Breaking a No-Contact Order Becomes Its Own Crime in Florida on October 1, 2026

A judge who releases someone after an arrest for a violent charge can order no contact with the alleged victim. Florida has made breaking that order a crime in domestic violence cases for years. On October 1, House Bill 397, the Victim Safety in Pretrial Release Act, now chapter 2026-155, Laws of Florida, creates section 903.0472 and extends the same rule to a list of 15 offenses that includes an ordinary battery or assault between strangers.

That means a bar fight, a road-rage shove, or an argument with a neighbor can now come with an order whose violation is a new charge.

What Changes on October 1

Section 903.0472(1) says a person commits a first-degree misdemeanor “if he or she willfully violates a condition of pretrial release described in s. 903.047(1)(b) which a court imposed after he or she was arrested for committing” one of the listed offenses. A first-degree misdemeanor carries up to a year in jail. Under subsection (2), a second or later violation is a third-degree felony, which carries up to five years.

The list covers murder, manslaughter, assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, sexual battery, lewd or lascivious offenses under section 800.04, robbery, written or electronic threats to kill or do bodily injury under section 836.10, and “any other felony that involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.”

The same act adds section 901.15(17), which lets an officer arrest without a warrant on probable cause that someone willfully violated one of these conditions.

It Isn’t Only Domestic Violence Anymore

Section 741.29(7) already made it a first-degree misdemeanor to willfully violate a pretrial release condition “when the original arrest was for an act of domestic violence,” with the person held until first appearance. The new section copies that rule and removes the relationship. After October 1, it doesn’t matter whether the other person is a spouse, a coworker, or someone you’d never met before that night. If the arrest was for a listed offense and the judge ordered no contact, the order carries criminal weight.

Before this law, breaking a no-contact condition outside a domestic case put your release at risk. Under section 903.0471, a judge can revoke pretrial release and order you held on probable cause that you “violated any other condition of pretrial release in a material respect.” That power stays. The new law adds a separate charge on top of it.

What Counts as Contact

Section 903.047(1)(b) defines “no contact,” unless the judge specifies something different, as four kinds of prohibited acts:

• Communicating “orally or in any written form, either in person, telephonically, electronically, or in any other manner, either directly or indirectly through a third person.” That covers calls, texts, emails, direct messages, and a friend passing along a message.
• Physical or violent contact with the person or with their property.
• Being within 500 feet of the person’s residence, “even if the defendant and the victim or other named person share the residence.”
• Being within 500 feet of the person’s vehicle, place of employment, or “a specified place frequented regularly by such person.”

“In any other manner” is broad on purpose. A comment on the person’s post, a tag, or a message sent through a mutual friend can all be argued to be written or indirect contact, and a prosecutor will argue it.

If They Contact You First

The condition is written as a duty on the defendant: section 903.047(1) says “the defendant must” refrain from contact. The person protected by the order isn’t under it. If they call, text, or show up, answering is contact by you. The safest response is no response, and saving what they sent. Messages from the protected person can matter later, especially in a motion to change the order or a dispute about who reached out, but they don’t give you permission to reply.

Shared Homes, Shared Kids, and Changing the Order

The 500-foot rule applies to a residence you share, so an order can keep you out of your own home. When the two of you have children in common, section 903.047(1)(b)1 lets the court, at the defendant’s request, “designate an appropriate third person to contact the victim for the sole purpose of facilitating the defendant’s contact with the children.” A lawyer for the defendant can also communicate with the protected person for lawful purposes.

Anything beyond that takes a judge. Under section 903.047(2), the court may modify the no-contact condition on the defendant’s motion “if good cause is shown and the interests of justice so require,” and the victim has the right to be heard. The other person agreeing to see you, or asking you to come home, doesn’t change the order. Only a signed modification does.

What Happens If You’re Accused of Breaking It

Section 903.0472(3) says a person arrested for a violation “shall be held in custody until his or her first appearance hearing.” The same holds for anyone on pretrial release for a listed offense who is arrested for any new law violation. At first appearance the judge decides whether to hold you or release you again with conditions, and the statute tells the judge to “prioritize the safety of the victim and the public” and to consider the seriousness of the original charge, your “history of compliance with court orders,” and “any evidence of the person’s intent to intimidate, harass, or harm any person.”

That hearing comes fast, and what gets said there sticks. The firm’s page on violation of pretrial release covers what the hearing looks like, and bond and pretrial release in Florida covers the rest of the release rules.

Where the Defense Is

The new crime requires a willful violation. That word puts the State to proof on what you knew and what you meant to do, and the statute supplies a starting point: section 903.047(1)(b) says the defendant “shall be informed in writing of the order of no contact, specifying the applicable prohibited acts, before the defendant is released from custody.” Was the paper given? What did it list? Did the judge specify something narrower than the default? A condition that was never delivered, or never said what it prohibited, is a condition that’s hard to violate willfully.

The facts are the rest of it. Was the distance really under 500 feet, and who measured it? Was an encounter planned or a chance meeting at the same store? Who actually sent the message, from what account, and can the State prove it? Save your phone, don’t delete anything, and don’t explain it to the officer. The firm’s hubs on criminal defense and no-contact orders cover the underlying charges, and every Florida criminal law taking effect October 1, 2026 covers the rest of this year’s changes.

Common Questions

Is violating a no-contact order a crime in Florida?

In a domestic violence case it already was, under section 741.29(7). Starting October 1, 2026, section 903.0472 makes a willful violation of a no-contact pretrial release condition a first-degree misdemeanor after an arrest for any listed offense, including assault, battery, stalking, robbery, and violent felonies. A second or later violation is a third-degree felony.

What if the victim contacts me first?

The order restricts you, not the other person. If they phone you or send a message, replying is contact by you and can be charged. Don’t respond, save the messages, and have your lawyer ask the judge to modify the order if contact is necessary.

Can I go home if we live together and there’s a no-contact order?

Not unless the judge changes the order. The default no-contact condition in section 903.047(1)(b) bars being within 500 feet of the person’s residence even when you share it. A judge can modify the condition on motion for good cause, and the protected person has the right to be heard.

Will I go to jail for violating a no-contact order in Florida?

If you’re arrested for it, section 903.0472(3) requires you to be held until your first appearance, where the judge decides whether to release you again. The violation itself carries up to a year in jail for a first offense and up to five years for a second, and the judge can also revoke your release on the original charge under section 903.0471.

Further Reading

1. CS/CS/HB 397 (2026), the Victim Safety in Pretrial Release Act, chapter 2026-155, Florida Senate bill page with the enrolled text
2. Fla. Stat. 903.047, conditions of pretrial release, Online Sunshine
3. Fla. Stat. 903.0471, violation of a condition of pretrial release, Online Sunshine
4. Fla. Stat. 741.29, domestic violence and pretrial release violations, Online Sunshine

This post is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The law discussed is CS/CS/House Bill 397 (2026), chapter 2026-155, Laws of Florida, creating section 903.0472 and adding section 901.15(17), Florida Statutes, effective October 1, 2026, read in the enrolled bill text, together with sections 903.047, 903.0471, and 741.29(7), Florida Statutes, as of September 27, 2026.