RCW 7.105.405
Renewal of protection orders
—
Other than extreme risk protection orders.
The following provisions apply to the renewal of all full protection orders issued under this chapter, with the exception of the renewal of extreme risk protection orders.
(1) If the court grants a protection order for a fixed time period, the petitioner or protected party may file a motion to renew the order at any time within the 90 days before the order expires. A minor who is or was previously protected by a protection order who has reached the age of 18 may petition for renewal of the order as the petitioner pursuant to subsection (10) of this section. The motion for renewal must state the reasons the petitioner seeks to renew the protection order. Upon receipt of a motion for renewal, the court shall order a hearing, which must be not later than 14 days from the date of the order. Service must be made on the respondent not less than five judicial days before the hearing, as provided in RCW 7.105.150
.
(2) If the motion for renewal is uncontested and the petitioner seeks no modification of the order, the order may be renewed on the basis of the petitioner's motion and statement of the reason for the requested renewal.
(3) The petitioner bears no burden of proving that he or she has a current reasonable fear of harm by the respondent.
(4) The court shall grant the motion for renewal unless the respondent proves by a preponderance of the evidence that there has been a substantial change in circumstances and the following:
(a) For a domestic violence protection order, that the respondent proves that the respondent will not resume acts of domestic violence against the petitioner or the petitioner's family or household members who are minors or vulnerable adults when the order expires;
(b) For a sexual assault protection order, that the respondent proves that the respondent will not engage in, or attempt to engage in, physical or nonphysical contact, or acts of commercial sexual exploitation, with the petitioner when the order expires;
(c) For a stalking protection order, that the respondent proves that the respondent will not resume acts of stalking against the petitioner or the petitioner's family or household members when the order expires;
(d) For a vulnerable adult protection order, that the respondent proves that the respondent will not resume acts of abandonment, abuse, financial exploitation, or neglect against the vulnerable adult when the order expires; or
(e) For an antiharassment protection order, that the respondent proves that the respondent will not resume harassment of the petitioner when the order expires.
(5) In determining whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances, the court may consider the following unweighted factors, and no inference is to be drawn from the order in which the factors are listed:
(a) Whether the respondent has committed or threatened sexual assault; commercial sexual exploitation; domestic violence; stalking; abandonment, abuse, financial exploitation, or neglect of a vulnerable adult; or other harmful acts against the petitioner or any other person since the protection order was entered;
(b) Whether the respondent has violated the terms of the protection order and the time that has passed since the entry of the order;
(c) Whether the respondent has exhibited suicidal ideation or attempts since the protection order was entered;
(d) Whether the respondent has been convicted of criminal activity since the protection order was entered;
(e) Whether the respondent has either: Acknowledged responsibility for acts of sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic violence, or stalking, or acts of abandonment, abuse, financial exploitation, or neglect of a vulnerable adult, or behavior that resulted in the entry of the protection order; or successfully completed state-certified perpetrator treatment or counseling since the protection order was entered;
(f) Whether the respondent has a continuing involvement with drug or alcohol abuse, if such abuse was a factor in the protection order; and
(g) Other factors relating to a substantial change in circumstances.
(6) The court shall not deny a motion to renew a protection order for any of the following reasons:
(a) The respondent has not violated the protection order previously issued by the court;
(b) The petitioner or the respondent is a minor;
(c) The petitioner did not report the conduct giving rise to the protection order, or subsequent violations of the protection order, to law enforcement;
(d) A no-contact order or a restraining order that restrains the respondent's contact with the petitioner has been issued in a criminal proceeding or in a domestic relations proceeding;
(e) The relief sought by the petitioner may be available in a different action or proceeding;
(f) The passage of time since the last incident of conduct giving rise to the issuance of the protection order; or
(g) The respondent no longer lives near the petitioner.
(7) The terms of the original protection order must not be changed on a motion for renewal unless the petitioner has requested the change.
(8) The court may renew the protection order for another fixed time period of no less than one year, or may enter a permanent order as provided in this section.
(9) If the protection order includes the parties' children, a renewed protection order may be issued for more than one year, subject to subsequent orders entered in a proceeding under chapter
26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW.
(10)(a) If a minor who is protected by a protection order reaches the age of 18 while the order is still in effect, the minor may file a motion for a renewal of the order as the petitioner.
(b) If a minor who was previously protected by a protection order reaches the age of 18 after the order has expired, the minor has up to one year from the date of expiration of the order to petition for renewal of the order as the petitioner. The petitioner may, but is not required to, allege new facts and circumstances for which relief is sought that occurred after the order that protected the petitioner as a minor has expired.
(c) The clerk shall issue a new cause number for renewals granted under this subsection and shall include the previously ordered protection order and petition for renewal in the new case file.
(11) The court may award court costs, service fees, and reasonable attorneys' fees to the petitioner as provided in RCW 7.105.310
.
