(1g) DEFINITIONS. In this section:
813.128.Uniform interstate enforcement of domestic violence protection orders act.
Ch. 813: Injunctions, Ne Exeat and Receivers · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 813.128 makes an out-of-state or tribal domestic violence protection order enforceable in Wisconsin as if a Wisconsin court had issued it, so long as the order meets due-process and jurisdiction requirements, and it directs law enforcement how to verify and act on those orders.
Full Text of Section 813.128
(a) “Bodily harm” has the meaning given in s. 939.22 (4).
(b) “Foreign mutual protection order” means a foreign protection order that includes provisions in favor of both the individual seeking enforcement of the order and the respondent.
(c) “Foreign protection order” means a protection order issued by a tribunal other than a tribunal of this state.
(d) “Protected individual” means an individual protected by a protection order.
(e) “Protection order” means any temporary or permanent injunction or order issued by a tribunal to prevent an individual from engaging in abuse, bodily harm, communication, contact, harassment, physical proximity, threatening acts or violence to another person, other than support or custody orders. This term includes an injunction or order issued under the antistalking laws of the issuing state.
(f) “Respondent” means the individual against whom enforcement of a protection order is sought.
(g) “Tribunal” means a court, agency, or other entity of a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, an American Indian tribe or band, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, authorized by law to issue or modify a protection order. (2g) STATUS OF A FOREIGN PROTECTION ORDER. (a) A foreign protection order shall be accorded full faith and credit by the tribunals in this state and shall be enforced as if the order were an order of a tribunal of this state if the order meets all of the following conditions: 1. The foreign protection order was obtained after providing the respondent a reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard sufficient to protect his or her right to due process. If the foreign protection order is an ex parte injunction or order, the respondent shall have been given notice and an opportunity to be heard within a reasonable time after the order was issued sufficient to protect his or her right to due process. 2. The tribunal that issued the order had jurisdiction over the parties and over the subject matter. 3. The order identifies the protected individual and the respondent. 4. The order is currently in effect. (b) A foreign protection order or modification of the foreign protection order that meets the requirements under this section has the same effect as an order issued under s. 813.12, 813.122, 813.123 or 813.125, except that the foreign protection order or modification shall be enforced according to its own terms. (c) A foreign protection order issued against the person who filed a written pleading with a tribunal for a protection order is not entitled to full faith and credit under this subsection if any of the following occurred: 1. No written pleading was filed seeking the foreign protection order against the person who filed a written pleading with a tribunal for a protection order. 2. A cross or counter petition was filed but the tribunal did not make a specific finding that each party was entitled to a foreign protection order. (3g) FILING AND ENFORCEMENT OF A FOREIGN PROTECTION ORDER. (a) 1. A copy of any foreign protection order, or of a modification of a foreign protection order that is on file with the circuit court, that is authenticated in accordance with an act of congress, an Indian tribal legislative body or the statutes of another state may be filed in the office of the clerk of circuit court of any county of this state. The clerk may not charge a fee for the filing of a foreign protection order. The clerk shall treat any foreign protection order or modification so filed in the same manner as a judgment of the circuit court. 2. Within one business day after a foreign protection order or a modification of a foreign protection order is filed under this subsection, the clerk of circuit court shall send a copy of the foreign protection order or modification of the order to the sheriff in that circuit or to the local law enforcement agency that is the central repository for orders and injunctions in that circuit. 3. The sheriff or law enforcement agency that receives a copy of a foreign protection order or of a modification of an order from the clerk under subd. 2. shall enter the information received concerning the order or modification of an order into the transaction information for management of enforcement system no later than 24 hours after receiving the information. The sheriff or law enforcement agency shall make available to other law enforcement agencies, through a verification system, information on the existence and status of any order or modification of an order filed under this subsection. The information need not be maintained after the order or modification is no longer in effect. (b) A law enforcement officer shall arrest and take the subject of a foreign protection order into custody if all of the following occur: 1. A person protected under a foreign protection order presents the law enforcement officer with a copy of a foreign protection order issued against the subject, or the law enforcement officer determines that a valid foreign protection order exists against the subject through communication with appropriate authorities. If a law enforcement officer examines a copy of a foreign protection order, the order, with any modification, is presumed to be valid if the order or modification appears to be valid on its face and circumstances suggest that the order and any modification are in effect. 2. The law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that the person has violated the terms of the foreign protection order or modification of the order. 3. For the purposes of this paragraph, the protection order may be inscribed on a tangible medium or may have been stored in an electronic or other medium if it is retrievable in perceivable form. Presentation of a certified copy of a protection order is not required for enforcement. (c) If a foreign protection order is not presented, a law enforcement officer of this state may consider other information in determining whether there is probable cause to believe that a valid foreign protection order exists. (d) If a law enforcement officer of this state determines that an otherwise valid foreign protection order cannot be enforced because the respondent has not been notified or served with the order, the officer shall inform the respondent of the order, make a reasonable effort to serve the order upon the respondent, and allow the respondent a reasonable opportunity to comply with the order before enforcing the order. (e) A tribunal of this state shall enforce the provisions of a valid foreign protection order that govern custody, physical placement, and visitation, if the order was issued in accordance with the jurisdictional requirements governing the issuance of custody, physical placement, and visitation orders in the issuing state. (f) A foreign protection order that is valid on its face is prima facie evidence of its validity. (g) Absence of any of the criteria for validity of a foreign protection order is an affirmative defense in an action seeking enforcement of the order.
