Restraining order, peace bond or bail condition: which one applies in Ontario?

They are three different orders from three different processes. A restraining order is made by a family court under the Family Law Act or the Children's Law Reform Act. A peace bond is made in criminal court under section 810 of the Criminal Code, lasts up to 12 months and is not a conviction. A no-contact bail condition comes with a criminal charge and lasts while the charge is before the court.

All three can tell a person to stay away and not make contact, which is why they are easy to mix up. They differ in who asks for them, how long they last, what happens on a breach and what a police record check shows. This page sits where criminal law and family law in Ontario meet.

How do the three orders compare?

How is each order made, step by step?

A family court restraining order

1. The person at risk starts or joins a family case. In Toronto, Family Law Act and Children's Law Reform Act cases at the Ontario Court of Justice are heard at the family courts at 47 Sheppard Avenue East and 311 Jarvis Street.
2. A temporary order is asked for by motion, which needs a notice of motion (Form 14) and an affidavit (Form 14A) (Family Law Rules r. 14(9)).
3. In an emergency, the motion can be made without notice, for example where there is an immediate danger to the health or safety of a child or the party, and the delay of serving notice would probably have serious consequences (r. 14(12)).
4. An order made without notice must be served immediately on everyone affected (r. 14(15)) and must come back to court, if possible before the same judge, within 14 days or on a date the court chooses (r. 14(14)).

A peace bond

1. An information is laid before a justice by or on behalf of the person who is afraid (Criminal Code s. 810(1)).
2. The justice has both parties brought before a justice or a summary conviction court (s. 810(2)).
3. If the fear is shown to be reasonable, the court can order a recognizance for up to 12 months (s. 810(3)). The court must consider adding no-contact and stay-away conditions (s. 810(3.2)).
4. Either side can later ask the court to vary the conditions (s. 810(4.1)).

A no-contact bail condition

1. Police lay a charge and either release the accused or hold them for a bail hearing.
2. The release order sets the conditions, which can include no contact with the complainant and no attendance at named places (s. 515(4)(d) and (e)).
3. The conditions last until the case ends or a court changes them.

What can a family court restraining order say?

Under section 46 of the Family Law Act and section 35 of the Children's Law Reform Act, the family court can make an interim or final restraining order if the applicant has reasonable grounds to fear for their own safety or for the safety of a child in their lawful custody. The Family Law Act version is for spouses, former spouses and people who live or have lived together. The Children's Law Reform Act version can be made against any person.

The order can stop the respondent from contacting or communicating with the applicant or the children, directly or indirectly, keep the respondent a set distance from named places, list exceptions (for example, contact through a lawyer or for a parenting exchange), and add any other term the court considers appropriate.

Both sections were amended in 2025 to let certain other people apply on behalf of the person at risk, but on the e-Laws versions read today those changes are marked "not in force". The law above is the version in force now.

How is a peace bond different?

A peace bond is a criminal court order without a criminal charge being proven. If the justice is satisfied the fear is reasonable, the defendant can be ordered to enter into a recognizance to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for up to 12 months, with or without sureties (s. 810(3)). A person who refuses to enter into it can be jailed for up to 12 months (s. 810(3.01)).

The court must consider a ban on firearms and other weapons before making the order, and if it decides not to add one, it must record its reasons (s. 810(3.1) and (3.12)). Our page on firearms seized after a domestic call explains what happens to licences and guns.

A peace bond can also be part of how a criminal charge ends. In intimate partner cases, Ontario's Crown policy treats this as exceptional: the prosecutor must weigh the victim's views and public safety, the decision must be approved by the Crown Attorney or a designate, and firearms and weapons prohibitions must be considered. Our page comparing withdrawals, peace bonds, discharges and convictions explains what each leaves behind.

Why does a bail condition matter so much in a domestic case?

When someone charged with a domestic offence is released, the release order often includes conditions not to communicate with the complainant and not to go to certain places, such as the family home (s. 515(4)(d) and (e)). Those conditions apply even if the complainant wants contact and even if the couple share children. They last until the charge ends or a court varies them.

Our domestic violence charges page explains the release conditions and the process around these charges. For how a condition is varied with the Crown's consent or by a bail review, see changing a no-contact bail condition. Who keeps the family home in the longer term is a separate family law question, covered in exclusive possession after a domestic incident.

How do the courts keep the orders from clashing?

Family judges are told to look. In a parenting case, the court must consider whether any restraining order, other civil protection order, or criminal order, proceeding, undertaking or recognizance is pending or in effect (Children's Law Reform Act s. 33.3(2)). The Divorce Act sets the same duty when a divorce court deals with parenting or support (s. 7.8(2)).

In Toronto, when the same family also has a parenting, support or restraining order case at the Ontario Court of Justice family court, both cases may be heard together. The court says one judge can then make sure bail conditions do not conflict with the parenting order. Read how the Integrated Domestic Violence Court works. If you are the person charged, the bail conditions bind you now, whatever later happens in family court.

