How long a trespass order lasts depends entirely on who issued it. A notice from a private property owner or business usually has no expiration and stays in force until the issuer lifts it. A trespass warning from law enforcement typically runs for a set period, often six months to two years. A court-issued trespass order lasts exactly as long as the order says, which can be anywhere from a few months to permanent.
Private Owner and Business Notices
When a store, landlord, or private property owner tells you to stay off their property, that ban generally has no end date. It remains in effect until the person or business that issued it decides to lift it. Some notices include an expiration date, but the law doesn’t require one. If yours doesn’t say when it ends, treat it as permanent.
The reason is simple. Property owners control who enters their property and don’t have to justify granting or revoking access. If you’ve been banned from a private business, the only reliable way back in is to contact the issuer and ask them to lift the notice. No court can force them to.
Police-Issued Trespass Warnings
Trespass warnings issued by police almost always come with a defined time limit. The exact duration depends on department policy and local law. One year is common. Some agencies use six months; others go up to two. A few jurisdictions cap first-time warnings at one year and allow up to two years for repeat violations.
The warning itself should tell you how long it lasts. If it doesn’t, or if you’ve misplaced the paperwork, call the non-emergency line of the department that issued it and ask. Once the period expires, the warning lapses on its own. The property owner can request a new one, but the old warning doesn’t renew automatically.
Court-Issued Trespass Orders
A court order spells out its own duration inside the order. Judges have the broadest range of any issuer: months, years, or permanent. Shorter timelines tend to accompany low-level disputes. Permanent bans tend to follow serious or repeated conduct involving threats, harassment, or violence. Trespass provisions also show up as part of a restraining order or as a condition of a criminal sentence or probation, in which case the trespass restriction runs with whatever underlying order or sentence created it.
Court orders carry more weight than the other two categories. Violating one can bring a fresh criminal trespass charge and a separate contempt-of-court proceeding on top of it.
How to Confirm Whether Yours Is Still Active
Start with the paperwork. Most written notices and every court order state a duration or an expiration date. If yours doesn’t, or you no longer have the document, go to the source:
- For a police-issued warning, call the non-emergency line for the department that issued it. They keep records and can tell you whether it’s still in effect.
- For a business or property owner notice, contact the owner or manager directly. If the business has changed hands, the new owners may not even know the notice exists.
- For a court order, check with the clerk of the issuing court. Court orders are public record, and the clerk’s office can confirm status and expiration.
Don’t guess. Returning to a property while an order is still active turns a settled situation into a new criminal charge, and a phone call takes five minutes.
Getting a Trespass Order Lifted Early
Even orders without a stated expiration can sometimes be ended sooner. The path depends on who issued it.
A private notice can be lifted at any time by the issuer, informally. If the original reason for the ban has been resolved, contact the property owner or business manager and ask. No court process is required because no court was involved. Nobody is obligated to lift a private notice, though, and there’s generally no legal mechanism to force them to.
A police warning normally just runs out its clock. Some departments will revoke a warning early on request; others won’t. Ask the issuing agency what their process is.
A court order requires a formal motion. You’d file a petition with the court that issued the original order asking to modify or terminate it, and you’d need to show that circumstances have meaningfully changed: the underlying dispute is resolved, the parties have reached an agreement, or enough time has passed that the original concerns no longer apply. Simple inconvenience isn’t enough. Most people work with a lawyer on this.
A Note on Public Property
Bans from public buildings, parks, and government offices follow different rules than private trespass notices. Because public property belongs to everyone, courts have held that the government needs a legitimate reason for the ban, the scope has to be proportional, the person issuing it must actually have authority over the property, and there must be at least some way to challenge the ban after it’s imposed. Bans that sweep too broadly or offer no review can be struck down. If your trespass warning covers public property, the duration and enforceability may depend on whether those constitutional requirements were met. None of this applies to private property.
What Happens if You Return Too Early
Coming back to property while a trespass order is still in effect is a crime in every state. The charge is usually criminal trespass, typically a misdemeanor. Fines commonly run from $500 to $2,000, and jail time of up to several months is possible for a first offense. Penalties climb with the type of property involved, any damage caused, and prior violations.
Federal property protected by the Secret Service carries stiffer consequences. Entering restricted buildings or grounds without authorization is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. If the trespass involves a deadly weapon or causes significant bodily injury, it becomes a felony carrying up to ten years.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1752 – Restricted Building or Grounds
A conviction also follows you. Under federal law, arrests that don’t result in conviction drop off consumer background reports after seven years, but criminal convictions, including misdemeanor trespass, can be reported indefinitely.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Some states apply shorter reporting windows, but federal law sets the floor and places no time limit on convictions. A five-minute call to confirm status is worth the trouble.