If a protective order has been served on you in Utah

Someone handed you papers that say you must not contact a person, must stay away from places you may live or work, and may have to leave your home today. You may feel the order is unfair, and the court has not heard your side yet. Both of those things can be true, and neither changes what you must do right now.

If you are thinking about harming yourself or anyone else, call or text 988. If you are the person who asked for the order and landed here, the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition's LINKLine is 1-800-897-5465, 24 hours.

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. A protective order affects your home, your children, and possibly your right to own firearms, so talk with an attorney as soon as you can.

What you were served with

Most likely a temporary order, called an ex parte order. A judge issued it after reading the other person's request, usually the same day it was filed, without hearing from you. That is what the law allows, and it is why a hearing follows quickly.

The papers tell you what kind of order it is. The common ones are a cohabitant abuse protective order, a dating violence order, a sexual violence order, a child protective order, or a civil stalking injunction. Our overview of protective orders in Utah explains the differences. The rest of this page is about what they have in common for you.

Read the order itself, all of it. The terms vary. Some orders only bar contact and set a stay-away distance. A cohabitant order can also remove you from a shared home, give the other person temporary custody of children, set or deny parent-time, and bar you from buying or possessing firearms if the court found a serious threat of harm.

What you must do now

Comply with every term. The order took effect when it was served. There is no grace period and no appeal that pauses it.

No contact of any kind. This is the term people break most, usually by accident or because the other person reached out first. Contact includes texts, calls, emails, social media messages, comments, likes, and messages passed through friends, family, or a shared child. If the other person contacts you, do not reply. Keep a record and tell your attorney.

Do not try to work it out directly. This is the instinct of many decent people, and it is the one that leads to arrest. The courts' own page says you may be arrested for prohibited contact even if the petitioner encouraged it. An invitation from the other person, or from anyone on their behalf, does not change what the order says. That includes an invitation to mediate. Our guide on mediation when there is a protective order explains why.

Leave the home if the order says to. If you need your belongings, the order can allow you to collect them with a police officer present. Ask the clerk or your attorney how to arrange that. Do not go on your own.

Deal with firearms if the order addresses them. If the order bars you from possessing firearms, do not keep them at home and do not hand them to someone who lives with you. Your attorney can tell you how to comply in your situation.

Stay away from the listed places. Home, work, school, and anywhere else the order names, at the distance it sets. If you share a workplace or school, the order should say how that is handled. If it does not, ask the court rather than guessing.

Understand the two parts of the order

A cohabitant abuse order has a criminal part and a civil part, and the difference matters.

The criminal part covers contact, threats, stay-away terms, weapons, and property. Violating it is a class A misdemeanor. You can be arrested on the spot.

The civil part covers things like temporary custody, parent-time, and support. Violating it is contempt of court, which can mean fines or jail through the civil case.

The civil part also expires sooner. By statute, the civil terms of a cohabitant order end 150 days after the order is entered unless the court extends them, while the order as a whole lasts three years. If you are in a divorce or custody case, the civil terms can be changed in that case by agreement or for good cause.

The hearing is where you get to be heard

For most orders, the court holds a hearing within 21 days of the temporary order. This is your day in court. Both of you can speak, present evidence, and bring witnesses. You may have an attorney, and the notice must tell you so.

What the court is deciding is whether to enter a final order, which usually lasts three years. For a cohabitant order, the petitioner must show that they are a cohabitant and that they have been abused or face a substantial likelihood of abuse. Past abuse alone is enough. "Abuse" means causing or attempting physical harm, or placing someone in reasonable fear of imminent physical harm. In a 2026 case the appeals court vacated an order based on a single angry text sent from a distance, because it did not show imminent harm. The court was clear that the petitioner had other legal options.

A few things to know about the hearing:

• If you do not show up, the court can enter the order without you. Do not skip it.
• In the four largest judicial districts, a court commissioner hears the case and recommends a decision to a judge. You can object to the recommendation within 14 days and get a hearing before the judge. The appeals court has held this process is constitutional, and that there is no jury in these cases.
• If you agree to proceed without an evidentiary hearing, you give up the right to one. The appeals court has held that a respondent who agreed to decide the matter on the papers waived the complaint that no evidence was taken. If you want to present evidence, say so.
• Bring documents. Messages, call logs, witness names, anything that bears on what is alleged. Organize them by date.

In a cohabitant case you can also file a verified motion to vacate the temporary order before the hearing. It must be personally served on the petitioner at least two days before the motion is heard. This may not change the hearing date.

Civil stalking injunctions work differently. You have 10 days from service to request a hearing in writing. If you do not, the temporary injunction automatically becomes a three-year injunction, and a later request puts the burden on you to show good cause to dissolve or modify it. If you request the hearing in time, the petitioner must prove stalking by a preponderance of the evidence.

Child protective orders put a heavier burden on the respondent who later asks to change or vacate the order: clear and convincing evidence that the change is in the child's best interest.

If a final order is entered

Keep complying, for as long as it lasts. Walking as close to the line as you can is not compliance. In one case the appeals court upheld a refusal to dismiss an order, and sanctions, where the respondent kept harassing the petitioner in ways he thought stayed just inside the order's limits.

Your options to change an order are narrow by design. The criminal terms of a cohabitant order cannot be vacated within two years unless the petitioner personally consents in court or by sworn affidavit. After one year, a court may amend or dismiss the order if the basis for it no longer exists and the petitioner has repeatedly acted in ways that show they no longer fear you. Even then, the appeals court has held the decision is discretionary, and the court may weigh how serious the original conduct was.

If a divorce is pending, the court can dismiss the protective order when it enters the decree if you ask in both cases and either the parties agree or the court finds at trial that the petitioner no longer has a reasonable fear.

The order is about conduct, not character

An ex parte order was issued without your side. A final order is a finding about specific conduct and specific risk, made on the civil standard of more likely than not. Neither is a verdict on who you are. The way to respond to one is the same either way: comply completely, be heard at the hearing, and let the process run. The things that make it worse are contact, argument, and trying to fix it yourself.

Where to get help

• Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, in the Matheson Courthouse, for Salt Lake County.
• Utah Legal Services, for people who qualify by income.
• Timpanogos Legal Center hotline: 801-649-8895, weekdays 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.
• The courts' Protective Orders page, linked below, has the forms for responding and for the motion to vacate.
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text, 24 hours.

Common questions

What happens if I violate a protective order in Utah?

Violating the criminal terms of a cohabitant abuse order, such as no contact or stay away, is a class A misdemeanor, and you can be arrested. The courts say this is true even if the petitioner encouraged the contact. Violating the civil terms, such as temporary custody, is contempt of court. Violating a civil stalking injunction is the crime of stalking. There is no safe amount of contact.

Can I contact the person who got a protective order against me if they contact me first?

No. The order binds you, not them. If they reach out, do not respond, keep a record of it, and tell your attorney. Contact through friends, family, social media, or a shared child is also contact. A court can later weigh the petitioner's conduct, but that does not protect you from arrest in the meantime.

How do I fight a protective order in Utah?

By showing up to the hearing and presenting your side, with an attorney if you can. In a cohabitant case you can also file a verified motion to vacate the temporary order before the hearing, served on the petitioner at least two days before it is heard. For a civil stalking injunction you must request a hearing in writing within 10 days of service, or it becomes a three-year injunction automatically.

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.

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