Virginia Form DC-611: Petition for Protective Order — Family Abuse

Form DC-611 is how you ask a Virginia court for a protective order against a family or household member. It is filed in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, and unlike most court filings, it can be acted on the same day.

Who counts as a “family or household member”

Virginia defines this specifically: a spouse or former spouse, someone you have a child with, a parent, child, stepparent, stepchild, sibling, half-sibling, grandparent or grandchild, and in-laws who live in your home. It also covers someone you have lived with in the past twelve months along with any of their children.

If the person does not fit that definition, DC-611 is the wrong form. You would instead petition for a protective order for acts of violence, force, or threat, which goes to general district court.

The three types of protective order

Emergency protective order. Issued by a magistrate or judge, often at the request of law enforcement, and lasts a short period — typically to the end of the third day following issuance, or the next day court is in session.

Preliminary protective order. This is what DC-611 usually produces. A judge can issue it the same day, based only on your sworn petition, without the other person present. It lasts until the full hearing, generally within fifteen days.

Permanent protective order. Issued after a hearing where both sides present evidence. It can last up to two years and can be extended.

What the court can order

DC-611 contains a checklist of relief, and it is worth reading carefully because people routinely leave protection on the table:

• No contact with you, and separately, no contact with named family or household members
• Exclusive possession of the home you shared, regardless of whose name is on the lease
• Requiring the respondent to provide alternative housing, and to pay utility deposits
• Temporary custody or visitation of your children — this requires a UCCJEA affidavit (DC-620) attached
• Possession of a pet
• Exclusive use of a cell phone number, and prohibiting the respondent from cancelling service on your number or device
• Requiring the respondent to surrender firearms
• Any other conditions necessary for your safety

That cell phone provision is newer and underused. If your phone is on the other person’s account, they can cut your service — and your access to evidence — the day you file.

Form DC-621, the non-disclosure addendum

Identifying information about protected family members — dates of birth, gender, race — goes on DC-621 rather than in the petition itself, which keeps it out of the public record. Use it.

There is no filing fee

Virginia does not charge to file a family abuse protective order petition. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

What to put in the petition

The court needs facts, not conclusions. “He has been abusive for years” gives a judge nothing to act on. Dates, what was said, what was done, whether there were injuries, whether police came, whether anyone else saw it. The most recent incident matters most, because the standard is whether you have been subjected to family abuse and there is a danger of further abuse.

Bring what you have: photographs, texts, medical records, police report numbers. You do not need them to file, and you should not delay filing to gather them.

Consequences for the respondent

Violating a protective order is a criminal offense. A protective order also makes it unlawful for the respondent to possess a firearm under both Virginia and federal law, and it can affect a security clearance — a real consideration in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Respondents facing a DC-611 petition should understand that agreeing to an order “just to make it go away” carries consequences that outlast the two years.