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Legal Information: Pennsylvania

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
December 15, 2023

Can I get my PFA from Pennsylvania enforced in another state?

If you have a valid Pennsylvania protection from abuse order (PFA) that meets federal standards, it can be enforced in another state.  The Violence Against Women Act, which is a federal law, states that all valid PFA orders granted in the United States receive “full faith and credit” in all state and tribal courts within the US, including US territories.1  See How do I know if my PFA is good under federal law? to find out if your PFA qualifies.

Each state must enforce out-of-state PFA orders in the same way it enforces its own orders, so if the abuser violates your out-of-state PFA, s/he will be punished according to the laws of whatever state you are in when the order is violated.  This is what is meant by “full faith and credit.”2

1 18 U.S.C. § 2265(a)
2 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6104(a)