Restraining Orders

If you move within Hawaii, your order will still be valid.  It may be a good idea to contact your local law enforcement to let them know about the order for protection and that you have moved to a new area.  You may also want to call the court where you originally received the order to tell them your new address so that they can contact you if necessary.  However, if you want your new address to be kept confidential, be sure to ask the clerk how to ensure that the abuser cannot access it from the court file.

Additionally, the federal law provides what is called “full faith and credit,” which means that once you have a criminal or civil protection order, it follows you wherever you go, including U.S. Territories and tribal lands.¹  Different states may have different regulations when enforcing out-of-state protection orders.  You may find out about your new state’s policies by contacting a domestic violence program, the clerk of courts, or the prosecutor in your area or an attorney.  For information on lawyers or domestic violence programs in the area, please see our Places that Help page and select the new state to which you will be moving.

If you are moving to a new state, you may also call the National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith & Credit (1-800-903-0111 x 2) for information on enforcing your order between states.

Note: For information on enforcing a military protective order (MPO) off the military installation, or enforcing a civil protection order (CPO) on a military installation, please see our Military Protective Orders page.

¹ 18 USC § 2265(a)