What Is a Personal Protection Order?

A Personal Protection Order is a court order that restrains a family member from committing family violence against you or your children. It’s issued under the Women’s Charter and is available to anyone who has experienced, or is at risk of, family violence from a spouse, ex-spouse, parent, child, or other specified family member.

A PPO doesn’t require you to be divorcing or separated — you can apply whether or not you plan to end the relationship or marriage.

What Counts as Family Violence for a PPO?

Family violence under Singapore law isn’t limited to physical assault. It includes:

• Wilfully or knowingly causing hurt
• Causing another to fear hurt
• Restraining someone against their will
• Continual harassment with intent to cause anguish

It does not include reasonable force used to discipline a child under 21 in a way that doesn’t cause hurt beyond what’s reasonable — this distinction matters and is worth understanding before applying.

Pending legal review: confirm current statutory wording/age threshold is accurate and current.

Read more in our Family Violence FAQ.

How to Apply for a PPO in Singapore

1. File a complaint with the Family Justice Courts (or start at a Family Service Centre or the police, depending on the urgency of your situation)
2. Attend a first mention, where the court may refer you to counselling or mediation before proceeding, unless the situation is urgent
3. If needed, apply for an Expedited Order (EPO) for immediate interim protection while your PPO application is being heard (see comparison below)
4. Attend the hearing, where both parties can present their case
5. The court decides whether to grant the PPO, and on what terms

Pending legal review: confirm this sequence, current forms/e-filing process, and any recent procedural changes.

What you’ll need: identification, details of the incident(s), any evidence (photos, messages, medical reports, witness accounts), and the relationship to the person the order is sought against.

PPO vs Expedited Order (EPO) — What's the Difference?

If you’re in immediate danger, tell the court or the officer you’re speaking with that you need urgent protection — this is what triggers consideration of an EPO rather than waiting for the standard PPO timeline.

What Happens If a PPO Is Breached?

Breaching a PPO is a criminal offence in Singapore. If the person the order was made against breaches its terms, you can report the breach to the police. Consequences for the person breaching the order can include a fine, imprisonment, or both, and breaching a PPO is treated seriously by the courts precisely because the order exists to protect someone’s safety.

Pending legal review: confirm current penalty framework/statutory reference (Women’s Charter section, penalty range) before publishing — this needs to be precisely accurate.

If you’re the person protected by a PPO and it’s been breached, keep a record of what happened (screenshots, messages, dates, witnesses) and report it as soon as it’s safe to do so.

How Long Does a PPO Take, and How Long Is It Valid?

Timelines vary depending on whether the matter proceeds to mediation/counselling first or goes straight to a contested hearing, and how urgent the situation is.

Pending legal review: provide accurate current typical timelines and standard order duration — do not publish placeholder figures.

Does a PPO Affect a Divorce or Custody Case?

A PPO can be relevant background if you’re also going through a divorce or a dispute over custody, care and control, since the court may take family violence into account when deciding what arrangement is in a child’s best interests, and when considering the overall context of the marriage. A PPO application and a divorce are separate legal processes, but they can run alongside each other, and it’s worth discussing both with a lawyer together rather than in isolation, since decisions in one can affect strategy in the other.

How a Lawyer Can Help With a PPO Application

Applying for a PPO — or responding to one made against you — can be stressful, especially alongside a divorce or custody dispute. A lawyer can help you:

• Understand whether your situation meets the threshold for a PPO or EPO
• Prepare your application and gather the right evidence
• Represent you at the hearing
• Coordinate a PPO application with a related divorce or custody matter, so the two aren’t working against each other

Frequently Asked Questions