(12) If the court declines to renew the protection order, the court shall state, in writing in the order, the particular reasons for the court's denial. If the court declines to renew a protection order that had restrained the respondent from having contact with children protected by the order, the court shall determine on the record whether the respondent and the children should undergo reunification therapy. Any reunification therapy provider should be made aware of the respondent's history of domestic violence and should have training and experience in the dynamics of intimate partner violence.
(13) In determining whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances for respondents under the age of 18, or in determining the appropriate duration for an order, the court shall consider the circumstances surrounding the respondent's youth at the time of the initial behavior alleged in the petition for a protection order. The court shall consider developmental factors, including the impact of time of a youth's development, and any information the minor respondent presents about his or her personal progress or change in circumstances.
[
2025 c 122 s 3
;
2024 c 298 s 13
;
2021 c 215 s 54
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2024 c 298:
See note following RCW 9A.40.100
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.410
Renewal
—
Extreme risk protection orders.
The following provisions apply to the renewal of extreme risk protection orders.
(1) The court must notify the petitioner of the impending expiration of an extreme risk protection order. Notice must be received by the petitioner 105 calendar days before the date the order expires.
(2) An intimate partner or family or household member of a respondent, or a law enforcement agency, may by motion request a renewal of an extreme risk protection order at any time within 90 days before the expiration of the order.
(a) Upon receipt of the motion to renew, the court shall order that a hearing be held not later than 14 days from the date the order issues.
(b) In determining whether to renew an extreme risk protection order issued under this section, the court shall consider all relevant evidence presented by the petitioner and follow the same procedure as provided in RCW 7.105.215
.
(c) If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the requirements for the issuance of an extreme risk protection order as provided in RCW 7.105.215
continue to be met, the court shall renew the order. However, if, after notice, the motion for renewal is uncontested and the petitioner seeks no modification of the order, the order may be renewed on the basis of the petitioner's motion and statement of the reason for the requested renewal.
(d) The renewal of an extreme risk protection order has a duration of one year, subject to termination as provided in RCW 7.105.505
or further renewal by order of the court.
[
2021 c 215 s 55
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.450
Enforcement and penalties
—
Other than antiharassment protection orders and extreme risk protection orders.
(1)(a) Whenever a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order is granted under this chapter, or an order is granted under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or there is a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or there is a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, and the respondent or person to be restrained knows of the order, a violation of any of the following provisions of the order is a gross misdemeanor, except as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section:
(i) The restraint provisions prohibiting acts or threats of violence against, or stalking of, a protected party, or the restraint provisions prohibiting contact with a protected party;
(ii) A provision excluding the person from a residence, workplace, school, or day care;
(iii) A provision prohibiting the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location, a protected party's person, or a protected party's vehicle;
(iv) A provision prohibiting interfering with the protected party's efforts to remove a pet owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child residing with either the petitioner or the respondent; or
(v) A provision of a foreign protection order or a Canadian domestic violence protection order specifically indicating that a violation will be a crime.
(b) Upon conviction, and in addition to any other penalties provided by law, the court:
(i) May require that the respondent submit to electronic monitoring. The court shall specify who must provide the electronic monitoring services and the terms under which the monitoring must be performed. The order also may include a requirement that the respondent pay the costs of the monitoring. The court shall consider the ability of the convicted person to pay for electronic monitoring; and
(ii) Shall impose a fine of $15, in addition to any penalty or fine imposed, for a violation of a domestic violence protection order issued under this chapter. Revenue from the $15 fine must be remitted monthly to the state treasury for deposit in the domestic violence prevention account.
(2) A law enforcement officer shall arrest without a warrant and take into custody a person whom the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe has violated a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order, or an order issued under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, that restrains the person or excludes the person from a residence, workplace, school, or day care, or prohibits the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location, a protected party's person, or a protected party's vehicle, if the person restrained knows of the order. Presence of the order in the law enforcement computer-based criminal intelligence information system is not the only means of establishing knowledge of the order.
(3) A violation of a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order, or an order issued under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, shall also constitute contempt of court, and is subject to the penalties prescribed by law.
(4) Any assault that is a violation of a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order, or an order issued under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, and that does not amount to assault in the first or second degree under RCW 9A.36.011
or
9A.36.021
is a class C felony, and any conduct in violation of such an order that is reckless and creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person is a class C felony.
(5) A violation of a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order, or a court order issued under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, is a class C felony if the offender has at least two previous convictions for violating the provisions of a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order, or an order issued under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010
. The previous convictions may involve the same victim or other victims specifically protected by the orders the offender violated.
(6)(a) A defendant arrested for violating a domestic violence protection order, sexual assault protection order, stalking protection order, or vulnerable adult protection order, or an order granted under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, is required to appear in person before a magistrate within one judicial day after the arrest. At the time of the appearance, the court shall determine the necessity of imposing a no-contact order or other conditions of pretrial release.
(b) A defendant who is charged by citation, complaint, or information with violating any protection order identified in (a) of this subsection and not arrested shall appear in court for arraignment in person as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 14 days after the next day on which court is in session following the issuance of the citation or the filing of the complaint or information.