(h) A tribunal of this state may enforce provisions of a foreign mutual protection order that favor a respondent only if the respondent filed a written pleading seeking a protection order from the tribunal of the issuing state and the tribunal of the issuing state made specific findings in favor of the respondent.
(i) A tribunal of this state may not enforce a foreign protection order issued by a tribunal of a state that does not recognize the standing of a protected individual to seek enforcement of the order. (4) PENALTY. A person who knowingly violates a condition of a foreign protection order or modification of a foreign protection order that is entitled to full faith and credit under this section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 9 months or both. If a foreign protection order and any modification of that order that is entitled to full faith and credit under this section remains current and in effect at the time that a court convicts a person for a violation of that order or modification of that order, but that order or modification has not been filed under this section, the court shall direct the clerk of circuit court to file the order and any modification of the order. (5) IMMUNITY. A law enforcement officer, law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney, state, local, or Indian tribe or band governmental official, or clerk of circuit court is immune from civil and criminal liability for his or her acts or omissions arising out of a decision related to the filing of a foreign protection order or modification or to the detention or arrest of an alleged violator of a foreign protection order or modification if the act or omission is done in a good faith effort to comply with this section and s. 806.247, 2013 stats. (6) OTHER REMEDIES. A protected individual who pursues remedies under this section is not precluded from pursuing other legal or equitable remedies against the respondent. (7) APPLICABILITY. This section applies to all of the following:
(a) A request made on or after April 13, 2016, for enforcement of a foreign protection order for a violation of the order, regardless of when the order was issued or when the violation occurred.
(b) A continuing action for enforcement of a foreign protection order, regardless of when the order was issued or when the action was commenced.
Plain-English Summary
Section 813.128 adopts the uniform interstate framework for enforcing domestic violence protection orders issued outside Wisconsin. A foreign protection order — one issued by a tribunal other than a Wisconsin tribunal, including under a tribe’s or band’s antistalking or domestic abuse laws — gets full faith and credit and is enforced as if a Wisconsin tribunal had issued it, as long as the respondent had reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard (or, for an ex parte order, received that opportunity within a reasonable time afterward), the issuing tribunal had jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter, the order identifies both the protected individual and the respondent, and the order is currently in effect. An order that meets those conditions has the same effect as a Wisconsin order under section 813.12, 813.122, 813.123, or 813.125, enforced according to its own terms. The section also limits full-faith-and-credit treatment for orders issued against a person who filed the original pleading, and for mutual protection orders, unless the issuing tribunal made the specific findings the section requires.
A certified or authenticated copy of a foreign protection order can be filed with any Wisconsin clerk of circuit court at no charge, and the clerk treats it like a Wisconsin judgment, forwarding it to the sheriff or the local law enforcement agency that serves as the central repository for orders, which then enters the information into the statewide transaction system within 24 hours.
On the enforcement side, an officer must arrest and take into custody someone who violates a foreign protection order presented by the protected person, or one the officer otherwise confirms exists, when the officer has probable cause to believe the order was violated — and a certified copy is not required to enforce it. If the respondent has not been notified or served, the officer must instead inform the respondent of the order, attempt service, and give a reasonable opportunity to comply before enforcing it. A knowing violation of an order entitled to full faith and credit under this section carries a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to nine months, or both, and officials acting in good faith to comply with the section are immune from civil and criminal liability for their actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Wisconsin enforce a protection order I got in another state?
Yes. A foreign protection order is accorded full faith and credit and enforced as if issued by a Wisconsin tribunal, as long as it meets the section’s notice, jurisdiction, party-identification, and current-effect requirements.
Do I have to pay a fee to file my out-of-state order with a Wisconsin clerk of court?
No. The clerk may not charge a fee for filing a foreign protection order.
Can a Wisconsin officer arrest someone for violating an out-of-state protection order?
Yes, if the officer is presented with a copy of the order, or otherwise confirms it exists, and has probable cause to believe it was violated.
What if the respondent was never served with the out-of-state order?
The officer must inform the respondent of the order, make a reasonable effort to serve it, and give the respondent a reasonable opportunity to comply before enforcing it.
Is there a penalty for knowingly violating a foreign protection order Wisconsin recognizes?
Yes, a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment of not more than nine months, or both.
Amendment History
History: 1995 a. 306; 2015 a. 352 ss. 5 to 14, 16 to 32; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: wisconsin enforce out of state restraining orderforeign protection order wisconsintribal restraining order enforcement wisconsin813.128 wisconsin interstate protection order