Washington statute
RCW 7.105.465 — Enforcement and penalties—Knowledge of order
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Chapter 7.105: Civil Protection Orders, Revised Code of Washington.
Full text of RCW 7.105.465
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the official text of the Revised Code of Washington from the Code Reviser's published files; it is not the official statutes of the State of Washington.
(1) When the court issues a protection order under this chapter, the court shall advise the petitioner that the respondent may not be subjected to the penalties set forth in this chapter for a violation of the order unless the respondent knows of the order.
(2) When a law enforcement officer investigates a report of an alleged violation of a protection order issued under this chapter, the officer shall attempt to determine whether the respondent knew of the existence of the protection order. If the law enforcement officer determines that the respondent did not, or probably did not, know about the protection order and the officer is provided a current copy of the order, the officer shall serve the order on the respondent if the respondent is present. If the respondent is not present, the officer shall make reasonable efforts to serve a copy of the order on the respondent. If the officer serves the respondent with the petitioner's copy of the order, the officer shall give the petitioner a receipt indicating that the petitioner's copy has been served on the respondent. After the officer has served the order on the respondent, the officer shall enforce prospective compliance with the order.
(3) Presentation of an unexpired, certified copy of a protection order with proof of service is sufficient for a law enforcement officer to enforce the order regardless of the presence of the order in the law enforcement computer-based criminal intelligence information system.
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