In Utah, “restraining order” and “protective order” are not the same thing, and filing for the wrong one costs time you may not have. A protective order is what most people mean: a court order, issued under Utah’s protective order statutes, that prohibits abuse and contact and is enforced by arrest. A restraining order in Utah is usually a temporary order in a civil case, most often a divorce, that restrains a party from doing something specific, such as selling property or removing children from the state. Here is each order Utah offers, who it is for, how long it lasts, and how to choose.

Protective orders: the domestic violence and safety orders

Cohabitant abuse protective order. The main domestic violence order, under Utah Code Title 78B, Chapter 7. Available where the respondent is a cohabitant: a spouse or former spouse, someone you live with or lived with, a relative by blood or marriage, someone you share a child with or are expecting one with, or someone you are in a consensual sexual relationship with. Requires abuse, meaning physical harm or attempted harm, or a reasonable fear of it. The court can issue a temporary ex parte order the same day and must hold a hearing within 21 days; a final order generally lasts three years and can be extended, though its custody, parent-time, and support provisions expire after 150 days unless extended. Violation is a crime.

Dating violence protective order. For a person in, or recently in, a dating relationship who does not qualify as a cohabitant. Same abuse standard, similar process.

Sexual violence protective order. For a victim of a sexual offense regardless of relationship to the respondent.

Child protective order. Filed by a parent or another adult on behalf of a child who is being abused. It can restrict the abuser’s contact with the child and is often used alongside a custody case.

Civil stalking injunction. Not technically a protective order but it functions like one. Available against anyone, without a relationship requirement, where the respondent has engaged in a course of conduct, two or more acts, that would cause a reasonable person fear or emotional distress. The court can issue a temporary injunction on the petition alone; if the respondent requests a hearing, the court decides whether to make it permanent, and a stalking injunction lasts three years. This is the order for a neighbor, a coworker, an ex you never lived with, or a stranger.

Workplace violence and elder abuse protective orders. Specialized orders for employers and for vulnerable adults, available in narrower circumstances.

Restraining orders: the civil-case orders

When a Utah divorce or custody case is filed, either party can ask for temporary orders, and many districts have standing orders that take effect automatically. These restrain the parties from disposing of property, changing insurance, harassing each other, or taking the children out of state. A court can also enter a temporary restraining order under the civil rules in any case to prevent immediate harm, such as a spouse draining an account. These orders are enforced through the family court by contempt motions, not by police arrest, and they do not carry the firearm restrictions or the criminal consequences of a protective order.

A mutual restraining provision in a divorce that tells both spouses not to harass each other is common and is not a finding of domestic violence against either. A protective order is.

How to choose

If someone has hurt you, tried to hurt you, or made you reasonably afraid they will, and they are a spouse, ex, partner, relative, or co-parent, file for a cohabitant abuse protective order. If the same is true of someone you dated but never lived with, the dating violence order. If someone is following, contacting, or threatening you and there is no relationship, or the relationship does not fit the cohabitant definition, a civil stalking injunction. If your concern is that your spouse will move money, sell the house, or leave with the children during a divorce, you want temporary orders in the divorce, and a protective order is the wrong tool unless there is also abuse.

People sometimes seek a protective order to gain leverage in a custody case. Utah judges see that regularly and it usually backfires; a protective order petition that fails for lack of abuse damages the petitioner’s credibility for the rest of the custody case. Use the order that fits the facts.

What each order does to custody

A cohabitant abuse or child protective order with a finding of domestic violence rebuts Utah’s presumption of joint legal custody and is a required consideration in every custody decision under Utah Code 81-9-204. A stalking injunction against a co-parent is relevant evidence but is not the same finding. A temporary restraining order in a divorce has no custody effect by itself. If children are involved, the protective order hearing is the start of the custody record for both sides, and it should be handled with that in mind.

Timing and process

Protective orders and stalking injunctions can be filed at the district court any business day, often with a temporary order the same day. The forms are available through the Utah courts’ online system, and our guide to getting a restraining order in Utah walks through them. Temporary orders in a divorce require a filed case and a motion, and a hearing is usually set within a few weeks; emergency motions are available where there is immediate risk.

If you have been served

Comply with the order exactly, including no contact of any kind, even through the children or through friends. Do not go to the home if the order excludes you. Gather your evidence and appear at the hearing with counsel; the final order and any custody findings are decided there, and a hearing missed is an order entered. Our domestic violence practice page explains how we defend these cases.

CoilLaw handles protective orders, stalking injunctions, and divorce temporary orders for petitioners and respondents throughout Utah. If you are not sure which order you need, call us and we will tell you in one conversation.

This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your situation.