(7) Upon the filing of an affidavit by the petitioner or any law enforcement officer alleging that the respondent has violated a domestic violence protection order, a sexual assault protection order, a stalking protection order, or a vulnerable adult protection order, or an order granted under chapter
9A.40, 9A.44, 9A.46, 9A.88, 9.94A, 10.77, 10.99, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, or a valid foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.020, or a Canadian domestic violence protection order as defined in RCW 26.55.010, the court may issue an order to the respondent, requiring the respondent to appear and show cause within 14 days as to why the respondent should not be found in contempt of court and punished accordingly. The hearing may be held in the court of any county or municipality in which the petitioner or respondent temporarily or permanently resides at the time of the alleged violation.
(8) Appearances required under this section are mandatory and cannot be waived.
[
2024 c 137 s 2
;
2022 c 268 s 21
;
2021 c 215 s 56
.]
NOTES:
Effective dates
—
2022 c 268:
See note following RCW 7.105.010
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.455
Enforcement and penalties
—
Antiharassment protection orders.
(1) When the court issues an antiharassment protection order under this chapter, the court shall advise the petitioner that the respondent may not be subjected to the penalties set forth in this section for a violation of the order unless the respondent knows of the order.
(2) A willful disobedience by a respondent age 18 years or over of any of the following provisions of an antiharassment protection order issued under this chapter is a gross misdemeanor:
(a) The restraint provisions prohibiting acts or threats of violence against, or unlawful harassment or stalking of, a protected party, or restraint provisions prohibiting contact with a protected party;
(b) A provision excluding the person from a residence, workplace, school, or day care;
(c) A provision prohibiting the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location, a protected party's person, or a protected party's vehicle; or
(d) A provision prohibiting interfering with the protected party's efforts to remove a pet owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the petitioner, respondent, or a minor child residing with either the petitioner or the respondent.
(3) Any respondent age 18 years or over who willfully disobeys the terms of any antiharassment protection order issued under this chapter may also, in the court's discretion, be found in contempt of court and subject to penalties under chapter
7.21
RCW.
(4) Any respondent under the age of 18 years who willfully disobeys the terms of an antiharassment protection order issued under this chapter may, in the court's discretion, be found in contempt of court and subject to the sanction specified in RCW 7.21.030
(4), provided that the sanction specified in RCW 7.21.030
(4) may be imposed only for willful disobedience of the provisions listed in subsection (2) of this section.
(5) A defendant arrested for violating any antiharassment protection order issued under this chapter is required to appear in person before a magistrate within one judicial day after the arrest. At the time of the appearance, the court shall determine the necessity of imposing a no-contact order or other conditions of pretrial release in accordance with RCW 9A.46.050
.
(6) A defendant who is charged by citation, complaint, or information with violating any antiharassment protection order issued under this chapter and not arrested shall appear in court for arraignment in accordance with RCW 9A.46.050
.
(7) Appearances required under this section are mandatory and cannot be waived.
[
2021 c 215 s 57
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.460
Enforcement and penalties
—
Extreme risk protection orders
—
False petitions.
(1) Any person who files a petition for an extreme risk protection order knowing the information in such petition to be materially false, or with the intent to harass the respondent, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, any person who has in his or her custody or control, accesses, purchases, possesses, or receives, or attempts to purchase or receive, a firearm with knowledge that he or she is prohibited from doing so by an extreme risk protection order is guilty of a gross misdemeanor, and further is prohibited from having in his or her custody or control, accessing, purchasing, possessing, or receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, a firearm for a period of five years from the date the existing order expires.
(b) A person is guilty of a class C felony for a violation under (a) of this subsection if the person has two or more previous convictions for violating an order issued under this chapter.
[
2022 c 268 s 22
;
2021 c 215 s 58
.]
NOTES:
Effective dates
—
2022 c 268:
See note following RCW 7.105.010
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.465
Enforcement and penalties
—
Knowledge of order.
(1) When the court issues a protection order under this chapter, the court shall advise the petitioner that the respondent may not be subjected to the penalties set forth in this chapter for a violation of the order unless the respondent knows of the order.
(2) When a law enforcement officer investigates a report of an alleged violation of a protection order issued under this chapter, the officer shall attempt to determine whether the respondent knew of the existence of the protection order. If the law enforcement officer determines that the respondent did not, or probably did not, know about the protection order and the officer is provided a current copy of the order, the officer shall serve the order on the respondent if the respondent is present. If the respondent is not present, the officer shall make reasonable efforts to serve a copy of the order on the respondent. If the officer serves the respondent with the petitioner's copy of the order, the officer shall give the petitioner a receipt indicating that the petitioner's copy has been served on the respondent. After the officer has served the order on the respondent, the officer shall enforce prospective compliance with the order.
(3) Presentation of an unexpired, certified copy of a protection order with proof of service is sufficient for a law enforcement officer to enforce the order regardless of the presence of the order in the law enforcement computer-based criminal intelligence information system.
[
2021 c 215 s 59
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.470
Enforcement
—
Prosecutor assistance.
