If you're in danger, you're not alone
This guide explains how the court can protect you and your children. If you need immediate help, call 999. For confidential support, call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Crisis support and helplines: see the wellbeing pageDomestic abuse & protection orders
The family court can make orders to protect you and your children from domestic abuse. These orders can be made quickly (sometimes within 24 hours), and legal aid is available without a means test.
Court fee
No fee
for protection orders
Emergency orders
24 hours
without notice
Available
Legal aid
no means test
Key form
FL401
for both order types
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Six stages, in order. Steps 4 and 5 only happen if you need an emergency order; most applications go from step 3 straight to a single hearing.
Gather your evidence
Collect what has happened, in writing, while it is fresh. Dates and incidents, messages and photos, any letters from your GP, the police, or a support worker. The judge will weigh evidence, not feelings.
Evidence checklist
- Dates and incidents
- Messages and screenshots
- Photos of injuries
- GP or hospital letter
- Police report number
- Support worker letter
Complete form FL401
Form FL401 on GOV.UK is the application for both a non-molestation order - A court order that protects you from someone who is being violent, threatening, or harassing you. Breaching it is a criminal offence. and an occupation order - A court order that decides who can live in the family home. It can require someone to leave or allow someone to return.. There is no court fee. Legal aid is available without a means test.
Form FL401
Applicant
Respondent
Order requested
Prepare a witness statement
Write, in your own words, what has happened and why you need the court to act. This is the document the judge reads first. Be specific and chronological. A domestic abuse support service can help you draft it.
Witness statement
I, [name], make this statement true to the best of my knowledge.
Signed and dated.
Without-notice hearing, if urgent
If you are in immediate danger, ask the court to hear you without notice - An application made to the court without telling the other person in advance. Used in urgent situations, especially for protection orders where there’s immediate risk., the same day or the next. The respondent is not told in advance. The judge can make a temporary order immediately.
Without-notice hearing
Same day or next day
Respondent not present
Return hearing
Within about 14 days of any without-notice order, the court holds a return hearing. The respondent can attend and put their side. The court then decides whether to continue, vary, or discharge the order.
Return hearing
Respondent attends and responds. Court decides whether to continue the order.
Final order
The court makes a longer-term order, typically lasting 12 months and renewable. The order sets out exactly what the respondent must not do. It is enforceable by the police.
Final order
The Family Court
Non-molestation order
The respondent must not use or threaten violence, intimidate, harass, or contact the applicant.
Get your application ready
Save your evidence, draft your statement, and walk through FL401 - The application form for a non-molestation order or occupation order to protect you from domestic abuse. at your own pace. Everything is private to you.
Get started, freeNo credit card. Legal aid - Government funding that pays for legal help if you can’t afford it. In family law, it’s mainly available for domestic abuse cases and some child protection matters. is available for protection orders without a means test.
What counts as domestic abuse
Domestic abuse - Any incident or pattern of controlling, coercive, threatening, or violent behaviour between people who are or have been in a relationship. Includes physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse. is not limited to physical violence. The law recognises physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse, and coercive or controlling behaviour - A pattern of behaviour that seeks to take away a person’s liberty or freedom, including intimidation, isolation, monitoring, or controlling their daily life. It is a criminal offence.. It can happen between current or former partners, and between family members.
Coercive control (a pattern of behaviour that takes away your liberty, independence, or sense of self) is a criminal offence and is taken seriously by the family court - The court that handles family cases including divorce, children arrangements, financial orders, protection orders, and adoption. Less formal than other courts: the judge usually wears a suit, not robes.. You do not need to have been physically hurt to seek protection.
If you are unsure whether your experience qualifies, speak to a domestic abuse support service. They can help you understand your options.
Types of protection orders
The two main orders the family court can make to protect you are a non-molestation order - A court order that protects you from someone who is being violent, threatening, or harassing you. Breaching it is a criminal offence. - A court order that protects you from someone who is being violent, threatening, or harassing you. Breaching it is a criminal offence. and an occupation order - A court order that decides who can live in the family home. It can require someone to leave or allow someone to return. - A court order that decides who can live in the family home. It can require someone to leave or allow someone to return.. Both use form FL401.
Non-molestation order
Prohibits the other person from using or threatening violence, intimidating, harassing, or pestering you. Breaching it is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.
Occupation order
Regulates who can live in or enter the family home. It can require the other person to leave or prevent them from coming within a set distance.
Impact on children proceedings
A non-molestation order - A court order that protects you from someone who is being violent, threatening, or harassing you. Breaching it is a criminal offence. or findings of domestic abuse will be taken into account in any children proceedings. The court must consider the risk of harm to the child when deciding living and contact arrangements. Where abuse is alleged, the judge may order a fact-finding hearing - A hearing where the court decides whether alleged events (usually domestic abuse) actually happened. The judge hears evidence and makes findings that affect the rest of the case. before making any children arrangements.
You are exempt from the MIAM - Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. A one-hour session you usually must attend before applying to court about children or finances. It explains mediation and checks if it’s suitable for your situation. - Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. A one-hour session you usually must attend before applying to court about children or finances. It explains mediation and checks if it’s suitable for your situation. requirement if there is evidence of domestic abuse, and legal aid is available without a means test for protection-order applications. See our guides on children arrangements and legal aid for more.
Where to get help
National Domestic Abuse Helpline
Free, 24 hours, run by Refuge
0808 2000 247
Men's Advice Line
For male victims of domestic abuse
0808 801 0327
Galop
For LGBT+ victims of domestic abuse
0800 999 5428
Rights of Women
Free legal advice for women
020 7251 6577
If you are in immediate danger
Call 999. If you cannot speak, call 999 and press 55. This will alert the operator that you need help but cannot talk.
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