Served With a Non-Molestation Order? What Happens Now — and How to Contest It (England & Wales)

Key points

• Read every prohibition, the end date and the return-hearing date.
• Comply completely, including no indirect contact through friends, family or social media.
• Breach of a non-molestation order can be a criminal offence carrying up to five years on indictment.
• An occupation order can require someone to leave a home they own or rent.
• At the hearing you may contest the allegations, offer an undertaking where permitted, or cross-apply.
• A self-represented party is generally prohibited from personally cross-examining the protected applicant.
• Police domestic-abuse notices and orders follow a faster and, in pilot areas, changing procedure.
• Legal aid may be available depending on means, merits and the type of proceeding.

Why was the order made without me?

A court can make a without-notice order where it is just and convenient, including because of a risk of significant harm, concern that the applicant would be deterred, or evasion of service. The respondent must then be given an opportunity to make representations at a full hearing as soon as it is fair and convenient.

Sources: S3, S8

What exactly must I obey?

The wording of the order controls. A non-molestation order commonly restricts contact or conduct. An occupation order may regulate who occupies the home, require a person to leave, or exclude them from a defined area. Do not assume an exception that is not written into the order.

Sources: S1, S5

What happens if I breach it?

Breaching a non-molestation order without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence. A person must be aware of a without-notice order before criminal liability can arise, and the maximum sentence on indictment is five years. An occupation order can also include a power of arrest.

Sources: S2, S6

How can I contest the allegations?

Prepare a dated response to each allegation and preserve complete messages, call records, photographs and witness details. The family court decides disputed facts on the civil standard. If personal cross-examination is prohibited, the court can appoint a qualified legal representative for that purpose.

Sources: S7

What is an undertaking?

An undertaking is a promise to the court and can resolve a case without an admission or factual finding. The court cannot accept it instead of a non-molestation order where violence was used or threatened and an order is needed for protection. Breach is dealt with as contempt rather than the section 42A offence.

Sources: S4

What if the police gave me a notice?

Outside DAPO pilot areas, a domestic violence protection notice is followed by a magistrates' court application within 48 hours and a domestic violence protection order may last 14 to 28 days. Pilot-area DAPNs and DAPOs have different rules, no fixed maximum duration and criminal consequences for breach.

Sources: S9, S10, S11

Can I get legal aid?

Civil legal services for Family Law Act 1996 protective injunction matters remain within scope, subject to the ordinary means and merits rules and specific exclusions affecting some respondent advocacy in DAPO proceedings.

Sources: S13

Your next steps

1. Read the exact order and diarise its end date and every hearing date.
2. Comply immediately; arrange belongings or necessary communication only through a solicitor, the police or a method the order permits.
3. Preserve complete evidence and write a dated timeline.
4. Prepare a statement responding to each allegation and obtain family-law advice before the return hearing.
5. Attend the hearing and decide, with advice, whether to contest, offer an undertaking, cross-apply or combine those routes.

Sources and review

England and Wales only. Official legislation and guidance were checked on 5 September 2026. The Domestic Abuse Protection Order pilot is time-sensitive and this answer is scheduled for early review.

• S1. Family Law Act 1996, section 42 — non-molestation orders

  Family Law Act 1996, section 42. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Who may apply, the protective purpose, duration and scope of a non-molestation order.

• S2. Family Law Act 1996, section 42A — offence of breaching a non-molestation order

  Family Law Act 1996, section 42A. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  The offence of breach, awareness requirement, reasonable-excuse test and five-year maximum on indictment.

• S3. Family Law Act 1996, section 45 — orders made without notice and the full hearing

  Family Law Act 1996, section 45(1)–(3). Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Grounds for a without-notice order and the respondent's right to a full hearing as soon as just and convenient.

• S4. Family Law Act 1996, section 46 — undertakings

  Family Law Act 1996, section 46. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Undertakings, limits where violence is used or threatened, and enforcement.

• S5. Family Law Act 1996, section 33 — occupation orders

  Family Law Act 1996, section 33(3), (6) and (7). Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Occupation-order powers and the balance-of-harm assessment.

• S6. Family Law Act 1996, section 47 — power of arrest

  Family Law Act 1996, section 47. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  When a power of arrest may attach to an occupation order and arrest without warrant.

• S7. Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, Part 4B — prohibition of cross-examination in person

  Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, sections 31R–31W. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Prohibition of personal cross-examination and appointment of a qualified legal representative.

• S8. President of the Family Division — Practice Guidance: Non-Molestation Injunctions (July 2023)

  Practice Guidance, paragraphs 9, 11–13 and 19–22. President of the Family Division, July 2023.
  Return-hearing timing, urgent set-aside applications, no-findings orders, proportionality, undertakings and service.

• S9. Crime and Security Act 2010, section 28 — domestic violence protection orders

  Crime and Security Act 2010, section 28. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Conditions and the 14-to-28-day duration of a domestic violence protection order.