When a party alleging a violation of a protection order issued under this chapter states that the party is unable to afford private counsel and asks the prosecuting attorney for the county or the attorney for the municipality in which the order was issued for assistance, the attorney shall initiate and prosecute a contempt proceeding if there is probable cause to believe that the violation occurred. In this action, the court may require the violator of the order to pay the costs incurred in bringing the action, including a reasonable attorney's fee.
[
2021 c 215 s 60
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.500
Modification or termination
—
Other than extreme risk protection orders and vulnerable adult protection orders.
This section applies to modification or termination of domestic violence protection orders, sexual assault protection orders, stalking protection orders, and antiharassment protection orders.
(1) Upon a motion with notice to all parties and after a hearing, the court may modify the terms of an existing protection order or terminate an existing order.
(2) A respondent's motion to modify or terminate an existing protection order must include a declaration setting forth facts supporting the requested order for modification or termination. The nonmoving parties to the proceeding may file opposing declarations. All motions to modify or terminate shall be based on the written materials and evidence submitted to the court. The court shall set a hearing only if the court finds that adequate cause is established. If the court finds that the respondent established adequate cause, the court shall set a date for hearing the respondent's motion, which must be at least 14 days from the date the court finds adequate cause.
(3) Upon the motion of a respondent, the court may not modify or terminate an existing protection order unless the respondent proves by a preponderance of the evidence that there has been a substantial change in circumstances such that the respondent will not resume, engage in, or attempt to engage in, the following acts against the petitioner or those persons protected by the protection order if the order is terminated or modified:
(a) Acts of domestic violence, in cases involving domestic violence protection orders;
(b) Physical or nonphysical contact, or acts of commercial sexual exploitation, in cases involving sexual assault protection orders;
(c) Acts of stalking, in cases involving stalking protection orders; or
(d) Acts of unlawful harassment, in cases involving antiharassment protection orders.
The petitioner bears no burden of proving that he or she has a current reasonable fear of harm by the respondent.
(4) In determining whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances, the court may consider the following unweighted factors, and no inference is to be drawn from the order in which the factors are listed:
(a) Whether the respondent has committed or threatened sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic violence, stalking, or other harmful acts against the petitioner or any other person since the protection order was entered;
(b) Whether the respondent has violated the terms of the protection order and the time that has passed since the entry of the order;
(c) Whether the respondent has exhibited suicidal ideation or attempts since the protection order was entered;
(d) Whether the respondent has been convicted of criminal activity since the protection order was entered;
(e) Whether the respondent has either acknowledged responsibility for acts of sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic violence, stalking, or behavior that resulted in the entry of the protection order, or successfully completed state-certified perpetrator treatment or counseling since the protection order was entered;
(f) Whether the respondent has a continuing involvement with drug or alcohol abuse, if such abuse was a factor in the protection order;
(g) Whether the petitioner consents to terminating the protection order, provided that consent is given voluntarily and knowingly; or
(h) Other factors relating to a substantial change in circumstances.
(5) In determining whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances, the court may not base its determination on the fact that time has passed without a violation of the order.
(6) Regardless of whether there is a substantial change in circumstances, the court may decline to terminate a protection order if it finds that the acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation, stalking, unlawful harassment, and other harmful acts that resulted in the issuance of the protection order were of such severity that the order should not be terminated.
(7) A respondent may file a motion to modify or terminate an order no more than once in every 12-month period that the order is in effect, starting from the date of the order and continuing through any renewal period.
(8) If a person who is protected by a protection order has a child or adopts a child after a protection order has been issued, but before the protection order has expired, the petitioner may seek to include the new child in the order of protection on an ex parte basis if the child is already in the physical custody of the petitioner. If the restrained person is the legal or biological parent of the child, a hearing must be set and notice given to the restrained person prior to final modification of the full protection order.
(9) A court may require the respondent to pay the petitioner for costs incurred in responding to a motion to modify or terminate a protection order, including reasonable attorneys' fees.
(10) A protected party may file a motion to terminate or modify an ex parte order without notice to the respondent if the respondent has not yet been served. For all other modifications or terminations of ex parte protection orders, a motion must be filed with notice given to all parties. A restrained person cannot modify or terminate an ex parte protection order without notice to the protected party.
(11) Judicial officers presiding over full hearings who are reissuing temporary orders per RCW 7.105.200
may modify the terms of the ex parte order to remedy an error or based on the facts of the case.
[
2025 c 122 s 4
;
2024 c 298 s 14
;
2022 c 268 s 23
;
2021 c 215 s 61
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2024 c 298:
See note following RCW 9A.40.100
.
Effective dates
—
2022 c 268:
See note following RCW 7.105.010
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.505
Termination
—
Extreme risk protection orders.
This section applies to the termination of extreme risk protection orders.
(1) The respondent may submit one written request for a hearing to terminate an extreme risk protection order issued under this chapter every 12-month period that the order is in effect, starting from the date of the order and continuing through any renewals.
(2) Upon receipt of the request for a hearing to terminate an extreme risk protection order, the court shall set a date for a hearing. The hearing must occur no sooner than 14 days and no later than 30 days from the date of service of the request upon the petitioner.