Will the order show up on a police record check?

Ontario's Police Record Checks Reform Act sets what each of the three levels of check may disclose:

Our page on whether a withdrawn charge shows up on a police record check covers the three checks in more detail. The penalties for breaking each kind of order are compared in breach penalties for restraining orders, peace bonds and bail conditions.

What changes the answer?

• Your relationship. The Family Law Act order is only for spouses, former spouses and people who live or lived together (FLA s. 46(2)); the Children's Law Reform Act order can be against any person (CLRA s. 35(1)).
• Urgency. Family court can act without notice where the delay of serving the other side would probably have serious consequences (Family Law Rules r. 14(12)).
• A pending charge. If a charge is already laid, the bail conditions are in place and bind the accused whatever the complainant wants (s. 515(4)(d)).
• The Crown's view. Resolving an intimate partner charge with a peace bond needs the approval of the Crown Attorney or a designate (Crown Prosecution Manual D. 23).
• Firearms. A peace bond court must consider a weapons ban (s. 810(3.1)).
• Language. Ontario provides court interpreters in any language in criminal matters, but in family court only for French, for a litigant who qualifies for a fee waiver, or when the court orders it.

For example: one family, three orders

This is a hypothetical, not a real client or a result. Suppose a married couple in North York, both originally from Iran, have an argument that ends with a police call. The husband is charged with assault and released on conditions not to contact his wife and not to go to the family home.

The wife starts a parenting case at the family court on Sheppard Avenue East and, because she fears for her safety, asks for a restraining order under the Family Law Act. Her English is limited. In the criminal case, Ontario provides interpretation in any language required; in the family case, she needs a fee waiver or a court order, so her lawyer raises it at the start.

Months later, the Crown proposes to resolve the criminal charge with a peace bond. The husband now has three orders to keep straight: the bail conditions, which end with the charge; the peace bond, for up to 12 months; and the family court order, which lasts as long as it says. Breaching any of them is a separate offence. His lawyer goes through each one with him, in Farsi, before he signs anything.

What mistakes do people make with these orders?

1. Treating the complainant's consent as permission. A no-contact bail condition binds the accused even if the other person wants contact; only a court or a written variation changes it.
2. Making contact through relatives. Restraining orders can forbid indirect contact (FLA s. 46(3)), and bail conditions can too (s. 515(4)(d)).
3. Treating a family order as "only civil". Disobeying a court order without lawful excuse is a criminal offence (s. 127).
4. Agreeing to a peace bond without reading it. The conditions, any weapons ban and the length all matter, and it is disclosed on a judicial matters check.
5. Assuming an interpreter will be there in family court. Outside criminal matters, interpretation in a language other than French depends on a fee waiver or a court order.

What can you do this week?

1. Find every order you have been given and note which court made it and when it ends.
2. Read each condition with a lawyer, line by line, in the language you are most at ease in.
3. If there are children, write down the current arrangements so a lawyer can check them against the bail conditions.
4. Tell your lawyer about any firearms licence, travel plans or immigration concerns.
5. If you need an interpreter in family court, ask about a fee waiver or a court order now.

Frequently asked questions

Can a restraining order be made before the other person is told?

Yes, in urgent cases. The Family Law Rules allow a motion without notice, but the order must be served at once and the matter must return to court within 14 days or on a date the court sets (r. 14(12) to (15)).

Does a peace bond give me a criminal record?

A peace bond is not a conviction. It can still be disclosed on a criminal record and judicial matters check or a vulnerable sector check, unless it was made in relation to a withdrawn charge (Police Record Checks Reform Act, Schedule).

Can a peace bond's conditions be changed later?

Yes. The informant or the defendant can apply to the court to vary the conditions (s. 810(4.1)). Until it does, every condition applies.

Will a peace bond affect my immigration status?

The serious criminality test in IRPA s. 36(1)(a) turns on a conviction, and a peace bond is not one. A charge that ends in a conviction is different; read how a criminal conviction can affect permanent resident status.

Can I speak to a lawyer about these orders in Farsi?

Yes. Our firm works in Farsi and English, and our guide for Persian-speaking people charged in the GTA explains how interpreters work in the criminal courts.

Who decides parenting time while a no-contact condition is in place?

The family court decides parenting, but it must consider the criminal order (CLRA s. 33.3(2)), and arrangements must not break the bail conditions. Our page on parenting time and decision-making explains the family side.

Getting help

Which order applies depends on what has happened and what you need. If you are the person afraid for your safety, a family court restraining order and a peace bond are both available without a criminal conviction, but they come from different courts with different processes. If you are the person charged, the bail conditions bind you now. Gambriani Law PC acts in criminal and family matters, in English and Farsi, from Suite 1901, 5000 Yonge Street in North York, and can be reached at +1 647 970 3370, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice about your situation. If you are in danger, call 9-1-1.