Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs)
Find out how DAPNs and DAPOs can help protect you if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse.
Official website: gov.uk00
How to use the service
There are various ways you can apply for or request a DAPO: You can report domestic abuse to the police and request that they issue a DAPN or apply for a DAPO on your behalf. The police will decide whether a DAPN is needed initially. You can apply for a DAPO yourself in the family court. To do so, you will need to complete a DA1 court form. You can find the form and a list of the courts taking applications at: Apply for a domestic abuse protection order in a family court If both you and the person you are seeking protection from are already involved in another family court case, you can also apply directly to that court, using the DA1 form. If you’re involved in civil action, find out how to apply in a county court If there is a criminal case against the perpetrator for another offence that affected you, the court can also make a DAPO for your protection, regardless of whether the perpetrator has been convicted or acquitted for that offence. A ‘third party’ can also apply for a DAPO on your behalf. A ‘third party’ is someone who is not directly involved in the abuse. For example, this could be a family member, a friend, or social worker. As well as reporting domestic abuse to the police, a third party can make an application to a piloting family court, so long as they have permission from the court. To do this, a third party will need to complete forms DA1 (Application for a Domestic Abuse Protection Order) and DA2 (Application for leave to apply for a Domestic Abuse Protection Order) . You can seek any requirement which may be considered necessary to protect you from domestic abuse or the risk of domestic abuse. The court will consider these requests when making a DAPO.
Requirements
A DAPO is legally binding and breaking any of its rules is known as a breach. Breach of a DAPO is a criminal offence and should always be reported. If you are aware that any of the conditions or rules of a DAPO have been broken, you should contact the police. When a breach of a DAPO is reported, the police will investigate it and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether the case will be charged as a criminal offence. The police will keep you informed about how the case progresses. If a perpetrator breaches their electronic ‘tag’, for instance by entering an area that they are banned from, the police will receive an alert from the electronic monitoring provider by 10:00am the following day. The police will then decide what action to take. This action will not be immediate – if you are in danger, you should call 999. When you report a breach, the police will give you a crime reference number. Keep a note of this in case you need to follow up.
Fees
There are no court fees for victims applying for a DAPO.
Processing time
A DAPO has no minimum or maximum duration. The court will consider how long the DAPO needs to last to protect a victim from abuse or the risk of abuse and will specify the duration of the order when it makes a DAPO.
Official source
Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs)
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