(3) The respondent shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the respondent does not pose a significant danger of causing personal injury to self or others by having in his or her custody or control, accessing, possessing, purchasing, receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, a firearm or other dangerous weapons. The court may consider any relevant evidence, including evidence of the considerations listed in RCW 7.105.215
.
(4) If the court finds after the hearing that the respondent has met his or her burden, the court shall terminate the order.
[
2021 c 215 s 62
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.510
Modification or termination
—
Vulnerable adult protection orders.
This section applies to the modification or termination of vulnerable adult protection orders.
(1) Any vulnerable adult who is not subject to an order under chapter
11.130
RCW may, at any time subsequent to the entry of a permanent protection order under this chapter, file a motion to modify or terminate the protection order. Where a vulnerable adult is subject to an order under chapter
11.130
RCW, the vulnerable adult, or the vulnerable adult's guardian, conservator, or person acting on behalf of the vulnerable adult under a protective arrangement under chapter
11.130
RCW, may, if within the person's authority under the guardianship, conservatorship, or protective arrangement, file a motion to modify or terminate the protection order at any time subsequent to the entry of a permanent protection order under this chapter.
(2) In a hearing on a motion to modify or terminate the protection order, the court shall grant such relief consistent with RCW 7.105.310
as it deems necessary for the protection of the vulnerable adult, including modification or termination of the protection order.
[
2022 c 268 s 24
;
2021 c 215 s 63
.]
NOTES:
Effective dates
—
2022 c 268:
See note following RCW 7.105.010
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.515
Reporting of modification or termination of order.
In any situation where a protection order issued under this chapter is modified or terminated before its expiration date, the clerk of the court shall forward on the same day a true copy of the modified order or the termination order to the law enforcement agency specified in the modified or termination order. Upon receipt of the order, the law enforcement agency shall promptly enter it in the computer-based criminal intelligence information system, or if the order is terminated, remove the order from the computer-based criminal intelligence information system.
[
2021 c 215 s 64
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.550
Orders under this and other chapters
—
Enforcement and consolidation
—
Validity and enforcement of orders under prior chapters.
(1)(a) Any order available under this chapter, other than an extreme risk protection order, may be issued in actions under chapter
13.32A
, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW. If a protection order is issued in an action under chapter
13.32A
, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, the order must be issued on the forms mandated by RCW 7.105.115
. An order issued in accordance with this subsection (1)(a) is fully enforceable and must be enforced under the provisions of this chapter.
(b) If a party files an action under chapter
13.32A
, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW, an order issued previously under this chapter between the same parties may be consolidated by the court under that action and cause number. Any order issued under this chapter after consolidation must contain the original cause number and the cause number of the action under chapter
13.32A
, 26.09, 26.26A, or
26.26B
RCW.
(2) Nothing in chapter 215, Laws of 2021 affects the validity of protection orders issued prior to July 1, 2022, under chapter
74.34
RCW or any of the former chapters
7.90, 7.92, 7.94, 10.14, and
26.50
RCW. Protection orders entered prior to July 1, 2022, under chapter
74.34
RCW or any of the former chapters
7.90, 7.92, 7.94, 10.14, and
26.50
RCW are subject to the provisions of chapter 215, Laws of 2021 and are fully enforceable under the applicable provisions of RCW 7.105.450
through
7.105.470
and may be modified or terminated in accordance with the applicable provisions of RCW 7.105.500
through
7.105.550
.
[
2021 c 215 s 65
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.555
Judicial information system
—
Database.
(1) To prevent the issuance of competing protection orders in different courts and to give courts needed information for the issuance of orders, the judicial information system or alternative databases must be available in each district, municipal, and superior court, and must include a database containing the following information:
(a) The names of the parties and the cause number for every order of protection issued under this chapter, protection orders provided by military and tribal courts, every criminal no-contact order issued under chapters
9A.46
and
10.99
RCW, every dissolution action under chapter
26.09
RCW, every parentage action under chapter
26.26A
or
26.26B
RCW, every restraining order issued on behalf of an abused child or adult dependent person under chapter
26.44
RCW, every foreign protection order filed under chapter
26.52
RCW, and every Canadian domestic violence protection order filed under chapter
26.55
RCW. When a guardian or the department of social and health services or department of children, youth, and families has petitioned for relief on behalf of an abused child, adult dependent person, or vulnerable adult, the name of the person on whose behalf relief was sought must be included in the database as a party rather than the guardian or appropriate department;
(b) A complete criminal history of the parties; and
(c) Other relevant information necessary to assist courts in issuing orders under this chapter as determined by the judicial information system committee.
(2) Information within the database must be easily accessible and accurately updated as soon as possible but no later than within one judicial day.
(3) A document viewing system must be available as part of the judicial information system or other databases used by the court, so that in addition to having access to the summary information in subsection (1) of this section, the court is able to view any protection order filed within the state.
[
2022 c 268 s 25
;
2021 c 215 s 66
.]
