What they are
Rolling out from 2026 under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, DAPNs (issued by police on the spot, lasting 48 hours) and DAPOs (made by family courts, flexible duration) sit alongside — and increasingly replace — the older cluster of non-molestation orders. Key differences that matter to respondents:
| DAPN (police notice) | DAPO (court order) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who issues | A senior police officer, on the spot | The family court (police or the victim apply) |
| Duration | 48 hours maximum | Flexible — including indefinite, with reviews |
| Breach | A criminal offence | A criminal offence |
| Conditions | Non-contact, exclusion zones | Positive requirements possible too (behaviour programmes) |
| Fee | — | No court fee to apply |
Official guidance: GOV.UK — DAPNs and DAPOs.
Served with one?
- Same first rule as any order Comply to the letter from minute one — a DAPN's 48 hours can convert into a DAPO application at court, and breach colours everything that follows. (The first-48-hours discipline applies.)
- Preserve your evidence immediately The notice will summarise allegations. Export messages/logs while access is intact (the log method); you may need them at the DAPO hearing within days.
- Know the review rights DAPOs carry judicial review provisions — duration and requirements get tested at hearings where your evidenced account counts. Prepare the same way as a non-molestation return hearing: undertaking-vs-contest thinking, adapted.
- Check which orders actually exist Regional rollout is phased. If paperwork names an order type you can't identify, the official guidance above is authoritative — and free procedural help exists via Support Through Court.
Perspective: the protective-order system is expanding, and fathers will encounter it both as respondents and — less discussed but real — as applicants. Male victims can apply for DAPO protection too, via police or the court, with no fee. The Men's Advice Line (0808 801 0327) advises male applicants.
Questions people ask at Bedford
Does a DAPN appear on a DBS check?
A police notice is not a conviction. As with non-molestation orders, enhanced DBS disclosure discretion is the real risk zone — one more reason to get the underlying allegations tested at the earliest hearing rather than letting notices accumulate.
Can a DAPO force ME onto a programme?
Yes — DAPOs can impose positive requirements like behaviour programmes on respondents. Engage voluntarily before being ordered to and the distinction is visible to every later court.
How is this different from the non-molestation order page?
The mechanics (service, breach, hearings) rhyme, and the NMO guide's discipline applies throughout. The differences — issuer, duration, positive requirements — are what this page isolates.
Before your hearing
Turning scattered messages, notes and dates into evidence takes structure. keep the dated evidence the review hearing will turn on — EvidenceCanvas is a guided toolkit that helps you draft a child-focused witness statement, answer a Scott Schedule point by point, and assemble a paginated court bundle. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.