How to Get a Restraining Order (Protection Order) in Alberta

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Alberta's core family-violence tool is the Protection Against Family Violence Act (PAFVA), which lets a court grant an Emergency Protection Order the same day and, with notice, a Court of King's Bench protection order, with breach a specific offence carrying up to $5,000 and 90 days in jail for a first offence.

Information last verified on 2026-08-15. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

What "Restraining Order" Means in Alberta

Alberta's main family-violence statute is the Protection Against Family Violence Act (PAFVA), RSA 2000, c P-27. It creates exactly two orders: an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) and a Court of King's Bench protection order. The current text of the Act says "King's Bench," not "Queen's Bench"; Alberta renamed its courts in 2022, and any material still saying "Queen's Bench" or referring to the "Provincial Court" for these orders is out of date (Alberta's Provincial Court became the Alberta Court of Justice in 2023).

Alberta separately offers a "Restraining Order," filed at the Court of King's Bench, that sits outside PAFVA. One version is for people who have lived together in a relationship; another, more general version covers situations like disputes with neighbours, coworkers, or a dating relationship, and is started with a Statement of Claim. PAFVA's own text treats "restraining order" as a distinct category from the EPO and King's Bench protection order, but does not itself create or define it. This research could not locate the specific law that empowers a King's Bench justice to grant this general restraining order; it most likely rests on the court's ordinary civil or equitable jurisdiction rather than a named statutory power. The process is real and described on Alberta's own government site, but its precise legal basis is unconfirmed, so treat any claim citing a specific enabling section for it with caution.

A Criminal Code section 810 peace bond is a separate, non-PAFVA route: a police-initiated, non-emergency process with no-contact or stay-away conditions, and no criminal record if the person signs voluntarily. Alberta's own consumer materials describe this mechanism without citing "section 810" by number, but the description matches standard peace-bond practice. For criminal charges arising from family violence itself, see domestic violence laws in Canada; for the peace bond process specifically, see peace bonds in Canada.

Who Qualifies

PAFVA protects "family members," defined broadly: current or former spouses; adult interdependent partners (Alberta's common-law equivalent); people who live or lived together in an intimate relationship; co-parents, regardless of marital status or whether they ever lived together; people related by blood, marriage, adoption, or an adult interdependent relationship; children in the care or custody of any of the above; and people residing together where one has care or custody of the other under a court order.

"Family violence" covers intentional or reckless acts or omissions that cause injury or property damage meant to intimidate or harm a family member; threats that create a reasonable fear of injury or property damage; forced confinement; sexual abuse; and stalking. The Act gives an illustrative, non-exhaustive list of what counts as stalking: following someone, direct or indirect communication, watching their home or workplace, threatening conduct, or "any other behaviour a judge considers to be stalking." Reasonable parental correction of a child is expressly preserved and not treated as family violence.

The Order Ladder, in Order of Urgency

Alberta's own framing lists these tools from most to least urgent:

1. Emergency Protection Order (EPO): urgent, without notice, granted by the Alberta Court of Justice, automatically reviewed by a King's Bench judge within 9 working days, and can convert into a King's Bench protection order.
2. King's Bench protection order: less urgent, granted with notice, filed directly at the Court of King's Bench, and can include repayment of violence-related expenses.
3. Restraining order (family-violence situations): for people who have lived together in a relationship; filed ex parte (without notice) at the Court of King's Bench, no filing fee, often granted same-day, and usually lasts three months or longer if renewed. Its statutory basis is unconfirmed (see above).
4. Restraining order (other situations): for neighbours, coworkers, or a dating relationship; started with a Statement of Claim at the Court of King's Bench, no filing fee, with notice to the other party, and usually lasts three months or longer if renewed. Its statutory basis is also unconfirmed.
5. Exclusive home possession order: under Family Law Act, SA 2003, c F-4.5, section 68; temporary, addresses who stays in or leaves the home, and does not require proof of family violence. Carries a $200 filing fee unless a property-division case has already started.
6. Peace bond: a police-initiated, non-emergency Criminal Code process, no-contact or stay-away conditions, no criminal record if signed voluntarily, breach leads to a separate criminal charge, typically lasts up to one year.
7. Bail conditions, release conditions, or probation: imposed on someone who has been arrested or convicted of a separate criminal offence, running on its own track from the civil PAFVA and restraining-order processes.