NOTES:
Effective dates
—
2022 c 268:
See note following RCW 7.105.010
.
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.560
Title to real estate
—
Effect of chapter.
Nothing in this chapter may affect the title to real estate: PROVIDED, That a judgment for costs or fees awarded under this chapter constitutes a lien on real estate to the extent provided in chapter
4.56
RCW.
[
2021 c 215 s 67
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.565
Proceedings additional
—
Filing of criminal charges not required.
(1) Any proceeding under this chapter is in addition to other civil or criminal remedies.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring criminal charges to be filed as a condition of a protection order being issued.
[
2021 c 215 s 68
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.570
Other authority retained.
This chapter does not affect the ability of a law enforcement officer to remove a firearm or concealed pistol license from any person or to conduct any search and seizure for firearms pursuant to other lawful authority.
[
2021 c 215 s 69
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.575
Liability.
(1) Except as provided in RCW 7.105.460, this chapter does not impose criminal or civil liability on any person or entity for acts or omissions related to obtaining an extreme risk protection order or a temporary extreme risk protection order including, but not limited to, reporting, declining to report, investigating, declining to investigate, filing, or declining to file a petition under this chapter.
(2) No law enforcement officer may be held criminally or civilly liable for making an arrest under RCW 7.105.450
if the officer acts in good faith.
[
2021 c 215 s 70
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.580
Protection order commissioners
—
Appointment authorized.
In each county, the superior court may appoint one or more attorneys to act as protection order commissioners pursuant to this chapter to exercise all powers and perform all duties of a court commissioner appointed pursuant to RCW 2.24.010, provided that such positions may not be created without prior consent of the county legislative authority. A person appointed as a protection order commissioner under this chapter may also be appointed to any other commissioner position authorized by law. Protection order commissioners should receive training as specified in RCW 7.105.255
.
[
2021 c 215 s 71
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
See note following RCW 7.105.900
.
RCW 7.105.900
Findings
—
2021 c 215.
(1) Washington state has been a national leader in adopting legal protections to prevent and respond to abuse, violence, harassment, stalking, neglect, or other threatening behavior, through the enactment of different types of civil protection orders, which are intended to provide a fast, efficient means to obtain protection against perpetrators of these harms.
(2) Washington state has enacted six different types of civil protection orders: (a) Domestic violence protection orders, adopted by the legislature in 1984; (b) vulnerable adult protection orders, adopted by the legislature in 1986; (c) antiharassment protection orders, adopted by the legislature in 1987; (d) sexual assault protection orders, adopted by the legislature in 2006; (e) stalking protection orders, adopted by the legislature in 2013; and (f) extreme risk protection orders, enacted by a vote of the people through Initiative Measure No. 1491 in 2016.
(3) These civil protection orders are essential tools designed to address significant harms impacting individuals as well as communities. The legislature finds that:
(a) Domestic violence is a problem of immense proportions. About 15 percent of Washington adults report experiencing domestic violence in their lifetime, and women, low-income people, and black and indigenous communities experience higher rates of domestic violence. When domestic violence victims seek to separate from their abuser, they face increased risks. Forty-five percent of domestic violence homicides occur within 90 days of a recent separation, while 75 percent occur within the first six months of separation. Domestic violence victims also face increased risks when their abuser has access to firearms. Firearms are used to commit more than half of all intimate partner homicides in the United States. When an abusive partner has access to a gun, a domestic violence victim is 11 times more likely to be killed. Domestic violence has long been recognized as being at the core of other major social problems: Child abuse, other crimes of violence against persons or property, homelessness, and alcohol and drug abuse. Research has identified that adverse childhood experiences such as exposure to domestic violence have long-term negative impacts on health, well-being, and life outcomes, including criminal legal system involvement. Washington state studies have found that domestic violence is the most predictive of future violent crime by the perpetrator. Nationwide, domestic violence costs over $460,000,000,000 each year for health care, absence from work, services to children, and more. Adolescent dating violence is occurring at increasingly high rates, and preventing and confronting adolescent violence is important in preventing future violence in adult relationships. Domestic violence should not be minimized or dismissed based on any mental health diagnoses of the perpetrator or the victim. To the contrary, the presence of mental health concerns or substance use of either party increases the likelihood of serious injury and lethality. The legislature finds that it is in the public interest to improve the lives of persons being victimized by the acts and dynamics of domestic violence, to require reasonable, coordinated measures to prevent domestic violence from occurring, and to respond effectively to secure the safety of survivors of domestic violence;
(b) Sexual assault is the most heinous crime against another person short of murder. Sexual assault inflicts humiliation, degradation, and terror on victims. The perpetrator's age, gender, or relationship does not define the seriousness. According to the centers for disease control and prevention, one in six men, one in three women, and one in two nonbinary persons will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Because of the stigma of a sexual assault and trauma, many victims are afraid or are not ready to report to law enforcement and go through the rigors of the criminal justice process. Individuals with disabilities; black and indigenous communities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other individuals experience a higher rate of sexual violence. Experiencing a sexual assault is itself a reasonable basis for ongoing fear. Rape is recognized as the most underreported crime; estimates suggest that only one in seven rapes is reported to authorities. Victims who do not report the crime still may need to seek safety and protection from future interactions with the perpetrator and have a right to such safety and protection. Some cases where rape is reported are not prosecuted or do not lead to a conviction. A victim should be able to expediently seek a civil remedy requiring that the perpetrator stay away from the victim, independent of the criminal process and regardless of whether related criminal charges are pending;
