Form 37: Restraining Order — Family Maintenance Enforcement Act
Form 37 records a court-issued restraining order about harassment or unwanted contact connected to family support enforcement in British Columbia.
A Form 37 restraining order is made by the court under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act. An applicant generally uses Form 35 to ask for this remedy; a party does not issue Form 37 by filling it out themselves.
What can a Form 37 order restrict?
Under section 46 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act, a court may restrain molesting, annoying, harassing, communicating with or attempting those acts toward people covered by that section, including a support creditor, debtor, Director of Maintenance Enforcement or specified persons associated with enforcement. The order identifies the restrained person and the specific protected people. It is not the same as a family violence protection order under the Family Law Act.
How does someone request it?
- Check that the concern relates to a support-enforcement proceeding and fits section 46; for an urgent safety concern, contact police or an appropriate legal service rather than waiting on a routine court process.
- Review Form 35: Application for Order Under the FMEA and identify the relief requested.
- Explain the specific incidents, dates, communications and people involved using accurate evidence and appropriate supporting documents.
- Unless the court directs otherwise, file Form 35 and serve each party and other affected person at least 7 days before the court appearance under Rule 142(2).
- Attend the hearing as directed. The judge determines whether to make a Form 37 order and its exact restrictions.
What information appears on the order?
The prescribed Form 37 has a court file number and BCFMA case identifier, identifies the parties and restrained person, specifies the people protected and the prohibited conduct, and may state an expiry date or other details. It also includes fields noting consent or a without-notice order. Those fields do not mean a private applicant can simply bypass service: the judge and relevant rules control that process.
What happens after it is issued?
Read every term carefully. The official order includes a police-enforcement notice, but the response to an alleged breach depends on the circumstances and relevant law. Keep a copy, record incidents safely and seek appropriate police or legal help for an actual breach. A judge may separately require a Form 36 recognizance with sureties, a bond or reporting directions; that is not automatic.
Police-enforcement wording: the prescribed Form 37 says an officer with reasonable and probable grounds to believe an order term was breached may take enforcement action, potentially including arrest without warrant under Criminal Code section 495. This does not promise arrest for every report of a breach.
Worked example
During an enforcement dispute, a debtor repeatedly sends intimidating messages to the support creditor. The creditor requests relief through Form 35 and supplies relevant evidence. If the court finds the legal test met, it may issue a Form 37 order defining the prohibited communications.
Avoid these mistakes
Do not use Form 37 to change parenting time, vary a child support amount or request an ordinary Family Law Act protection order. Do not promise arrest or imprisonment for every alleged breach: enforcement turns on the actual order and relevant police powers. Confirm whether the order expires on a specified date and whether it has been changed.
Official sources
- Official BC government Form 37 (PDF)
- BC Provincial Court Family Rules — 142(2)–(3)
- BC government Provincial Court family forms library
- Family Maintenance Enforcement Act, section 46
- Official prescribed Form 37 (BC Laws PDF)
Primary-source cross-check: October 13, 2026. Targeted guide review, not a certification of every possible case or later legal amendment.