An Emergency Protection Order (EPO) is a kind of no contact order that helps protect Albertans from family members committing family violence. EPOs are for emergency and urgent situations. You can get one 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. An EPO can: require the family member causing harm to stop entering or going near your home, workplace, children’s school or any other places you regularly go stop contacting and communicating with you and other people named in the order give you exclusive possession of your family home, even if your name is not on the lease or title give police authority to remove the family member causing harm from your family home seize and store weapons used or threatened to be used to commit family violence A judge or justice of the peace decides whether to grant you an EPO and what it should say, all based on the situation. Last Reviewed: January 2022