(c) Stalking is a crime that affects 3,400,000 people over the age of 18 each year in the United States. Almost half of victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week. 29 percent of stalking victims fear that the stalking will never stop. The prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression is much higher among stalking victims than among the general population. Research shows that stalking is a significant indication of future lethality. Increased access to technology has also increased methods of stalking. Stalking is distinct from common acts of harassment or nuisance covered by antiharassment orders, and law enforcement agencies need to be able to rely on orders that distinguish stalking from acts of harassment or nuisance. Victims who do not report the stalking behavior they are experiencing still may need safety and protection from future interactions with the perpetrator through expedient access to the civil court system, and this protection can be accomplished without infringing on constitutionally protected speech or activity;
(d) Serious, personal harassment through invasions of a person's privacy by an act, acts, or words showing an intent to coerce, intimidate, or humiliate the victim is increasing. The legislature finds the prevention of such harassment is an important governmental objective, and that victims should have access to a method to prevent further contact between the victim and perpetrator. A person may be targeted for harassing behavior due to his or her identity, such as age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, disability, or immigration status. The legislature finds that unlawful harassment directed at a child by a child is not acceptable and can have serious consequences, but that some negative interactions between young people, especially in schools, do not rise to the level of unlawful harassment. It is the intent of the legislature that a protection order sought by the parent or guardian of a child as provided for in this chapter be available only when the alleged behavior of the person under the age of 18 to be restrained rises to the level set forth in this chapter;
(e) Some adults are vulnerable and may be subject to abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, or abandonment by a family member, care provider, or other person who has a relationship with the vulnerable adult. A vulnerable adult may have physical disabilities, mobility issues, or be otherwise unable to represent himself or herself in court or to retain legal counsel in order to obtain the relief available under this chapter or other protections offered through the courts. A vulnerable adult may lack the ability to perform or obtain those services necessary to maintain his or her well-being because he or she lacks the capacity for consent, and may have health problems that place him or her in a dependent position. The legislature finds the legal tool of protection orders will help prevent abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of vulnerable adults; and
(f) Every year, over 100,000 persons in our country are victims of gunshot wounds and 38,000 individuals lose their lives from gun violence. On average, there are over 100 gun deaths each day, 61 percent of which are suicides. In Washington state, the suicide rate is on average 10 percent higher. Extreme risk protection orders allow for the temporary removal of the most lethal means of suicide from the situation, saving lives of those at risk. Studies show that individuals who engage in certain dangerous behaviors are significantly more likely to commit violence toward themselves or others in the near future. These behaviors, which can include other acts or threats of violence, self-harm, or the abuse of drugs or alcohol, are warning signs that the person may soon commit an act of violence. Individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others often exhibit signs that alert family, household members, or law enforcement to the threat. Restricting firearms access in these moments of crisis is an important way to prevent gun violence and save lives. Many mass shooters displayed warning signs prior to their killings, but federal and state laws provided no clear legal process to suspend the shooters' access to guns, even temporarily. In enacting the extreme risk protection order, the people intended to reduce gun deaths and injuries, while respecting constitutional rights, by providing a procedure for family, household members, and law enforcement to obtain a court order temporarily preventing individuals who are at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing firearms when there is demonstrated evidence that the individuals pose a significant danger, including danger as a result of threatening or violent behavior. Additionally, extreme risk protection orders may provide protections from firearm risks for individuals who are not eligible to petition for other types of protection orders. Extreme risk protection orders are intended to be limited to situations in which individuals pose a significant danger of harming themselves or others by possessing a firearm, having immediate access to a firearm, or having expressed intent to obtain a firearm, and include standards and safeguards to protect the rights of respondents and due process of law. Temporarily removing firearms under these circumstances is an important tool to prevent suicide, homicide, and community violence.
(4) The legislature finds that all of these civil protection orders are essential tools that can increase safety for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, abuse of vulnerable adults, unlawful harassment, and threats of gun violence to obtain immediate protection for themselves apart from the criminal legal system. Victims are in the best position to know what their safety needs are and should be able to seek these crucial protections without having to rely on the criminal legal system process. The legislature further finds the surrender of firearms in civil protection orders is critical to public health. In keeping with the harm reduction approach of this lifesaving tool, the legislature finds that it is appropriate to allow for immunity from prosecution for certain offenses when appropriate to create a safe harbor from prosecution for certain offenses to increase compliance with orders to surrender and prohibit firearms.
