Protective orders in Utah, explained
Utah issues five main kinds of protective orders, sorted by relationship rather than severity: cohabitant abuse orders for spouses, partners, relatives and housemates; dating violence orders; sexual violence orders, which need no relationship; child protective orders; and civil stalking injunctions. Most last three years. A judge usually reviews a request the same day, and a hearing follows within 21 days.
Utah does not have one protective order. It has several, and which one applies depends mostly on your relationship to the other person, not on how serious the situation is. This guide lays them out in plain language, with the law linked at the bottom. If you already know your relationship to the other person and want the short answer, our guide on which Utah protective order applies walks you straight to it. If you have been served with one, start with the guide for the person on the receiving end.
If you are in danger right now, call 911. The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition's LINKLine is free, confidential, and open 24 hours: call or text 1-800-897-5465.
Last checked: October 19, 2026, against Utah Code Title 78B, Chapter 7, and the Utah Courts' self-help pages. This is general information, not legal advice. The statute controls if anything here differs from it.
The five kinds, by relationship
Cohabitant abuse protective order. This is the most common one. "Cohabitant" is broader than the word suggests. It covers a current or former spouse, someone you live or lived with, someone you are or were in a consensual sexual relationship with, a parent or grandparent, a relative to the second degree, and someone you have a child with. Adult siblings count too. Utah's appeals court has read the term broadly. In one case it held that a father-in-law qualified because the law says "related by marriage," and a court may not add requirements the statute does not contain. You must be 16 or older, and a minor cannot ask for one against a parent or a minor sibling.
Dating violence protective order. For someone 18 or older, or emancipated, who was in a dating relationship that never became a cohabitant relationship. If you lived together or were sexually intimate, the courts treat you as cohabitants and you use the order above instead.
Sexual violence protective order. For a person who has been subjected to sexual violence by someone who is not a cohabitant or dating partner. No relationship is required. It cannot be sought on behalf of a child.
Child protective order. Filed by any interested adult on behalf of a child who is being abused or in imminent danger of it. It goes to juvenile court, and the court will not consider it until the abuse has been reported to the Division of Child and Family Services.
Civil stalking injunction. The one that requires no relationship. The petitioner must show conduct on two or more occasions that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or suffer emotional distress, and must attach corroborating evidence, such as a police report, a witness affidavit, messages, or recordings.
There are also criminal protective orders, which a judge issues in a criminal case after an arrest or charge. The victim does not request those and cannot withdraw them. They are covered briefly below.
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Open the savings toolWhat the court can order
The exact list differs by order type, but the core is the same. The court can order the respondent not to threaten, abuse, or harass the petitioner, not to contact them directly or indirectly, and to stay a set distance away from their home, work, and school.
A cohabitant abuse order can go further. It can remove the respondent from a shared home, give the petitioner temporary custody of children, set supervised parent-time or deny it where safety requires, protect household animals, and order the respondent to surrender firearms if the court finds a serious threat of harm.
Each cohabitant order has two parts. Violating the criminal part, such as contact or stay-away terms, is a class A misdemeanor and can mean arrest. Violating the civil part, such as temporary custody terms, is contempt of court.
How it works, step by step
1. You file a request in district court. There is no fee. The forms are on the courts' site and clerks must provide them. 2. A judge usually reviews it the same day. If granted, a temporary order, called an ex parte order, issues without the other person present. It takes effect once it is served on them. 3. A hearing is held within 21 days. Both people can speak, and either may bring an attorney. If the respondent does not show up, the court can enter the order without them. If the petitioner does not show up, the temporary order is dismissed. 4. If the court finds abuse or a substantial likelihood of it, it enters a final order. For a cohabitant order, past abuse alone is enough. The appeals court has held that a petitioner who proves past abuse does not also have to prove present fear.
The standard for "abuse" is real harm or a reasonable fear of imminent physical harm. In a 2026 case the appeals court vacated an order based on a single angry, conditional text sent from a distance, because it did not show that harm was imminent. The court was careful to add that the petitioner had other legal avenues.
How long orders last, and how they end
| Order | Length |
|---|---|
| Cohabitant abuse | 3 years. Civil parts, such as custody, 150 days unless extended |
| Dating violence | 3 years |
| Sexual violence | 3 years, extendable once for 3 more |
| Child protective order, against a parent or guardian | 150 days unless the court sets a different date |
| Civil stalking injunction | 3 years from service |
A petitioner can ask to extend an order before it expires by showing a current reasonable fear of harm. A petitioner can also ask to dismiss one at any time, and the court holds a hearing.
