Anti-Stalking Order in Washington, D.C. -- Koehler Law

An Anti-Stalking Order (ASO) in Washington D.C. is a court order directing a person to refrain from following, monitoring, placing under surveillance, threatening, interfering with or otherwise harassing another person. Valid for up to 2 years, with the possibility of being renewed in one-year increments, the order is enforceable by criminal sanctions in the case of non-compliance.

Koehler Law focuses on criminal defense and civil and anti-stalking order litigation in D.C. To speak with a law firm with a long history of successful results on behalf of clients, please call 202-549-2374.

The answers to the following frequently asked questions are provided below.

What is stalking in D.C.?
What is an anti-stalking order in D.C.?
What is the difference between an ASO and a civil protection order (CPO)?
What is a temporary anti-stalking order?
How do I obtain an anti-stalking order?
How do I serve notice of the anti-stalking order on the other party?
What happens at the initial hearing?
Will I need a lawyer to represent me?
Why hire Koehler Law?
Can I force the other party to pay for my lawyer?
How much does it cost to get an anti-stalking order?
How long does an anti-stalking order remain in effect?

WHAT IS STALKING IN D.C.?

“Stalking” is defined in D.C. as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes the person to experience fear, alarm or emotional distress.

Disputes among co-workers, neighbors, roommates, or former romantic partners are often mischaracterized as instances of stalking behavior. In fact, the criminal offense of stalking in D.C. has a narrow definition with two main requirements:

There must be a course of conduct directed at a specific person;
The respondent intended, knew or should have known that the conduct would cause the other person to experience substantial fear, alarm or emotional distress

1. Stalking requires a course of conduct directed at a specific person.

A “course of conduct” can include following, monitoring, placing under surveillance, threatening or interfering with someone, either directly or through a third party. D.C. Code § 22-3133.

“Course of conduct” requires two or more occasions, with each 24-hour period treated as a separate occasion. At least one of the instances must have occurred within 90 days of the ASO petition.

The “course of conduct” must be directed at a specific individual. Graham v. T.T., 347 A.3d 357, 363 (D.C. 2025)(“there is no indication that Mr. Graham ‘directed’ his food-stealing specifically at T.T.”)

The defendant/respondent must have possessed the requisite mental state on at least two of the alleged occasions. Coleman v. United States, 202 A.3d 1127, 1140 (D.C. 2019). Moreover, the required mental state is an objective standard. Id. at 1143 (“the ‘should have known’ language refers to . . .what an objectively reasonable person in the defendant’s position would have known”).

The statute does not cover constitutionally protected activities, such as speech covered under the First Amendment. Mashaud v. Boone, 295 A.3d 1139, 1148-49 (D.C. 2023)(Any content-based speech restrictions under the statute apply only to those narrow categories that are not protected by the First Amendment: threats, obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement and speech integral to criminal conduct).

2. Stalking requires that the defendant/respondent intended, knew or should have known that the conduct would cause the other person to experience substantial fear, alarm or emotional distress.

D.C.’s stalking statute breaks down the required emotional effects of stalking into the three categories. Specifically, the actions in question are required to cause the target of the behavior to:

fear for his or her safety or the safety of another person;
feel seriously alarmed, disturbed, or frightened; or
suffer emotional distress.

Parties frequently underestimate the degree of emotional distress that is required under the statute. Please note, for example, that the phrase “alarmed, disturbed, or frightened” is modified by the adverb “seriously.”

“[T]he stalking statute is meant to prohibit seriously troubling conduct, not mere unpleasant or mildly worrying encounters that occur on a regular basis in any community.” Coleman, 202 A.3d at 1144.

“[T]o trigger criminal liability, the level of fear, alarm or emotional distress must rise significantly above that which is commonly experienced in day to day living and must involve a severe intrusion on the victim’s persona; privacy and autonomy.” Keerikkattil v. United States, 313 A.3d 591, 607 (D.C. 2024)(quoting Coleman with approval).

“Emotional distress” is defined as “significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment of counseling.” D.C. Code § 22-3132(4).

“Fear for safety” means “fear of significant injury or a comparable harm.” Coleman, 202 A.2d at 1144.

In Mashaud v. Boone, 295 A.3d 1139 (D.C. 2023), the D.C. Court of Appeals narrowed the scope of the District’s stalking statute. Specifically, the Court clarified that any content-based speech restrictions under the statute apply only to those narrow categories that are not protected by the First Amendment: threats, obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement and speech integral to criminal conduct.

In this particular case, a D.C. court issued a civil protection order after the respondent emailed the petitioner’s place of work, contacted the petitioner’s family and friends of Facebook, and published a blog that detailed the petitioner’s affair with the respondent’s wife.

The petitioner was justified in feeling serious emotional distress, and the respondent knew or should have known that his actions would have this effect. At the same time, the respondent did not threaten or defame the petitioner. His speech did not incite criminal conduct. Nor was it obscene or fraudulent. Therefore, his conduct did not qualify as stalking for purposes of the statute.

WHAT IS AN ANTI-STALKING ORDER (ASO) IN D.C.?

Also known as a restraining or stay-away order, an ASO is a court order directing a person to refrain from stalking another person. Based on the new law that took effect in April 2021, ASOs can last for two years, with renewal in one-year increments possible upon a finding of good cause. A person who violates the order can be charged with a criminal offense. The maximum penalty for violating an ASO or for being held in contempt of court is 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

The “petitioner” is the person requesting the order. The “respondent” is the target of the order. In cases in which the respondent also requests an ASO against the petitioner, the respondent becomes known as the “cross-petitioner.”