(5) To better achieve these important public purposes, the legislature further finds the need to clarify and simplify these civil protection order statutes to make them more understandable and accessible to victims seeking relief and to respondents who are subject to the court process. An efficient and effective civil process can provide necessary relief many victims require in order to escape and prevent harm. Clarification and simplification of the statutes will aid petitioners, respondents, law enforcement, and judicial officers in their application, help to eliminate procedural inconsistencies, modernize practices, provide better access to justice for those most marginalized, increase compliance, and improve identified problem areas within the statutes. Those who participate in the protection order process often find it difficult to navigate the statutes, which were adopted at different times and contain differing jurisdictional approaches, procedures, definitions, and types of relief offered, among other differences, all of which can create barriers and cause confusion. Harmonizing and standardizing provisions where there is not a need for a specific, different approach can provide more uniformity among the laws and significantly reduce these obstacles.
The legislature finds that these improvements are needed to help ensure that protection orders and corresponding court processes are more easily accessible to all litigants, particularly parties who may experience higher barriers to accessing justice.
(6) The legislature finds that advances in technology have made it increasingly possible to file petitions, effect service of process, and conduct hearings in protection order proceedings through more efficient and accessible means, while upholding constitutional due process requirements. These include using approaches such as online filing of petitions, electronic service of protection orders, and video and telephonic hearings to maintain and improve access to the courts. These alternatives can help make protection order processes more accessible, effective, timely, and procedurally just, particularly in situations where there are emergent risks. The legislature finds that it would be helpful for petitioners, respondents, judicial officers, court personnel, law enforcement, advocates, counsel, and others to have these new tools enacted into statute and made readily available in every court, with statewide best practices created for their use, specific to the context of civil protection orders. The legislature further finds that it is important to modernize other aspects of the civil protection order statutes to reflect current trends, and to provide for data collection and research in these areas of the law.
(7) The legislature further finds that in order to improve the efficacy of, accessibility to, and understanding of, civil protection orders, the six different civil protection orders in Washington state should be included in a single chapter of the Revised Code of Washington.
[
2021 c 215 s 1
.]
NOTES:
Effective date
—
2022 c 268; 2021 c 215:
"(1) Except for sections 12, 16, 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 34, and 36 of this act, this act takes effect July 1, 2022.
(2) Sections 19, 21, 24, and 34, chapter 215, Laws of 2021 take effect March 31, 2022." [
2022 c 268 s 47
;
2021 c 215 s 87
.]
RCW 7.105.903
Study on coercive control.
(Expires January 1, 2028.)
(1) The gender and justice commission, through its E2SHB 1320 stakeholder work groups, and in consultation with the Washington state center for court research, shall include in their 2022 work consideration of a study regarding how the inclusion of coercive control under chapter 268, Laws of 2022 helps to further realize the legislative intent of the law to increase safety for victims by obtaining effective legal protection apart from, or in addition to, the criminal legal system. The possible parameters for such a study would be as follows:
(a) The center for court research may engage or partner with other researchers with expertise in intimate partner violence, coercive control, civil protection order processes, and related research to conduct the study or help with study design, duration, methods, measurements, data collection, and analysis.
(b) The administrative office of the courts and superior and district courts shall provide the center for court research with necessary data to conduct the study, as requested by the center for court research.
(c) The study may include, if determined by the gender and justice commission's E2SHB 1320 stakeholder work groups and the center for court research to be empirically useful and readily measurable through available data, measurements such as:
(i) The ability of survivors to obtain protection orders that fully address the nature of the harm or threat of harm they are experiencing;
(ii) The frequency of inclusion of coercive control in protection order petitions and the nature of the harm or threatened harm articulated;
(iii) Whether the orders were granted and if so, the relief ordered by the court;
(iv) Whether the orders were denied, and if so, the reason for the denial; and
(v) In proceedings involving domestic violence where coercive control is part of the harm alleged:
(A) The frequency of conflicting protection orders, cross-petitions (where each party files a petition against the other), or realigned orders (where the court finds that the original petitioner is the abuser and the original respondent is the victim);
(B) Enforcement of protection order violations;
(C) Other legal proceedings involving either party, such as family, dependency, or criminal matters; and
(D) Whether the parties had legal representation or legal advocates in the protection order proceedings.
(d) The study shall also assess judicial officer training regarding protection orders, and coercive control in particular, and whether additional judicial officers are required to hear protection order proceedings.
(e) To the extent feasible, and considered best practice by the center for court research, the evaluation should also: Gather qualitative information from survivors of domestic violence, legal counsel, protection order advocates and court navigators, court clerks, and judicial officers; and include analysis of any disproportionate impact on survivors by race, immigration status, language, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
(f) At the conclusion of any study conducted under this section, the center for court research shall report its findings to the legislature in compliance with RCW 43.01.036
.
(2) By July 1, 2022, the gender and justice commission through its E2SHB 1320 work groups and the center for court research shall advise the chairs of the relevant policy committees of the legislature of their recommendations regarding need, timing, and design for such a study.
(3) This section expires January 1, 2028.
[
2022 c 268 s 27
.]
NOTES:
Effective dates
—
2022 c 268:
See note following RCW 7.105.010
.