Served With a Protection Order in BC? What to Do Next

Being served with a protection order is stressful, especially if it affects where you live, who you can contact or how you see your children. What you do in the first days matters, because breaking a term can lead to a separate and serious problem.

This article explains in general terms what these orders can say, how to stay out of trouble, how to challenge an order, and how belongings and children are usually handled in British Columbia.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What a protection order is and what it can say

A court can make a protection order against a family member if it decides that family violence is likely to occur and the other person is an at-risk family member. Terms can restrain contact and communication, restrict attendance at specified places, direct police to remove, accompany or seize items such as weapons, require reporting, and include other terms the court considers necessary.

Read every page of the order. Unless the court provides otherwise, it expires one year after the date it is made. The order may have been requested without notice to you, which is allowed.

How to avoid breaching the order

Police who have reasonable and probable grounds to believe a term was broken may act to enforce the order, whether or not there is proof it was served, and may use reasonable force if necessary. The Supreme Court form warns that disobeying the order is an offence under Criminal Code s 127 and that enforcement may include arrest without warrant.

Disobeying a lawful court order without lawful excuse is either an indictable offence with imprisonment of not more than two years, or a summary conviction offence. Orders are kept in a confidential registry that police can check at any time of day or night, so you should assume police can see its terms right away.

• Do not contact the protected person in any way the order restricts, including through friends or social media.
• Stay away from every place the order lists.
• Hand over or arrange for removal of any items the order covers, such as weapons, as it directs.
• Keep a copy of the order with you and note the date and time you were served.
• Do not rely on the other person saying contact is fine; an order can be changed or ended on a party's application, and unless the court provides otherwise it expires one year after it is made.

Responding to or challenging the order

If the order was made without notice, you can apply to the court to set it aside, or to change or terminate it. A party can also apply to shorten, extend, change or terminate an order, and that application must be made before the order expires. The Supreme Court Family Rules include form F54.1, an order terminating a protection order.

Courts weigh things such as history of violence, whether it is escalating, coercive or controlling behaviour, recent separation, risk factors and the applicant's perception of risk. Gather evidence that speaks to these points, such as messages, dates and witnesses. Get legal advice before filing, because how best to present your response depends on your situation.

Supreme Court fees can be waived if a person cannot afford them. After the order expires, a new protection order application can still be made.

Belongings and the family home

If the order keeps you away from the home, do not go to collect your things on your own. A protection order can direct police to accompany or seize items, and it can restrict attendance at specified places. Ask a lawyer or the court how to arrange a police-accompanied pickup, or whether the order or a later agreement can set a safe way to do it.

A protection order can restrict access to a residence in either court. Separately, the Supreme Court can give a spouse exclusive occupation of the family residence for a specified period.

Children and what to do next

Where children are involved, the court considers only the best interests of the child, including the impact of any family violence on the child's safety, security or well-being. No parenting arrangement, including equal parenting time, is presumed to be in a child's best interests, and the court can require that parenting time be supervised by a named person.

If a protection order conflicts with another order under the Act, such as a parenting order, the other order is suspended to the extent of the conflict until it is varied or the protection order ends. This means you should not assume an earlier parenting schedule still lets you contact the other parent or see the child.

• Read and follow the order immediately.
• Write down when and how you were served.
• Speak to a lawyer promptly about challenging or varying the order.
• Ask about a safe, court-approved way to get belongings and arrange parenting time.

Frequently asked questions