How to Find Information on Restraining Orders Across State Lines

If you have been granted a restraining order or injunction against another party, you may wonder whether the order remains intact if you choose to move out of the state in which it was filed. Follow these steps to learn how restraining orders can carry across state lines.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Attorney or advocate with restraining order expertise
• Computer with Internet access
• Telephone with interstate dialing capabilities

Understand How Restraining Orders Are Affected Across State Lines

1. Federal law offers provisions for a continuance of restraining order coverage across state lines through something called ''Full Faith and Credit.'' Learn more about your restraining order rights across state lines by calling the National Center on Full Faith and Credit at 1-800-903-0111.
2. Call a crisis or domestic violence prevention agency in the new state you are moving to in order to learn how your restraining order may be affected. Each state may enforce orders across state lines in different ways.
3. Military restraining orders may not be upheld outside of a military base and many civil restraining orders may not be upheld on military bases. Contact your police department or court clerk to get more information about how your order may be affected by a move to or from a military base.
4. Get current information on restraining order laws in the state you wish to live in by contacting the judicial system of that state. You can find contact information for the court systems throughout the United States on the WomensLaw.org Web site (see Resources below). Simply select the name of the state from the drop-down menu and select the ''Links and Resources'' link.
5. Contact the authorities in your new state of residence if you feel that your restraining order has been validated. This will create a record in your new state of residence, simplifying your continuance if you need one.

Tips & Warnings

• You have the same right to a life free of violence regardless of where you live in the United States.
• By preparing in advance of your move to a new state, you can be aware of how your restraining order may be affected by your move.
• According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 33 percent of those affected by domestic violence were abused by their spouses. Almost 53 percent reported that their abuser was a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Those affected by domestic violence may feel powerless to escape their abuser, regardless of their relationship.