Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs): The New Protection Order Explained

DAPOs were introduced by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to create a more flexible form of protection than the older system of domestic violence protection notices and orders. The intention is to give police and courts a wider range of options, particularly where a pattern of abuse includes behaviour that does not involve an assault.

Unlike a criminal conviction, a DAPO is a civil order. A person does not need to have been convicted of an offence before the court can make one. The court must instead be satisfied that an order is necessary and proportionate to protect someone aged 16 or over from domestic abuse, or from the risk of it.

This is important in cases involving coercive control. Abuse may consist of repeated intimidation, surveillance, financial restriction, isolation from friends or family, unwanted contact, or manipulation through children and family-court proceedings. Such conduct can cause serious harm even where there has been no single incident of physical violence.

The official Government guidance on Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders explains the pilot scheme, its current geographical limits and the practical routes to obtaining protection.

A DAPO can be tailored to the specific risks in a case. It may prohibit the respondent from contacting the protected person, approaching their home, attending their workplace, going near a child’s school or entering a defined geographical area.

The order can also deal with indirect or digital contact. Depending on its wording, that may include messages sent through relatives or friends, contact through social media accounts, unwanted calls, location tracking, or behaviour intended to monitor or intimidate the protected person.

In appropriate cases, a DAPO can go further than simply prohibiting contact. The court may impose positive requirements, such as attending an accredited behaviour-change programme, and may use electronic monitoring where it is justified and proportionate.

There is no single standard duration. The court decides how long a DAPO should last by reference to the individual facts and the protection needed. This enables the order to respond to ongoing risk rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all time limit.

A Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN) is a short-term police measure intended to give immediate protection after a domestic-abuse incident. It may, for example, prevent a person from contacting the victim or returning to a shared home for a limited period.

Following a DAPN, the police must make an application for a DAPO. The application should ordinarily be brought before the magistrates’ court within 48 hours of service of the notice, excluding Sundays and bank holidays. A DAPO can then provide longer-term and more tailored protection.

A DAPO may also be sought without a preceding notice. It can be applied for by the police, by the person needing protection, or—where the court gives permission—by a third party. Family, criminal and civil courts can also make a DAPO during other proceedings where the legal test is met.

This is often the first practical issue to resolve. DAPOs remain a pilot scheme rather than a universal remedy. The pilot has operated in Greater Manchester; the London boroughs of Croydon, Bromley and Sutton; Cleveland; North Wales; and through the British Transport Police. The pilot has continued into 2026, while full national commencement has not yet taken place.

The respondent’s address is central to eligibility under the pilot. In broad terms, the alleged perpetrator must live in a pilot area, although the person requiring protection may live elsewhere. A family law specialist can check the current position and advise whether a DAPO is available in the particular case.

If the pilot does not apply, that does not mean that protection is unavailable. A non-molestation order can prevent a person from using or threatening violence, harassing, pestering or contacting another person. It is widely available through the family court, can be made urgently in appropriate circumstances, and breach is a criminal offence. See our detailed guide to non-molestation orders.

Where there is a dispute about who a child should live with or spend time with, domestic abuse must be addressed safely and directly. The court’s approach is shaped by Practice Direction 12J, which focuses on the protection of children and parents where domestic abuse is alleged or established. Our guide to Practice Direction 12J and domestic abuse in family court explains that process in more detail.

A DAPO is not informal advice; it is a legally enforceable court order. Breach of a DAPO without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence. The possible sentence can include imprisonment of up to five years, a fine, or both.

If you believe an order has been breached, contact the police. Keep any available evidence safely, such as message screenshots, call records, dates and times, relevant CCTV locations, and the names of potential witnesses. But do not place yourself at further risk to obtain evidence, and do not confront the person who may have breached the order.

The precise wording of the order should always be checked. An order may prohibit direct contact only, or it may also cover indirect communication, online activity, attendance at defined places, or behaviour through third parties. That wording determines whether particular conduct amounts to a breach.

Neither order is automatically “better.” The right remedy depends on the urgency of the risk, the parties’ relationship, whether there are children or shared accommodation, the respondent’s location, existing bail conditions or criminal proceedings, and whether the DAPO pilot applies.

DAPOs are potentially broader and more flexible. They can include positive requirements and may be available through a range of court settings. Yet non-molestation orders remain the established and widely accessible protective remedy in the family court. In many cases outside the pilot areas, a non-molestation order will be the immediate legal route to consider.

A person experiencing domestic abuse may also need support with housing, child-arrangements issues, police reporting, evidence preservation, safeguarding referrals or urgent financial arrangements. A protective-order application should therefore form part of a joined-up legal and safety strategy rather than be viewed in isolation.

Seeking advice does not commit you to making an application. It allows you to understand the available options, assess urgency, identify the evidence that may be relevant, and make a safe decision about the next step.

Kabir Family Law can advise on DAPOs where the pilot scheme applies, applications for non-molestation and occupation orders, urgent without-notice applications, domestic abuse within child-arrangements proceedings, and the interaction between family-court protection and police investigations. Call us today on 0330 094 5880 to arrange your free, no‑obligation consultation or book a time that suits you using our online appointment system. Our family lawyers in Nottingham as well across Coventry, Newcastle, Cardiff, Oxford, Manchester, Northampton, York & London can advise you on any family law issues.