New Jersey's VASPA Protective Order: The Renamed Sexual-Assault Act That Now Reaches Stalking
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · New Jersey · Last updated October 22, 2026
New Jersey has no general harassment order, but since January 1, 2024 its Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protection Act, called VASPA and formerly the Sexual Assault Survivor Protection Act, reaches acts of stalking and cyber-harassment alongside sexual offences (L.2023, c.127; N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14). It is a protective order, not a restraining order: a Superior Court order directing someone you are not in a domestic relationship with to stay away from you and stop contacting you. Two limits come first. Plain harassment under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 is not a ground, so unwelcome behaviour short of stalking or cyber-harassment is outside this Act. And VASPA excludes anyone who qualifies as a victim under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14(a)(1)). If the person harassing you is a spouse, partner, ex, or a family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want the domestic violence restraining order instead. The Judiciary's own kit says not to use it if you meet the domestic violence definition. Stalking means a purposeful or knowing course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person to fear for safety or suffer other emotional distress, and repeatedly means two or more occasions. Filing is free (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14(f)). A final order has no fixed end date. This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in New Jersey
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Can I get a New Jersey protective order for ordinary harassment?
Not under this Act. VASPA lists sexual contact, penetration, lewdness, attempts at those, stalking and cyber-harassment. Harassment under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 is not on that list, so the conduct has to amount to stalking or cyber-harassment as the statute defines them (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14, 2C:14-16).
How long does a New Jersey VASPA protective order last?
A final protective order has no fixed term. It remains in effect until further order of a judge of the Superior Court, and either party may petition to dissolve or modify it. Dissolution turns on a material change in circumstances, not on a calendar date (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(i)).
What proof standard does a New Jersey VASPA hearing use?
Preponderance of the evidence. The court considers whether acts of stalking, cyber-harassment or a listed sexual offence occurred, and the possibility of future risk to the safety or well-being of the person seeking the order. The hearing is set within 10 days of filing (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(a)).
Does it cost anything to file for a VASPA protective order in New Jersey?
No. The statute says no fees or other costs shall be assessed against an applicant for seeking a protective order under the Act. The Judiciary's filing packet is kit CN 13133, with the complaint on form CN 13134 (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14(f)).
New Jersey VASPA protective order rules at a glance
New Jersey's answer for a stranger-type harasser began life as a sexual-assault statute. The Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-13 and following, directs a person you have no domestic tie to stop contacting you and stay away, but only where the facts amount to a listed act: nonconsensual sexual contact, penetration or lewdness, or stalking or cyber-harassment. The 2023 amendment widened the list and swapped the name from SASPA to VASPA, so any source still using the old name predates it. The Act works by exclusion, not by a relationship list: if you are eligible as a victim of domestic violence, you cannot use it. Because New Jersey's domestic violence order is also open-ended, the difference between the two tracks is not length. It is the predicate acts, the forms, and which Act you fit.
A Monmouth County hobby-shop owner and a former customer who keeps turning up
A Monmouth County hobby-shop owner banned a customer after a refund dispute. Over the next two months the customer waits by her car after closing on three evenings and follows her to the bank once. She has never dated him, never lived with him, and is not related to him, so she is outside the domestic violence definition. Nothing he has done is sexual and none of it is online. Her question is whether these facts amount to stalking as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14, since a refund quarrel alone would be plain harassment. She reads kit CN 13133, completes complaint CN 13134, and lists each date. The case turns on whether the court sees repeated physical proximity on two or more occasions. That is the judge's decision.
Relevant Laws
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14 (application, definitions and who may apply)
Lets a person alleging nonconsensual sexual contact, penetration or lewdness, an attempt at such conduct, or stalking or cyber-harassment, and who is not eligible for a restraining order as a victim of domestic violence, apply to the Superior Court. Defines stalking and cyber-harassment, excludes unemancipated minors and parents or caretakers of a minor victim, and provides at subsection (f) that no fees or costs are assessed against the applicant. As amended by L.2023, c.127, effective January 1, 2024.
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-15 (temporary protective order)
Provides that an order for emergency, ex parte relief shall be granted upon good cause shown and shall remain in effect until a judge of the Superior Court issues a further order.
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(a) (hearing and standard of proof)
Requires a hearing in the Superior Court within 10 days of filing, in the county where the temporary order issued. The standard is a preponderance of the evidence, and the court considers whether acts of stalking, cyber-harassment or a listed sexual offence occurred and the possibility of future risk to the applicant's safety or well-being.
N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(i) (duration and dissolution)
Provides that a final protective order remains in effect until further order of a judge of the Superior Court, and that either party may file a petition to dissolve or modify it. The test for dissolution is a material change in circumstances that would make continued enforcement inequitable, oppressive or unjust.
N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 and following, including 2C:25-19(d) (Prevention of Domestic Violence Act)
The domestic violence statute that the routing on this page depends on. Section 2C:25-19(d) defines a victim of domestic violence, and anyone who is eligible under it is excluded from VASPA by N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14(a)(1). The Judiciary describes a domestic violence final restraining order as continuing until changed by the court.
L.2023, c.127 (the renaming and expansion)
Approved July 24, 2023 and effective January 1, 2024. Renames the Sexual Assault Survivor Protection Act as the Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protection Act, adds stalking and cyber-harassment as eligible acts, and repeals section 2 of P.L.1999, c.47 (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10.2).
Judiciary VASPA filing packet, kit CN 13133 and complaint CN 13134
The Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part packet, revised 01/2026, which includes the complaint for a Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protective Order. The kit states not to use it if you meet the definition of a victim under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act.
Judiciary Notice to the Bar, January 2026 (Rule 5:7B amendments)
Notes that VASPA amends and replaces SASPA by expanding the eligible acts to include stalking and cyber-harassment, and that Rule 5:7B was amended effective January 1, 2026.
Regional Variances
New Jersey civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protection Act (VASPA) protective order, formerly the Sexual Assault Survivor Protection Act. It is a protective order, not a restraining order, under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-13 and following, as amended by L.2023, c.127. Narrower than a general harassment order.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
No relationship to the other person is required. The test is negative: the applicant must not be eligible as a victim of domestic violence under N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19(d) (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14(a)(1)). Conduct by an unemancipated minor goes to the Code of Juvenile Justice, and conduct by a parent or caretaker of a minor victim is a child-protection matter.
The standard
Preponderance of the evidence. The court considers one or more listed acts, namely nonconsensual sexual contact, penetration or lewdness, or stalking or cyber-harassment, and the possibility of future risk to the applicant. Plain harassment under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4 is not a listed ground (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(a)).
Temporary order
An ex parte order for emergency relief is granted upon good cause shown and remains in effect until a judge of the Superior Court issues a further order. The final hearing is held within 10 days of filing (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-15, 2C:14-16(a)).
Duration
No fixed term. A final protective order remains in effect until further order of a judge of the Superior Court (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(i)). The domestic violence final restraining order is also open-ended, so length does not separate the two tracks.
Renewal and dissolution
No renewal is needed because there is no expiry. Either party may petition to dissolve or modify, and the court asks whether a material change in circumstances makes continued enforcement inequitable, oppressive or unjust (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-16(i)).
Court and form
Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part. The packet is kit CN 13133, revised 01/2026, and the complaint is CN 13134. Filing is through Judiciary Electronic Document Submission or in person at the Family Division.
Filing fee
None. No fees or other costs are assessed against an applicant for seeking a protective order under the Act (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-14(f)).
Frequently Asked Questions
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