How to Get a Restraining Order in the UK

Part of: Non Molestation Order

If you are searching for how to get a restraining order in the UK, start here: in England and Wales only a criminal court can make one, so you cannot apply for it yourself. If an ex-partner or a family member frightens you, the family court gives you a route you can start now. Our non-molestation order specialists assist and advise at every stage. If you are in immediate danger, contact the police straight away.

Reviewed by: Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist, Kabir Family Law

Is a restraining order the right protection for your situation?

Use this quick check before you choose a route. If more than one line below sounds like your week, raise it with a specialist rather than guessing.

• Police have charged someone, and you want protection once that case finishes
• No prosecution is running, yet an ex-partner still turns up at your door
• Calls, messages or social media contact carry on after you asked for them to stop
• You share children, so contact arrangements keep putting you in the same room
• You need someone out of the family home, or kept away from the street
• A neighbour or someone you barely know keeps harassing you
• An old promise to stay away has broken down, and nobody can enforce it

What is a restraining order in the UK, and who can get one?

A restraining order is a criminal court order that stops someone doing the things it lists. A criminal court may make a restraining order in the UK after it convicts someone of any offence. Since judges can also act after an acquittal, a guilty verdict is not essential. However, the order must protect you from conduct that amounts to harassment, or that will cause a fear of violence (Sentencing Act 2020, s.360).

So the practical question is usually a different one: how do you get protection like a restraining order in the UK when nobody has been charged? Where no prosecution exists, the order you can genuinely apply for is a civil injunction. For an ex-partner or a relative, that is a family court injunction. For a neighbour or a stranger, it is a harassment injunction in the civil courts (Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.3). Then a judge, rather than the criminal court, weighs your evidence and decides.

Is there a temporary restraining order in the UK?

Not under that name. “Temporary restraining order” is an American term, and courts in England and Wales do not make one. The closest equivalent is a non-molestation order made without notice, sometimes called an ex parte order, which the family court can grant in an emergency before the other person knows you have applied (Family Law Act 1996, s.45). The judge looks at the risk of significant harm to you or a child if the order waits, and at whether you might be deterred or prevented from going ahead without it. The other person then gets a chance to respond at a full hearing, held as soon as just and convenient. If you need protection today, our guide to an emergency no contact order explains how to ask for one.

Can I get a restraining order for stalking?

Yes, but it comes out of a criminal case, so you cannot apply for a restraining order for stalking yourself. Stalking is a criminal offence (Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.2A), and when a court convicts someone of it, or of any other offence, the judge can add a restraining order under the Sentencing Act 2020 powers described above. The 1997 Act gives following you, contacting you by any means, loitering, watching or spying on you, and monitoring your internet, email or other electronic communications as examples of conduct associated with stalking.

The police also have an option that does not need a criminal charge. A chief officer of police can apply to a magistrates’ court for a stalking protection order, and the court can make an interim order while that application is decided (Stalking Protection Act 2019, s.1 and s.5). A full order lasts for a fixed period of at least two years, or until a further order, and breaching it carries up to five years in prison (s.3 and s.8). Only the police can apply, so when you report, tell them you want one considered.

If the person stalking you is an ex-partner or a relative, the family court route on this page is open to you as well. For a neighbour or a stranger, the civil option is the harassment injunction described above. Our page on stalking legal help sets out the wider choices.

How can our specialists help you get the right protection?

Our specialists explain which injunction fits your circumstances, and they help you prepare the account a judge will read. As well as that, they set out what the court looks for, how the other person must be told, and what happens the moment an order is broken. If a criminal case is running, they explain how a restraining order in the UK can sit alongside family proceedings. Because no two situations match, the first conversation starts with your facts rather than a general checklist.

How does the family court route work, step by step?

1. Take advice first. A specialist weighs what has happened and explains which injunction fits your circumstances.
2. Complete Form FL401. GOV.UK hosts this application, which covers a non-molestation order, an occupation order, or both.
3. Write your supporting statement. Set out what happened, when it happened, and why you feel unsafe now.
4. Ask for urgency where the risk is immediate. In a genuine emergency, the court can make an order without telling the other person first (Family Law Act 1996, s.45).
5. Make sure the order is served. If the court acted without notice, a breach only becomes a criminal offence once the other person knows the order exists.
6. Attend the full hearing. Where the order was made without notice, the court then hears both sides at a family court hearing and decides whether the order continues.

What can go wrong, and how can you avoid it?

• Waiting for a charge. Without one, no criminal court can make a restraining order in the UK at all, so the family route may be your only option.
• A thin statement. Courts want dates, times and specifics, so gather your evidence before you file.
• Assuming an order is automatic. Judges weigh each case separately, and they can refuse.
• Forgetting the police copy. Because breach is a criminal matter, officers need to know the order exists.
• Letting contact restart. Replying to one message can make enforcement harder later.

