Change or end your Protection Order

Community organizations can help! If you’ve experienced domestic violence, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault, or the threat of any of these, get help from your local domestic violence shelter or sexual assault center. Shelters provide safety planning, temporary shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, and other services. 

Visit Washington State Domestic Violence Information & Referral to search for local programs by county, or for culturally/community specific or Tribal programs. 

You can call, text, or chat online with advocates 24/7 at any of these: 

• National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233
• National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-656-4673
• StrongHearts Native Helpline (a peer support service of the National DV Hotline), 1-844-762-8483

Who can change or end a protection order? 

Protected person: You can ask a judge to change or end a protection order that protects you if you want to update it or you don’t want or need it any longer. You might need more or fewer protections.

Restrained person: You can also ask a judge to change or end a protection order if you’re the person the order restrains. But you’ll need to be able to show the judge that there’s been a “substantial change in circumstances” so that the protection order is no longer needed, or so that it’s okay to change what the order says. 

“Judge” here refers to judges and court commissioners.

Will I have to pay to ask to change or end my protection order?

No, you don’t have to pay a filing fee. But there may be copying fees and fees for delivering the papers to the other person (serving the other person).

How easy or hard is it to change or end a protection order? 

It’s generally easiest if the other party doesn’t respond or show up at a court hearing to fight changing or ending the protection order, or if you and the other party both agree. But this only happens sometimes. 

Protected person: You can ask at any time to change or end the protection order. It might be hard to convince a judge to end a protection order if the harm that caused you to need the protection order in the first place was severe. 

Restrained person: There are limits to when you can ask to change or end a protection order, and when a judge will grant your request. You might have to pay the other party if the motion doesn’t go your way. 

• You can only ask to change or end the order once in every 12-month period.
• The judge can only change or end the order if you can prove that there’s been a real change in the situation (a “substantial change in circumstances”) that justifies changing or ending the order. Even then, the judge can still refuse to change or end the order if, for example, you’ve violated the order, you’ve been convicted of a crime since the order was entered, or you’re still struggling with the substance use that led to the order in the first place. This isn’t a complete list of reasons a judge could deny your motion. To learn more, read the state law at RCW 7.105.500, or talk to a lawyer before filing anything.
• The judge can order you to reimburse the protected person for their expenses in responding to your motion, including attorney fees.

If I get the protection order changed, will it still last as long? 

You can ask for the protection order to end (to expire) sooner, or to last longer. 

What should I put in the motion form? 

If you want to change the protection order, you should explain what happened (or hasn’t happened) that makes you need these changes. 

• Examples of reasons to add more protections: the restrained person has violated the protection order, has harmed or abused someone not protected by the order, has been convicted of any crime since you got the order, or has a continuing problem with alcohol or drug abuse. This isn’t a complete list.
• Examples of reasons to take some protections out of the protection order: the restrained person completed rehab and has remained sober for some time, the restrained person completed anger management, or one of you moved away. This isn’t a complete list. 

If you want to end the protection order, you should explain your reasons why. You might need to go into a lot of detail if the reason for the protection order in the first place was because the harm was severe. 

Will there be a hearing on my motion? 

Protected person: Yes. The clerk will help you schedule a hearing on your motion. 

Adding a child? If you had or adopted a child after you got your protection order and that child is already living with you, you can ask the judge to add that child to your protection order immediately (ex parte) without a hearing. If the restrained person is the other parent, you must then schedule a hearing on your motion to modify.

Restrained person: You must first ask for a hearing to decide if there’s adequate cause (good reason) to have a full hearing on your motion. If the judge finds adequate cause, they will schedule a another hearing to decide your motion. 

Restrained person: To change or end the order, you should explain in the motion form what substantial change in circumstances has taken place that means that the other party no longer needs as many protections. You must also fill out a Restrained Person’s Notice of Hearing to Decide Adequate Cause (form PO 065) and a proposed Finding of Adequate Cause and Order for Hearing on Restrained Person’s Motion to Modify or Terminate Protection Order (form PO 064).