How Do You Obtain or Challenge a Restraining Order?

Police officers, prosecutors, and judges in Colorado take domestic violence claims seriously. To obtain a restraining order or to challenge a restraining order issued against you in this state, you’ll need to schedule a legal consultation with a Colorado Springs restraining order attorney.

What does it take to request a restraining order from the court, and what will a restraining order accomplish? How can you successfully challenge a restraining order? How will a Colorado Springs family law attorney help you obtain – or help you challenge – a restraining order?

How Are “Restraining” Orders Distinct From “Protection” Orders?

In Colorado, a “restraining” order is an order a civil court may issue to an abuse victim seeking protection from an abuser. A criminal court may issue a “protection” order in response to specific criminal charges – whether or not a crime victim asks the court for a protection order.

Protection orders prohibit criminal defendants from contacting or approaching their alleged crime victims while criminal charges are pending. A protection order typically remains in effect until the criminal case is concluded.

However, in everyday practice, judges, attorneys, and law enforcement officers in Colorado use these two terms interchangeably. Both types of court orders prevent an assailant or abuser from approaching or contacting an alleged abuse victim or crime victim.

How Do You Acquire a Temporary Restraining Order?

Colorado courts issue temporary restraining orders to prevent physical assault, bodily harm, stalking, domestic abuse, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Ask a family law attorney to help you request a temporary restraining order (TRO).

A civil court will issue a temporary restraining order if the court believes the party requesting the order is in imminent danger. After the restraining order is served, the person named in the order may not contact or approach the protected individual while the restraining order is in force.

The fee for a temporary restraining order in Colorado is $97 (as of 2025), but the fee is waived for victims of stalking, sexual assault, domestic abuse, or unlawful sexual contact. You may also apply for a fee waiver if you are experiencing financial hardship.

How Does a Restraining Order Become Permanent?

You can acquire an emergency restraining order (ERO) that stays in effect for three days from a Colorado police agency. The police issue emergency restraining orders on holidays, evenings, and weekends if they believe someone is in imminent danger of sexual or domestic abuse.

A Colorado Springs restraining order attorney can help you change an ERO to a TRO and can also help you change a TRO into a permanent restraining order (PRO). When the court issues a TRO, it schedules a hearing to determine if a PRO should be issued to the alleged victim.

At that hearing, both the alleged victim and the person named as an abuser may call witnesses and present evidence to the court. If the court determines a restraining order is justified, it will make the order permanent. A court may also extend the TRO for 120 days and schedule a hearing at that time to determine if it should issue a permanent restraining order.

Will You Lose Your Firearm Rights?

A permanent restraining order prevents you from possessing or owning a firearm for as long as the order is in force. If a permanent restraining order is never revised or rescinded, the loss of your right to own a firearm will be permanent.

How Do You Challenge a Restraining Order?

Permanent restraining orders can appear in background checks. Even if you have never received a criminal conviction, if a prospective landlord or employer finds a restraining order in your background check, you could be denied employment or housing.

If the court targets you with a temporary restraining order, a Colorado Springs family law attorney can take steps to prevent the order from becoming permanent. If the court issues a permanent order, in most cases, you must wait two years to ask the court to reconsider the order.

Legal penalties for violating a restraining order depend on the type of order, the nature of the violation, and the individual’s prior criminal convictions. Depending on the specifics of the charge, the violation of a restraining order is a Class 1 or Class 2 misdemeanor in Colorado.

What Else Do You Need to Know?

Fabricated domestic violence accusations are more common than you may think. If you become the subject of a restraining order, you must be represented by a Colorado criminal defense attorney who knows how to uncover the truth and fight effectively for the justice you need.

If you become a victim of domestic or sexual violence or abuse in or near Colorado Springs, you’ll need the services of a Colorado domestic violence attorney who will take aggressive legal action to protect you from abuse or violence in the future.

When you need a restraining order or when you become the subject of a restraining order, you must obtain reliable legal advice and services as quickly as possible from a Colorado Springs domestic violence attorney at the Lux Law Firm.

Take Your Domestic Abuse Case to The Lux Law Firm

If you need a restraining order or you are targeted with a restraining order, reach out to the award-winning family law attorneys at The Lux Law Firm. One of our attorneys will represent you, aggressively protect your rights, and explain each step of the legal process.

The Lux Law Firm provides honest, reliable advice and effective legal representation to those targeted by restraining orders or accused of domestic violence in the Colorado Springs area. We handle divorces, child custody cases, and child support disputes. We also advise and represent clients who’ve been charged with crimes in or near Colorado Springs.

If you need a restraining order or if you need to challenge a restraining order, now or in the future, contact the offices of The Lux Law Firm by calling us at 719-451-7469. Our legal team will provide an in-depth, initial case evaluation with no cost or obligation.