The typical ASO orders the respondent “not to commit or threaten to commit any crimes” against the petitioner and his/her friends and family. It can require the respondent to “stay away from” specified persons and places; to participate in psychiatric, medical treatment or counseling programs; to relinquish possession or use of property; and to relinquish possession of any firearms.

D.C. Superior Court only has authority to issue such orders in cases in which (1) the petitioner lives, works or attends school in D.C., (2) the petitioner is under the legal custody of a D.C. governmental agency, or (3) the underlying offense occurred in the District.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ASO AND A CIVIL PROTECTION ORDER (CPO)?

ASOs and CPOs are both issued by the same judges within D.C. Superior Court, and serve as restraining orders against certain types of contact. However, there are differences as described below.

Anti-Stalking Order	Civil Protection Order
No prior relationship between the parties is necessary.	Limited to parties in a “domestic relationship” — that is, intimate partners or family or household members.
Offending behavior is limited to a “course of conduct” of at least three instances involving some type of stalking behavior.	Offending behavior is based on some type of “intra-family offense” — typically, harassment, assault, threats or destruction of property.
Petitioner must prove that at least one of the constituent elements of the offense –or effect of the offense — occurred in D.C., with at lease one instance occurring within 90 days of filing.	Petitioner must live, work or attend school in D.C. or at least one underlying offense must have occurred or had effect in the District.

WHAT IS A TEMPORARY ANTI-STALKING ORDER (TASO)?

The initial request for an ASO will be heard by a judge at an ex parte hearing (that is, a hearing at which only one party is heard). If the judge finds at that time that the petitioner is in danger of immediate harm, the court can issue a temporary protection order (TPO). Violation of the TPO, once properly served, can also result in criminal charges.

HOW DO I OBTAIN AN ASO?

Requests for an ASO can be made in person at the Domestic Violence Intake Center (DVIC) at D.C. Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue, NW. ASOs can also be requested remotely.

HOW DO I SERVE NOTICE OF THE ASO PETITION ON THE OTHER PARTY?

The respondent must be served with a copy of the petition, the notice of hearing, and an order to appear. The petitioner is not permitted to serve the petition him- or herself. The documents can be served by anyone who is at least 18 years old and is not mentioned in the petition. Contrary to popular perception, valid service does not require the respondent to accept the papers or to read them.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE INITIAL HEARING?

CPO hearings are held in courtroom 113 or 114 of D.C. Superior Court. Although the subpoena will require you to arrive at 8:30 am to check in, the judge usually does not take the bench until after 9:00 am. Petitioners should sit on the left side of the courtroom; respondents on the right. You should avoid any contact with the other party, including eye contact.

Both parties will meet separately with an “attorney negotiator” before appearing before the judge. The role of the attorney negotiator is to see if the parties would be willing to agree to some type of resolution short of a full hearing. You should be aware that the attorney negotiator is not your lawyer and cannot give you legal advice.

If the petitioner is not present at the time the case is called, the petition will be dismissed. If the respondent is not present, the court will issue the ASO by default.

WILL I NEED A LAWYER TO REPRESENT ME?

Unable to afford a lawyer, most parties will appear pro se. That is, they will represent themselves. Such cases are usually resolved the day of the initial hearing. Although the judge can be expected to step in to protect the interests of both parties, this is no substitute for experienced counsel, both to advise you during the process and, if necessary, to contest the ASO at a hearing. The rules of evidence are complicated and, in many cases, counterintuitive. The rules for admitting exhibits, for example, can be complicated. So too are the rules that prohibit the introduction of hearsay evidence.

WHY HIRE KOEHLER LAW?

We at Koehler Law do not divide our time between Maryland, Virginia and D.C. We do not work in federal court. Nor do we combine our criminal defense and CPO/ASO practice with personal injury, family law, or other practice areas.

Focusing exclusively on D.C. Superior Court allows Koehler Law to understand the local practice and laws and to develop the best possible relationship with judges, prosecutors, probation officers and court staff.

Such a narrow practice leads to concrete results on behalf of clients.

In 2026, D.C. Superior Court judges dismissed multiple petitions against our clients on the basis that the petitions did not meet the requirements of the statute. After all, there are very few disputes among neighbors, roommates, co-workers or former romantic partners that rise to the level of stalking.

In August 2026, for example, the court dismissed an ASO petition against a Koehler Law client on the grounds that a noise complaint between neighbors did not rise to the level of stalking. More recently, in September 2026, the opposing party withdrew her petition mid-trial when it became clear the court was not going to grant an ASO against our client based on a dispute between co-workers.

Writes one client after Koehler Law prevailed at a recent ASO trial: “Attorney Koehler is the kind of lawyer I believed there could be. He is a true practitioner of the law, the way it should be done. He is a good person with clear ethics and character, and brilliant and kind. I would trust him with my life and serious circumstances. I did, in fact. It was the right decision. He won. We prevailed. He is someone I would recommend to my dearest loved ones. Attorney Koehler is a special lawyer in a class all his own.”

CAN I FORCE THE OTHER PARTY TO PAY FOR MY LAWYER?

Parties to a legal matter in the U.S. are typically required to cover their own legal fees. This is the so-called “American Rule.” At the same time, the statute governing ASOs in D.C. specifically provides for the assessment of attorney fees for a Petitioner who is successful in obtaining a protective order. A prevailing Respondent must show that the Petitioner acted “in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons” in connection with the litigation. The purpose of this “bad faith” exception is to “punish those who have abused the judicial process and to deter those who would do so in the future.”

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GET AN ASO?

There are no court filing or other costs associated with seeking an ASO in D.C.

HOW LONG DOES THE ASO LAST?

An ASO can remain in effect for two years. It can be extended in one-year increments on the basis of good cause.

Last updated: September 12, 2026