Montana Domestic Violence Guide

Seeing Your Children With a No Contact Order

Start with the names on the order. Then look at how you would arrange a visit without contacting the other parent, because that is where most problems begin.

Written by

Ashley Hurlbert, Partner, A&M Law

Licensed Montana attorney and co-founder of A&M Law. 18 years of experience as lead counsel in 50+ jury and bench trials. A Certified Mediator and Certified Guardian ad Litem focusing on family law, criminal defense, and DUI defense.

18 yearsReviewed by Misty GaubatzLast reviewed: September 11, 2026

Key Takeaways: Seeing Your Children With a No Contact Order

A no contact order protects the people it lists by name (MCA § 45-5-209(5), (7)). Check whether your children are on it.
If the children are named, you may not contact them until the court changes the order.
If they are not named, the order still bars contact with the other parent, including through a third party where the order says so (MCA § 45-5-209(1)).
A distance restriction of up to 1,500 feet from the protected person's location can reach the place where the children live.
A parenting plan does not give permission to do what a criminal court order forbids. Ask the court for specific terms.
Children who saw or heard the incident may be potential witnesses, and release conditions can bar contact with witnesses (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(e)(ii)).

Whether you can see your children while a Montana no contact order is in place depends on two things: whether the order names the children as protected persons, and whether you can arrange time with them without contacting the other parent. If the children are named, you cannot see or contact them until the court changes the order. If they are not, parenting time is possible in principle, but only through arrangements the court has approved. This page is part of our Montana Domestic Violence Guide.

First, Read the Names on the Order

The order served at arrest uses a form set by statute. It says, "You are not allowed to have contact with" and then lists names (MCA § 45-5-209(5)). An order issued later in court must specify the protected persons and the prohibited contact (MCA § 45-5-209(7)). The court may also add conditions "necessary to enhance the safety of any protected person" (MCA § 45-5-209(1)).

So the answer is on the paper. A court can list children, for example when a child is the alleged victim or was present. If you were given more than one document, such as a release order and a no contact order, read both.

If Your Children Are Named

Then they are protected persons, and every form of contact the order prohibits applies to them: in person, by phone, by text or social media, in writing, and through other people. Showing up at school, a game, or daycare is contact. Each contact or attempt is a separate offense (MCA § 45-5-209(8)(b)).

The way to see your children in that situation is to ask the court to amend the order. The court must review the order at your first appearance and can amend it (MCA § 45-5-209(6)).

If Your Children Are Not Named

You are still barred from contacting the other parent, and two parts of the order make parenting time hard to carry out:

The third-party term. An order can prohibit contact with the protected person "by a third party" (MCA § 45-5-209(1)). Asking your mother, a friend, or an older child to set up a visit is the kind of indirect contact the statute describes.
The distance term. A restriction of up to 1,500 feet from the protected person's location can cover the home where the children are staying.

That is why informal workarounds lead to new charges. The consent of the other parent does not fix it, because consent is not a defense (MCA § 45-5-209(8)(b)).

Ask the Court for Specific Terms

Judges can write parenting arrangements into an order when the facts support it. A request might ask for:

exchanges handled by a named adult the court approves;
exchanges at a set public location and time, with no communication between the parents;
communication limited to a specified channel and to the children's schedule and health; or
supervised parenting time.

Whether a court grants any of these depends on the allegations and on the safety of the protected person and the children. Release conditions can be amended at any time on a reasonable basis (MCA § 46-9-108(3)). Until you have the amended order in writing, the original terms apply. Our pages on exchanging children under a no contact order and changing or lifting a no contact order go further.

How This Fits With a Parenting Plan

A parenting plan from a district court and a no contact order from a criminal court are different orders from different cases. One does not cancel the other. If your plan says you have the children on weekends and your criminal order says you may not contact their other parent, you need a court to reconcile the two.

There are tools on the family side. A parent can ask for an interim parenting plan, supported by an affidavit (MCA § 40-4-220), and an existing plan can be amended when circumstances have changed and the amendment serves the child's best interest (MCA § 40-4-219(1)). A civil order of protection can add its own limits: it may restrain a respondent from contact with a named minor family member (MCA § 40-15-204(4)), and a temporary order may prohibit removing a child from the court's jurisdiction (MCA § 40-15-201(2)(c)). See orders of protection and your parenting plan and our child custody page.

Children as Witnesses

If a child saw or heard what happened, the child may be a witness. Release conditions can require a defendant to avoid all contact with any potential witness who may testify (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(e)(ii)), so check your release order for that term too.

Even where contact with your children is allowed, do not talk with them about the incident, about what they told police, or about what they might say in court. Trying to shape a witness's account is a serious offense of its own (MCA § 45-7-206). More on this is in children as witnesses.

This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.

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FAQ

Seeing Your Children With a No Contact Order FAQ

Does a no contact order automatically include my children?

No. The statute requires the order to list the names of the people you may not contact and to specify the protected persons (MCA § 45-5-209(5), (7)). A protected person is a victim of a partner or family member assault listed in the order. Read the names on your copy, and if anything is unclear ask your lawyer before you act.

Can a relative pick up the kids for me?

Only if your order or the court allows it. An order can prohibit contact with the protected person by a third party, and arranging a pickup means someone is communicating with the other parent on your behalf (MCA § 45-5-209(1)). Ask the court to approve a specific exchange arrangement first.

We already have a parenting plan. Doesn't that control?

The parenting plan and the criminal order are separate court orders, and you have to obey both. If the plan gives you parenting time that you cannot exercise without violating the no contact order, the answer is to ask a court to adjust one of them. Do not treat the plan as permission.

Can I call or text my kids?

If the children are protected persons, no. If they are not, a call to a child's own phone is not contact with the other parent on its face, but it can become indirect contact if messages are relayed or the other parent answers. Get the terms clarified in writing before you rely on this.

Will this arrest affect custody in the long run?

It can. In a parenting case the court looks at the best interest of the child, and the listed factors include physical abuse or threat of physical abuse by one parent against the other parent or the child (MCA § 40-4-212(1)(f)). An arrest is not a conviction, and what a family court makes of the allegation depends on the evidence. See PFMA and child custody.

Need Parenting Time Addressed in Your Order?

Ashley Hurlbert handles both criminal defense and family law matters. Call 406-830-3060 for a confidential consultation.

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