Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Restraining Order (EPPDAPA)
In Oregon, individuals aged 65 or older, as well as those with disabilities, can seek protection through the Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act (EPPDAPA) Restraining Order.
This legal document helps safeguard against various forms of abuse, including physical harm, sexual abuse, verbal threats, and financial exploitation.
Who can get an EPPDAPA restraining order?
You can apply for an EPPDAPA restraining order if you can answer yes to all these statements:
- Age or disability: You are 65 or older or a person with disabilities (including mental and physical disabilities)
- Abuse: Someone abused you in the last 180 days. Abuse can include:
- Hurting you, trying to hurt you, or threatening to hurt you
- Calling you unkind names, saying awful things to you, or yelling at you
- Neglecting or abandoning you, resulting in physical harm
- Sexually abusing you
- Financially abusing you
- Relationship: The person who abused you can be anyone except your court-appointed legal guardian
- Continuing danger: The other person is likely to abuse you again soon
- Residency: You or the other person live in Oregon
Caution: You can’t get an EPPDAPA just because someone yells or cusses at you. The verbal abuse or emotional abuse must be serious. It must threaten significant emotional or physical harm.
How do I get an EPPDAPA restraining order?
Here’s how the process works:
- Complete the forms: Complete the required forms and submit them to the court. The Oregon Judicial Department website has the forms you'll need.
- Court review: The court will review your request the same day or the next business day.
- Approval: A judge will grant you a restraining order if you meet the eligibility rules.
- No cost: Filing for an EPPDAPA restraining order is free.
- Notification: You don't have to tell the other person you're applying for an order. After you get your order, they'll find out when the police serve them with your court papers.
You can learn more about how to get a restraining order here.
Can the other side fight the restraining order?
Yes. After you get your restraining order, the other side can fight the restraining order by asking for a contested hearing. Both sides can talk to a judge at the hearing, call witnesses, and present evidence.
You can learn more about contested hearings on this page.
How long does an EPPDAPA last?
EPPDAPA restraining orders last for one year with two exceptions:
- If the other side fights your restraining order and wins, the order will end before one year.
- You can also end your order early by filing dismissal paperwork with the court.
Need help?
If you or someone you know is experiencing elder or disabled person abuse in Oregon, an EPPDAPA restraining order can be a critical step toward safety. Resources are available to assist you, including:
- Legal aid services: You may qualify for free legal help if you can't afford a lawyer. Find your local legal aid office here.
- Domestic violence support: You can also get free support from your local domestic violence program. Find your local program on the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence website.
- Reporting adult abuse: You can also report abuse of vulnerable adults to the Oregon Department of Human Services.
These organizations can help you navigate the process and ensure you’re supported along the way.
More Frequently Asked Questions
If someone is unable to apply for an EPPDAPA restraining order on their own, a legal guardian or guardian ad litem can help them do so. A guardian ad litem is a temporary guardian who helps protect another person’s interests in a court case.
If you need to request to be someone’s guardian ad litem, you can find court forms on Oregon's state court website.
Yes, a child with disabilities can get an EPPDAPA. But, they will need a guardian or guardian ad litem to help them apply.
If you need to request to be a child's guardian ad litem, you can find court forms to make this request on Oregon's state court website.
Maybe. The law is a little unclear. If you want to get an EPPDAPA restraining order against a minor, you may want to talk to a lawyer before you apply. Visit our Legal Directory to find legal help.
Yes. You can get an EPPDAPA to stop emotional, verbal, and financial abuse. You do not have to experience physical or sexual abuse to qualify.
You can ask the court to order that the other person:
- Not contact you
- Stay away from your home, work, or other places you go to often
- Move out of your shared home (see next question for more information)
- Get rid of their guns and ammunition and not get new ones
- Stop controlling your money or possessions
- Return money or property
- Pay you money to correct financial abuse
- Other custom protections necessary to keep you safe
Every EPPDAPA restraining order is different. You can ask the judge for the protections you need to keep yourself safe.
If the other person does not follow your EPPDAPA restraining order, you can call the police for help.
Yes, in some situations.
A judge can order the other person to move out of your home if you can answer yes to at least one of these questions:
- Are you married to the person who is hurting you?
- Is your name on the lease or rental agreement?
- Do you own the home you are living in?
The other person can challenge the move-out order by requesting a contested hearing. At a contested hearing, a judge will decide who gets to stay in the home. For more information on contested hearings, visit the contested hearing page.
An EPPDAPA restraining order can make someone stay away from you, stop contacting you, and stay away from your home, work, or other places. Your order protects your children when they are with you or at home.
But an EPPDAPA restraining order cannot make someone stay away from your kids at other times.
If you have children with the other person, you may want to consider the Family Abuse Restraining Order. While this order has different eligibility rules, it does have more options to help you keep your kids safe.
No. The rules on contact only apply to the other person.
But, if a judge decides at a contested hearing that the other person gets to stay in your home, you must obey this decision.
It’s usually not a good idea to contact the other person.
Maybe. If the other side files papers saying they disagree with your restraining order, the court will schedule a contested hearing. A contested hearing is a court date where the other side and you get to present evidence to a judge.
After receiving a copy of your order, the other side has 30 days to request a hearing (this is called getting served).
At a contested hearing, you and the other person will get to talk to a judge and show evidence about what happened. You will need to provide details about your abuse. Then, a judge will decide if you get to keep your EPPDAPA restraining order.
For more information on contested hearings, visit the contested hearings page.
Maybe. The law isn’t very clear about whether you can ask for changes to your EPPDAPA order. You may want to talk to a lawyer if you need to make changes. Visit our Legal Directory to find legal help.
You can ask the court to extend your restraining order beyond one year. This is called renewing your restraining order.
To renew your restraining order, you must turn in an application, called a Petition to Renew Restraining Order, at the courthouse. A judge can renew your restraining order for one more year if they believe you still need protection.
Warning: If you want to extend your restraining order, you must turn in an application at the court before your restraining order ends. The other side can disagree by asking for another court hearing with a judge.
You can tell the court you disagree. You'll need to ask for a court hearing within 30 days of the day you are handed a copy of the restraining order. To ask for a hearing:
- Complete a "Request for Hearing" form. This form should be in the restraining order papers that were handed to you. If you don’t have or lost that form, you can also find it at your local circuit court.
- Turn in your "Request for Hearing" form. Take or mail your "Request for Hearing" form to the court address listed on your court papers.
- Wait for a hearing date. Wait for the court to contact you with a hearing date. If the court does not call you within two to three days, call the court to make sure they got your form and to see if they set a hearing yet.