What happens if someone breaches a restraining order?

A breach of a restraining order is a criminal offence. If the person the order restricts does anything it forbids without a reasonable excuse, they can be prosecuted and face up to five years in prison (Sentencing Act 2020, s.363). An order made after an acquittal carries the same offence and the same maximum (Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.5A).

Check which order you hold first. A criminal court makes a restraining order when it deals with a prosecution. An order you applied for yourself in the family court is usually a non-molestation order, which has its own breach rules, and our guide explains what the police can do when a non-molestation order is broken.

What counts depends on the wording of the order, so keep your copy where you can find it. If it bans contact, the person does not have to come near you: one text or one voicemail can be enough. Only the person the order restricts can commit this offence, so replying to them does not put you in breach, although keeping replies to a minimum makes the next report clearer.

How do you report a breach of a restraining order?

Call 999 if you are in danger now. Otherwise, tell the police as soon as you can, and report every breach, including the ones that feel too small to mention. Because a breach is a crime, officers can arrest the person where they believe it is necessary (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24). A record of repeated breaches shows the police and the court far more than one incident does. Before you call, gather:

• the date, time and place of each breach, and exactly what was said or done
• the messages, call logs, emails and social media posts themselves, screenshotted and left undeleted
• the names of anyone who saw or heard what happened
• your copy of the order, or the name of the court and the date it was made
• any crime reference number from earlier reports, so you can quote it each time

What can the court do after a breach?

Where the police find enough evidence, the person can be charged with breaching a restraining order, and the criminal court decides the sentence: a fine, prison, or both. While it deals with that charge, the court may also vary the order or discharge it. You do not have to wait for a prosecution to ask for a change, such as adding a new address. Anyone named in the order can apply to the court that made it, and has the right to be heard (Sentencing Act 2020, s.361).

We regularly advise and assist clients facing repeated breaches by an ex-partner or a relative, including whether to apply to the family court for a non-molestation order as well. Breaking that order is a crime too, so you would then have two orders behind you. If a breach has left you feeling that one order is not enough, talk it through in a free consultation.

What does the free initial consultation cover?

A free initial consultation is a conversation with a specialist, who gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. It does not include drafting or reviewing documents. Before the call, jot down the dates of the worst incidents, plus any crime reference number you already hold.

How to get a restraining order UK: frequently asked questions

What qualifies for a restraining order in the UK?

Any criminal conviction can lead to one. After a conviction, a judge may impose a restraining order in the UK to stop harassment or conduct that causes fear of violence. Courts can also act after an acquittal. So the trigger is the risk to you, not the label on the offence.

How much do restraining orders cost in the UK?

Nothing, as far as the court is concerned. Because a criminal judge imposes a restraining order in the UK without any application from you, no fee arises. GOV.UK also confirms that a family court domestic abuse injunction carries no application fee. Your own costs then depend on how much help you choose.

What is the minimum requirement for a restraining order?

After a conviction, the order must aim to protect someone from harassment or from conduct that will cause a fear of violence. Following an acquittal, the court must consider an order necessary to protect a person from harassment. Evidence usually comes from the criminal case itself, and both the prosecution and the defence can add more. So there is no separate application for you to make, although you can tell the police that you want protection.

What order can you get to keep someone away from you?

Two family court injunctions do that work. A non-molestation order stops someone pestering, threatening or contacting you, and people often call it a no contact order. An occupation order decides who may live in the home. Both start with Form FL401.

How long does a restraining order last?

The criminal judge decides how long a restraining order in the UK lasts. An order can last for a period stated in it, or until a further order (Sentencing Act 2020, s.359). Later, the person the order restricts, the prosecution or the person it protects can ask the court to vary or discharge it.

Can I apply for a restraining order myself?

No, and that surprises people who search for how to apply for a restraining order. Only a criminal court can impose one, so no form exists for you to send. Instead, you apply to the family court for a non-molestation order. That application is one you control, and the court can hear it quickly when the risk is immediate.

Frightened about what this week might bring? Book your free call today

Acting early gives the court more to work with, and it gives you a plan instead of a worry. Book a free initial consultation, where one of our specialists gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances, or call 0330 094 5880. You can also compare the occupation order that decides who stays in the home, or return to non-molestation orders.

General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.

Expert Tip

We are commonly asked to chase the police, and on its own that is rarely the quickest help. Report what has happened, but where no charge has been brought, a criminal judge has nothing to attach protection to. It is important you treat the family court application as the live option instead. Gather dates and messages now, and say clearly why the risk feels immediate, because urgency changes how fast the court lists your case.

Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist & Client Support