or
• harassing, annoying, molesting, or engaging in threatening behavior directed at you or anyone else protected by the order.¹

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-28B-2

If the law enforcement officer determines that your Canadian order is valid but that it has never been served, the officer is required to tell you that s/he will try to contact the abuser in a way that is consistent with your safety. The law enforcement is then required to do all of the following:

• make a reasonable effort to tell the abuser that the order exists;
• tell the abuser what the terms of the order are;
• give a copy of the order or other written notification of what the order contains to the abuser; and
• give the abuser a chance to change his/her behavior to follow (comply with) the order before enforcing it.¹

¹ W. Va. Code § 48-28B-3(d)