Can Oklahoma Protective Orders Follow You Forever?
Video Transcribed: Can protective orders be expunged in Oklahoma or are they going to haunt you for the rest of your life? I’m Tulsa attorney James Wirth, and I’m about to answer those questions.
So can a protective order be expunged in Oklahoma? Yes, they can. In fact, the vast majority of protective orders are eligible for expungement. So what you want to look at is what was the end result of the case.
Typically, a protective order is filed, the emergency is granted, and at the show cause it’s very common either for it to be dismissed or for it to be continued on an emergency basis and then dismissed if there’s no violations. Regardless of how you get there, if a final protective orders never granted and it’s eventually dismissed then it is eligible for expungement 90 days thereafter.
So if it’s dismissed because the other side failed to show, wait 90 days, you can get it expunged. If it’s dismissed because they didn’t meet their case at the hearing, wait 90 days, you can get it expunged. If it’s dismissed because it was continued for a year and there were no violations and the judge dismissed it on 
an emergency basis, then wait 90 days, you can get it expunged.
If a final protective order was granted, whether it’s for three years, five years or lifetime, it is not eligible for expungement unless that protective order gets vacated, which I’m going to talk about in a separate video.
But otherwise, it’s eligible for an expungement. But don’t take my word for it. Talk to an attorney about your specific circumstances. If you want to talk to me, give me a call, (918) 932-2800.