• S10. Domestic Abuse Act 2021, section 39 — breach of a domestic abuse protection order

  Domestic Abuse Act 2021, section 39. Current pilot commencement checked 5 September 2026.
  Criminal liability and maximum penalty for breach of a domestic abuse protection order.

• S11. GOV.UK — Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders (pilot guidance)

  Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders pilot guidance. GOV.UK guidance checked 5 September 2026.
  Pilot areas, DAPN-to-DAPO process and the absence of a fixed maximum DAPO duration.

• S12. GOV.UK — Apply for an injunction if you've been the victim of domestic violence

  GOV.UK injunction application guidance. Official guidance checked 5 September 2026.
  Without-notice applications, hearings, police arrest for breach and the absence of a court application fee.

• S13. Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, Schedule 1, paragraph 11

  LASPO 2012, Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 11. Current legislation checked 5 September 2026.
  Scope of civil legal services for protective injunctions and specified DAPO respondent exclusions.

Full transcript

You have been served with a non molestation order or an occupation order, and it says you did things you never did. This is England and Wales. The short answer, obey the order to the letter from this minute and fight it at the return hearing. Breaking it is a crime even if every word of it is wrong.

Most of these orders are made without you in the room. The court heard one side for a few minutes and made no finding about you, so the law says it must give you a full hearing as soon as it fairly can, ideally within fourteen days and within twenty eight at most.

And you do not have to wait. You can apply to set the order aside straight away, and the court must list that within days. First, read the order. It must tell you what you must not do the day it ends and the return date the day you go back to court. If you have children together, check exactly what contact it allows and use only that route.

Until that hearing, comply completely. No calls, no texts, no messages through friends or family, no social media, and no going round to collect your things. Breaching a non molestation order is a criminal offense with up to five years in prison. Believing the allegations are false is not a defense.

If it is an occupation order, the court can require you to leave the home, even if you own it or your name is on the tenancy. The judge weighs the harm to each of you and a power of arrest can be attached. Leave when the order says and arrange your belongings through solicitors or the police, never in person.

We hear this on the hotline every week. Someone went round to talk it out. That is the fastest way to turn a civil order into a criminal record. If you have been served with an order, the return hearing is where you answer it, and you have three routes: route one contest it route two offer an undertaking route three apply for an order of your own You can combine them and a solicitor will tell you which fits.

To contest it, answer every allegation in a written statement, one by one, and back each answer with evidence: messages, call logs, photographs, dates, witnesses. The court decides on the balance of probabilities, meaning what is more likely than not, so the detail is what wins.

One thing to know if you represent yourself: in these cases you will not be allowed to question the applicant in person. Instead the court appoints a lawyer at the court's expense to put your questions for you. So write your questions down before the day. An undertaking is a promise to the court.

There is no finding against you and no admission. Breaking it is contempt of court rather than a criminal offence, but it is fully enforceable, and the court cannot accept one where violence was used or threatened and an order is needed to protect someone. If you are the one being abused, say so.

You can apply for an order of your own. There is no court fee, and the judge can hear both applications together. If the police handed you a domestic abuse notice instead of a court order, the clock is faster. A domestic violence protection notice puts you before magistrates within forty eight hours, and the order they make lasts fourteen to twenty eight days.

In the pilot areas Greater Manchester, Croydon, Sutton and Bromley, Cleveland, North Wales, and the railways, the police use the new domestic abuse protection order instead. It has no maximum length, and breaching it is a crime. So what to do now? Read the order, comply from this minute, save every message and write a dated timeline, write your statement, check whether legal aid covers you and get a family solicitor And

turn up. Miss the hearing and the order can continue or be made final without you. If you want a solicitor to walk you through it, the Legal Hotline gives free legal information twenty four hours a day and can arrange a one hour consultation with a UK solicitor for one hundred and forty five pounds The number is on your screen now.

Author, review and corrections

Drafted from the listed official sources by Claude and editorially approved for publication by James Stevens, an admitted Australian solicitor. The video uses an ElevenLabs synthetic British voice, AI-generated illustrative imagery and AI-generated background music. No real people, courts, events or documents are depicted.

James Stevens — Admitted solicitor (Australia). Reviewed 6 September 2026. Editorially reviewed for publication. This England and Wales answer relies on the primary legislation and official guidance listed below; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different orders and are covered separately.

Answer reference: lh-uk-001-ew. Next substantive review due: 2026-12-04; earlier if law, procedure, service details or a credible error report changes the answer.

Report an error or outdated information to admin@platfirm.ai, identifying this page. Do not send confidential case details.

Legal Hotline provides free general legal information using AI, 24/7. It is not a law firm and this information does not create a solicitor-client relationship. A separate £145 one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor can be arranged. UK information line: 07476 557650.

This is general information, not advice about your case. Contact emergency services if someone is in immediate danger.