What an Emergency Protection Order Can Require

An EPO can restrain the respondent from attending specified places, including your home, workplace, school, or business; restrain contact or communication, including through a third party unless the order says otherwise; grant you exclusive occupation of the residence; direct a peace officer to remove the respondent from the residence; direct a peace officer to accompany someone to retrieve belongings; direct the seizure and storage of weapons that were used or threatened; and include any other provision the justice considers necessary for your immediate protection.

What a King's Bench Protection Order Adds

A King's Bench protection order can do everything an EPO can do, plus more: monetary reimbursement for lost earnings or support, medical or dental costs, and moving or accommodation and legal costs; temporary possession of specific personal property, such as a vehicle, chequebook, bank cards, ID, or keys; a restraint on dealing with disputed property; a broader restraint against communication that causes annoyance or alarm, reaching employers or coworkers; a bond requirement; mandatory counselling for the respondent; authorization for child counselling without the other guardian's consent; weapons seizure; and any other provision the Court considers appropriate.

How to Get an Emergency Protection Order

Police or the RCMP can be contacted at any time to request an EPO on a victim's behalf. During the day (8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays), you can apply in person at any Alberta Court of Justice location, and Legal Aid Alberta provides EPO duty counsel at the Edmonton Law Courts and Calgary Court Centre. Evenings (4 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and overnight (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.), regional hearing offices in Edmonton and Calgary handle applications through a Claimant Screening form and photo ID; if approved, a justice of the peace calls the claimant to hold the hearing by phone or video. Weekends and statutory holidays use a similar hearing-office and phone-JP process, though this research could not fully confirm the exact office coverage across that entire window. The net effect is functionally 24/7 access, with the granting authority shifting between an in-person Court of Justice justice during business hours and a justice of the peace by phone or video outside them.

An application can be made in person or by telecommunication (phone or video). Besides the victim, a peace officer, a police-authorized assistant, a director designated under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, or a person authorized by the minister can apply on the victim's behalf.

Once granted, the justice or justice of the peace must immediately forward the order and supporting documents to the Court of King's Bench, which reviews it no later than 9 working days after it was made. A King's Bench justice can revoke the order, direct an oral hearing, confirm it as a King's Bench order, or revoke and replace it with a King's Bench protection order.

How to Get a King's Bench Protection Order

A King's Bench protection order is granted with notice to the other party, applied for directly at the Court of King's Bench under the Alberta Rules of Court. Alberta's official application booklet does not state an explicit filing fee for the application itself, only ancillary fees, such as roughly $10 to pull a file, about $1 per page for copies, and $10 for certification. Whether the King's Bench protection order application itself carries a filing fee is genuinely unconfirmed; do not assume it is free or state a dollar figure for it.

Duration and Renewal

A judge sets the length of a protection order, but it cannot exceed one year unless extended. The Court of King's Bench can extend an order for further periods, each not exceeding one year, on application.

Breach Penalties: Alberta's Own Ladder

Unlike jurisdictions that route breaches through the Criminal Code, Alberta's PAFVA creates its own offence and its own escalating penalty scale. Contravening or failing to comply with a protection order provision, other than the removal provision, or obstructing its enforcement, with actual notice of the order, is an offence under the Act. Penalties scale by how many prior offences the person has:

• First offence: a fine of up to $5,000, and/or imprisonment of up to 90 days.
• Second offence: a mandatory minimum of 14 days, up to 18 months in prison.
• Third or later offence: a mandatory minimum of 30 days, up to 24 months in prison.

A peace officer may arrest someone without a warrant on reasonable grounds to believe this offence occurred. These figures trace back to a 2011 amendment and remain unchanged in the Act's June 11, 2025 consolidation, even though other parts of PAFVA have been updated more recently.

