DC Temporary Protective Orders

In the District of Columbia, a Temporary Protective Order can order that the abuser:

  • Stop abusing you.
  • Stay away from you and to not try to contact you or harass you at your home, school, job, or the place where you may be staying, stay away from your child’s school, and from your family members’ homes.
  • Stay out of your house.
  • Leave the home where the two of you live, if you are married to the abuser, AND you were living with your abuser at the time of the abuse.
  • Leave the home if you are not married to the abuser, but were living with the abuser at the time of the abuse, AND your name is on the lease or deed for the house, OR you lived with the abuser.
  • The judge can also give you temporary custody of any children that you have with the abuser.
  • The judge can award temporary possession of any pet of the person eligible for relief or the respondent