A respondent's path is narrower. For a cohabitant order, the criminal parts cannot be vacated within two years unless the petitioner personally consents in court or by sworn affidavit. After one year, the court may amend or dismiss an order if the basis no longer exists and the petitioner has repeatedly acted in ways that show they no longer fear the respondent. Meeting those factors does not force a dismissal. The appeals court has held that a judge may still weigh how serious the original abuse was.
What a protective order cannot do
It is not a divorce. The courts' own page says permanent custody, parent-time, support, and property division require a divorce decree. Temporary custody in a cohabitant order expires in 150 days unless extended.
It is not a mutual arrangement. Utah courts may not issue mutual orders unless each person files their own petition and proves abuse that was not self-defense.
It cannot be withdrawn informally. Once filed, a petition cannot be withdrawn without the court's approval, and a respondent can be arrested for violating the order even if the petitioner invited the contact.
Our guide on what a protective order can and cannot do goes deeper on these limits.
It is also not a mediation. Utah law says a court may not order the parties into mediation to resolve the issues in a cohabitant abuse petition. What that means for divorce mediation and for voluntary mediation is its own question, and our guide on whether you can mediate when there is a protective order answers it.
Criminal protective orders, briefly
After an arrest for domestic violence, the jail release conditions already bar contact. At the first court appearance in a domestic violence or stalking case, the judge must decide whether a pretrial protective order is needed. If the case ends in a conviction with jail time, the court issues a continuous protective order, which is permanent unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the victim no longer has a reasonable fear. The victim does not control these orders, and violating one can be a felony if the underlying charge was a felony. Our guide on civil versus criminal protective orders sets the two tracks side by side.
Where to get help
- Emergency: 911.
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition LINKLine, 24 hours, call or text: 1-800-897-5465.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
- Legal help: Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake in the Matheson Courthouse for Salt Lake County, Utah Legal Services, and the Timpanogos Legal Center hotline at 801-649-8895.
- The courts' Protection from Abuse pages, linked below, have the forms and a chooser that walks you to the right order.
Common questions
How long does a protective order last in Utah?
A cohabitant abuse order expires three years after it is entered, though its civil parts, such as temporary custody, expire after 150 days unless the court extends them. Dating violence and sexual violence orders last three years. A civil stalking injunction lasts three years from service. A child protective order against a parent or guardian lasts 150 days unless the court sets a different date. All of these can be extended by motion before they expire.
Does it cost anything to ask for a protective order in Utah?
No. The courts say there is no filing fee and no cost for the forms. You file in the district court where either of you lives or where the events happened, and you can file online, in person, by email, or by mail. Child protective orders go to juvenile court and require a report to the Division of Child and Family Services first.
What is the difference between a protective order and a stalking injunction?
A protective order requires a specific relationship, such as a spouse, partner, relative, housemate, or dating partner, or sexual violence. A civil stalking injunction requires no relationship at all. It requires conduct on two or more occasions that would cause a reasonable person fear or emotional distress, plus corroborating evidence such as a police report or witness statement.
Sources
- Utah Code §78B-7-102, definitions including "cohabitant" and "abuse"
- Utah Code §78B-7-603, cohabitant abuse protective orders
- Utah Code §78B-7-604 to 606, hearings, dismissal and expiration
- Utah Code §78B-7-609, no court-ordered mediation of a protective order petition
- Utah Code §78B-7-405, dating violence orders, §78B-7-505, sexual violence orders, §78B-7-205, child protective orders, §78B-7-701, civil stalking injunctions
- Utah Courts, Protection from Abuse and Protective Orders
- Patole v. Marksberry, 2014 UT App 132 (father-in-law is a cohabitant) and 2014 UT App 131 (past abuse alone is enough)
- Canteros-Alvarez v. Green, 2026 UT App 95 (fear must be of imminent harm)
- Mota v. Mota, 2016 UT App 201 (dismissal is discretionary)
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and National Domestic Violence Hotline
David Ring III
Mediator and founder of Salt City Mediation LLC. Founder of EmpathEase, an app for practicing empathy and Nonviolent Communication. Completed Utah Dispute Resolution's 40-hour mediation training in 2026.