Does an Alberta Order Apply Outside the Province

A full read of PAFVA, all 23 sections across both Parts, found no section addressing recognition or enforcement of another province's or territory's protection order. This is a confirmed gap, not an oversight in this research: PAFVA is simply silent on cross-border recognition. That doesn't necessarily mean Alberta has no mechanism at all for a protection order specifically, since that would require checking other Alberta statutes beyond PAFVA, which was outside the scope of this research; it means you should not assume PAFVA itself provides for it. No Alberta source describes a mechanism for recognizing a restraining order issued by a court in the United States or another country.

Alberta's Order Types at a Glance

Getting Help Now

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 before anything else. A protection order is enforced after it's broken; it is not a physical barrier between you and the other person, so a real safety plan matters alongside any paperwork.

The Family Violence Info Line (310-1818) is free, confidential, and available 24/7 by call, text, or chat, in more than 170 languages. Legal Aid Alberta provides EPO duty counsel at the Edmonton Law Courts and Calgary Court Centre during business hours, and 211 Alberta can help with broader social-service navigation.

Related Topics

For the peace bond process on its own, see peace bonds in Canada. For criminal charges arising from domestic violence, see domestic violence laws in Canada. If you're separating from a spouse or partner, see divorce in Canada and common-law relationships in Alberta. For how Alberta handles the resulting court file, see court records in Alberta. For how Alberta's approach compares to the rest of the country, see the Canada-wide restraining order ladder.

Disclaimer

This article is informational only and is not legal advice. Several points on this page are genuinely unresolved by any official Alberta source found during research: the specific statute that creates Alberta's general "Restraining Order" outside PAFVA, whether a filing fee applies to the King's Bench protection order application itself, the exact hearing-office coverage across the full weekend window, and whether any Alberta statute other than PAFVA addresses recognizing an out-of-province protection order. Laws and fees can change; confirm current requirements directly with the court before relying on this page. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For 24/7 confidential support in Alberta, contact the Family Violence Info Line at 310-1818.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between an Emergency Protection Order and a King's Bench protection order in Alberta?

An EPO is urgent, granted without notice to the other person, often the same day, by the Alberta Court of Justice or a justice of the peace. It's automatically reviewed by a Court of King's Bench justice within 9 working days. A King's Bench protection order is less urgent, granted with notice, applied for directly at the Court of King's Bench, and can add remedies like reimbursement of violence-related expenses.

How fast can I get an emergency protection order in Alberta?

Access is functionally 24/7. During business hours you apply in person at an Alberta Court of Justice location. Outside those hours, regional hearing offices handle applications by phone or video, with a justice of the peace calling to conduct the hearing.

What happens if someone breaches a protection order in Alberta?

Alberta's Protection Against Family Violence Act creates its own offence with escalating penalties: up to $5,000 and/or 90 days in jail for a first offence, a mandatory 14 days to 18 months for a second, and a mandatory 30 days to 24 months for a third or later offence. A peace officer can arrest without a warrant on reasonable grounds.

Is there a fee to apply for a protection order in Alberta?

Alberta's official application booklet does not state a filing fee for the King's Bench protection order application itself, only smaller ancillary fees like file pulls and copies, so the application fee status is unconfirmed. The separate, non-PAFVA restraining order has no filing fee.

What is an Alberta \"restraining order\" and how is it different from a protection order?

Alberta also offers a restraining order outside the Protection Against Family Violence Act, filed at the Court of King's Bench, for both family-violence and non-family situations like neighbour or coworker disputes. This research could not confirm the specific law that creates it; it likely rests on the court's general civil jurisdiction rather than a named statute, even though the process itself is real and described on Alberta's government site.

Does an Alberta protection order apply if I move to another province?

A full read of Alberta's Protection Against Family Violence Act found no provision addressing recognition of another province's or territory's protection order, or the reverse. Do not assume automatic cross-border enforcement.