A DANCO, or Domestic Abuse No Contact Order, is a Minnesota criminal court order that forbids a defendant in a domestic violence case from contacting the person named as the victim. It is governed by Minnesota Statutes § 629.75, and it is imposed by a judge or at the request of a prosecutor as part of the criminal case itself.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 629.75 – Domestic Abuse No Contact Order The victim does not file for it, and the victim cannot cancel it.
DANCO vs. Order for Protection
The two orders look similar from a distance and get mixed up constantly, but they come from different courts. An Order for Protection (OFP) is a civil order that the victim initiates by filing a petition in family court. A DANCO is a criminal order attached to a domestic violence prosecution, and the state or the prosecutor drives it.2Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Protection Order Tracking and Training
A person can be subject to both at once. An OFP can address child custody, housing, and financial support; a DANCO does not. Because they live in separate courts, dismissing one has no automatic effect on the other, and a violation of one does not resolve the other.
When a Judge Issues a DANCO
A judge can impose a DANCO at the defendant’s first court appearance or at the time of release from custody after a domestic violence arrest. It can be a pretrial order while the case is pending or a postconviction condition of probation.
One feature catches defendants off guard: the DANCO is legally independent of any other pretrial release conditions.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 629.75 – Domestic Abuse No Contact Order Posting bail does not touch it. Complying with every other release condition does not touch it. The DANCO stands on its own and carries its own penalties.
What a DANCO Prohibits
The specific terms are set by the judge, but the pattern is consistent. The defendant is barred from physical contact with the protected person and from being near that person’s home or workplace. Those geographic restrictions apply even if the defendant lived at the same address before the arrest.
Communication bans cover every channel: calls, texts, email, social media, and letters. Indirect contact counts too. Asking a friend, relative, or anyone else to pass along a message is a violation. Courts focus on whether the defendant intended to reach the protected person, not on the method. A “like” on a social media post can be read as an attempt to make contact.
There is typically no blanket exception for communication routed through an attorney. If a defendant needs to arrange something practical, like retrieving belongings from a shared home, the correct path is to ask the court for specific, limited authorization or to have counsel coordinate with the prosecutor’s office.
The Protected Person Cannot Lift the Order
This is the single most misunderstood piece of a DANCO, and it generates more violations than almost anything else. The protected person cannot waive, cancel, or suspend the order. If the victim calls, invites the defendant over, or says they want the case dropped, the DANCO is still in full effect. A defendant who shows up because the victim asked them to is still violating the order and can still be arrested.
Reconciliation does not change the legal status. Law enforcement arrests first and lets the court sort it out. The only safe route is a motion asking the court to rescind the order, followed by a judge’s formal ruling.
Penalties for a Violation
Officers can arrest a DANCO violator without a warrant on probable cause once they verify the order exists.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 629.75 – Domestic Abuse No Contact Order The violation is a separate criminal offense from the underlying domestic violence charges, and the penalties stack:
- First violation, misdemeanor: up to 90 days in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.02 – Definitions
- Violation within ten years of a prior qualified domestic violence offense, gross misdemeanor: a mandatory minimum of ten days in jail, a fine up to $3,000, and court-ordered counseling. The mandatory minimum cannot be waived or suspended.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 629.75 – Domestic Abuse No Contact Order
- Violation within ten years of two or more prior qualified domestic violence offenses, or violation while carrying a dangerous weapon, felony: up to five years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both. If the prison sentence is stayed, the defendant still faces a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail plus counseling.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 629.75 – Domestic Abuse No Contact Order
A single text or an unannounced visit to a shared apartment can turn a misdemeanor case into a multi-charge situation with mandatory jail time.
Firearms and Ammunition
A DANCO can trigger a federal ban on possessing firearms and ammunition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). The ban applies when the order meets three conditions: the defendant received notice and had a chance to participate in a hearing; the order restrains the defendant from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child; and the order either finds that the defendant poses a credible threat to the physical safety of that partner or child, or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force against them.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
For this federal statute, “intimate partner” means a current or former spouse, someone with whom the defendant shares a child, or someone the defendant currently or formerly lived with. If the DANCO qualifies, possessing even a single round of ammunition in the home is a federal crime carrying up to ten years in prison.
Enforcement Outside Minnesota
A DANCO does not stop at the state line. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state must give full faith and credit to protection orders issued elsewhere and enforce them as if they were local.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders The order does not need to be registered in the new state first. As long as the issuing court had jurisdiction and the defendant received notice and a chance to be heard, the order is valid nationwide.
A defendant who moves to another state and then contacts the protected person can be arrested there under the Minnesota order.
Shared Children and Parenting Time
When the defendant and the protected person share children, a DANCO creates an immediate practical problem. All contact is barred, which makes custody exchanges and co-parenting messages impossible without a court-approved workaround. Calling the other parent about pickup times or a child’s medical appointment is a violation regardless of the reason.
Judges sometimes build narrow exceptions into the order, such as communication through a court-approved co-parenting application or a designated third party. Those exceptions exist only if the court writes them in. Assuming that parenting responsibilities create an implied exception is a serious risk; the safer move is to ask the court to modify the DANCO with specific provisions for exchanges and communication.
If a family court custody order already exists, the DANCO does not override it, but following the custody order in a way that violates the DANCO still produces criminal liability. The criminal order controls the defendant’s conduct, and any conflict has to be resolved by the court before the defendant acts on it.
Asking the Court to Change or End the Order
A defendant who wants a DANCO lifted or modified has to file a written motion with the issuing court through the court administrator’s office. The motion identifies the case, describes the current restrictions, and explains the reason for the change, often pointing to completed counseling, changed circumstances, or an extended period of compliance.
The prosecutor’s office must be served with a copy so the state can respond. The court then holds a hearing where both sides present their positions. Judges often take input from the protected person, but the victim’s wishes alone do not decide the outcome. The court weighs the underlying charges, the defendant’s compliance history, and any ongoing safety concerns.
If the judge grants the motion, a written order formally changes or ends the restrictions. Until that written order is signed, the original DANCO remains in full force. A favorable ruling from the bench is not the same as a signed order, and acting on the ruling before the paperwork is finished is another common way defendants pick up a violation.