Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs): What They Are, and Why You Might Not Be Able to Get One Yet

A Domestic Abuse Protection Order, or DAPO, is often described as the order that will eventually replace the non-molestation order. It has not replaced it yet, and in most of the country you cannot currently apply for one at all. Here is what it is, what it can do, and why the answer to "can I get one" depends heavily on where the person you need protecting from actually lives.

What a DAPO is

A DAPO is a single protective order created under Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Rather than choosing between a non-molestation order (which stops someone from harassing or threatening you) and an occupation order (which controls who can live in the family home), a DAPO is designed to combine both types of protection in one order.

It can also go further than either existing order by attaching positive requirements, not just prohibitions. That can include things like electronic monitoring or a requirement to attend a behaviour change programme, on top of the more familiar "stay away" and "no contact" conditions.

Breaching a DAPO is a criminal offence, in the same way breaching a non-molestation order is.

The DAPN: the immediate step before a DAPO

Before a DAPO is even applied for, the police can issue a Domestic Abuse Protection Notice, or DAPN. This is a police-issued notice given straight after an incident, and it can require the person to stay away from the victim's home immediately, while the fuller DAPO application is prepared and goes to court.

This is still a pilot, not the law everywhere

This is the part that gets missed. DAPOs and DAPNs are not available nationally. They are being tested in a pilot scheme, and a DAPO can currently only be made if the person the order would be made against lives in one of the pilot areas.

The pilot began on 27 November 2024 in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Bromley and Sutton, and with the British Transport Police. Cleveland joined on 5 March 2025, and North Wales joined on 28 April 2025.

The pilot has already been extended more than once beyond its original one-year run. As of the most recent government scrutiny of the scheme, the provisions remain pilot-only, with no confirmed date yet for national rollout.

The detail that trips people up: it is where the other person lives that matters for eligibility, not where you live. Someone in a pilot area cannot get a DAPO against a person who lives outside one.

What this means if you are looking into it now

If you are not in a pilot area, or the person you need protection from is not, a non-molestation order and, where relevant, an occupation order remain the route available to you. They are not being withdrawn or downgraded while the DAPO pilot runs. Nothing forces a choice between the two systems at this stage.

If you are in or near a pilot area, it is worth checking the current position before assuming either way, since pilot boundaries and the pilot's own end date have moved before and may move again.

Where this sits with a McKenzie Friend

Working out which order actually applies to your situation, and whether you are in a pilot area at all, is exactly the kind of question a McKenzie Friend can help you get straight before you go anywhere near a court form. If you want that support, our directory of independent McKenzie Friends is free to search.

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This article is general information only, and not legal advice. Pilot areas and rules can change. If a DAPO may be relevant to your situation, check the current position with a solicitor, a domestic abuse support service, or your local court before relying on anything above.