13A-6-132: Domestic Violence Third Degree Penalties and Firearm Ban

In Alabama, the penalties for domestic violence in the third degree start at up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000 for a first offense, which is a Class A misdemeanor. A second conviction adds a mandatory 10 days behind bars. A third conviction, or any third-degree charge filed after a conviction for a higher-degree domestic violence offense, becomes a Class C felony punishable by one to ten years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000. On top of the sentence, a conviction triggers a lifetime federal firearm ban, works against you in a custody fight, and generally cannot be expunged.

First Offense: Class A Misdemeanor

A first conviction is a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor class Alabama uses.¹ The ceiling is one year in a county jail² and a fine of up to $6,000.

There is no statutory minimum jail time for a straightforward first offense. A judge can impose probation, suspend the sentence, or order a shorter jail stay. One exception removes that discretion: if you willfully violated a court-issued protection order while committing the offense, the court must impose at least 30 days in jail, with no reduction for good behavior.¹

Second Offense: Mandatory 10 Days

A second conviction is still a Class A misdemeanor, so the one-year and $6,000 ceilings don’t change. What changes is the floor. The defendant must serve at least 10 days in a city or county jail or detention facility, and that time cannot be reduced for good behavior or any other reason.¹

Third Offense: Class C Felony

A third conviction crosses from misdemeanor to felony. Third-degree domestic violence becomes a Class C felony, carrying a prison sentence between one year and one day and ten years¹³ and a fine of up to $15,000.⁴ That means state prison, not a county jail stint, and a permanent felony record.

When counting priors, municipal court convictions count. A guilty plea in city court tallies the same as a conviction in circuit court.¹

Prior First- or Second-Degree Conviction

You don’t have to rack up three third-degree offenses to land in felony territory. Any prior conviction for domestic violence in the first degree, second degree, or domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation turns a new third-degree charge into a Class C felony on its own, even if it would otherwise have been your first third-degree offense. Substantially similar convictions from other states count too.¹

When a Protection Order Is in Play

Protection order violations compound the picture. Violating a protection order on its own is a Class A misdemeanor; a second violation carries a mandatory 30-day jail sentence, and a third becomes a Class C felony.⁵

If a protection order was in force when the third-degree offense happened, the defendant can be charged for both. The third-degree statute separately locks in that minimum 30 days with no good-behavior reduction whenever the defendant willfully violated a protection order while committing the offense.¹

Federal Firearm Ban

This is the collateral consequence that surprises defendants most. Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing, shipping, or receiving a firearm or ammunition.⁶ It applies nationwide, has no expiration, and kicks in on a first-offense misdemeanor. If you legally owned firearms before the conviction, you must get rid of them.

The ban has teeth. Possessing a firearm after a qualifying domestic violence conviction carries up to 15 years in federal prison,⁷ a punishment that dwarfs the state misdemeanor that triggered it.

Child Custody Consequences

In a contested custody case, if the court determines that domestic or family violence occurred, Alabama law creates a rebuttable presumption that placing the child with the perpetrator is detrimental to the child and not in the child’s best interest. The presumption applies to sole custody, joint legal custody, and joint physical custody.⁸

A rebuttable presumption can be argued against, but you start at a disadvantage. The court also weighs the specific impact on the child. Even violence directed entirely at the other parent can count against you, and a conviction creates a documented record that opposing counsel will introduce.

Expungement Is Usually Off the Table

Alabama treats domestic violence offenses as violent crimes for expungement purposes, and violent-offense convictions are generally not eligible to be expunged. The standard three-year waiting period for misdemeanor convictions doesn’t help here, because the violent-offense exclusion blocks domestic violence convictions from qualifying.⁹

One narrow exception exists. A felony-level third-degree conviction under subsection (d) of the statute may be expunged if the defendant can show the offense occurred while they were being trafficked and would not have been committed but for that trafficking.⁹ Outside that scenario, the conviction stays on your record permanently, which makes the firearm ban, custody fallout, and background-check exposure effectively lifelong.

What the Charge Actually Covers

Not every argument or altercation triggers this statute. Third-degree domestic violence applies when someone commits one of a defined set of lower-level offenses against a qualifying victim: third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, criminal coercion, harassment, criminal surveillance, harassing communications, third-degree criminal trespass, second- or third-degree criminal mischief, or third-degree arson.¹ Third-degree assault, the most common underlying offense, covers intentionally or recklessly causing physical injury, or causing injury through criminal negligence with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.¹⁰

The relationship between the people involved has to fit too. Qualifying victims include a current or former spouse; a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, grandparent, step-grandparent, grandchild, or step-grandchild; someone with whom the defendant shares a child; a current household member; or someone in a current or former dating relationship with the defendant. Household member means someone sharing a romantic or intimate relationship, so platonic roommates don’t count. Dating relationship means a current or former romantic or intimate involvement, or at least the expectation of one.¹ If the same conduct is aimed at a stranger or non-romantic acquaintance, it’s charged as the underlying offense without the domestic violence enhancement.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-6-132 – Domestic Violence – Third Degree
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-7 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
3
Justia Law. Alabama Code 13A-5-6 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-11 – Fines for Felonies
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-6-142 – Violation of a Domestic Violence Protection Order
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-3-131 – Determination Raises Rebuttable Presumption
9
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Petition for Expungement of Records
10
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-6-22 – Assault in the Third Degree