273.5 PC: Corporal Injury Elements, Penalties & Defenses

California Penal Code 273.5 makes it a crime to willfully inflict a physical injury that leaves a visible or detectable mark on a spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating partner. It is a “wobbler,” so prosecutors can charge it as a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail or as a felony carrying two, three, or four years in state prison.¹ A conviction also triggers a federal lifetime firearms ban, exposes non-citizens to deportation, and forces anyone granted probation into a year-long batterer’s treatment program.

What the Prosecution Has to Prove

To convict under PC 273.5, the prosecution has to establish three things: the defendant willfully inflicted a physical injury on another person, that injury produced a “traumatic condition,” and the person injured falls into one of the relationships the statute covers.¹ California’s standard jury instruction (CALCRIM 840) mirrors those elements and adds a fourth once the defense raises it: that the defendant did not act in self-defense.²

“Willfully” means on purpose. The prosecution doesn’t have to prove you intended the specific injury that resulted. It has to prove the physical contact itself was not accidental. Swing your arm in a heated argument and connect, and the prosecution needs to show you meant to make contact, not that you meant to leave a bruise. That line between intentional force and an accident sits at the core of most 273.5 cases.

Who the Statute Covers

PC 273.5 only applies when the defendant and the person injured share a specific type of relationship. The statute lists four categories:¹

A current or former spouse.
A current or former cohabitant, meaning two unrelated adults living together in a relationship with some permanence. You don’t need to present yourselves as a married couple.
A current or former fiancé or dating partner.
The parent of the defendant’s child, whether or not the two ever lived together or dated.

Cohabitation is the fact question that comes up most. Courts weigh whether the couple shared income or expenses, jointly used or owned property, how long the relationship lasted, and whether they presented themselves as a unit.³ A formal lease together isn’t required. Splitting rent and sleeping at the same address for months will usually qualify. Former cohabitants remain covered after the arrangement ends.

What Counts as a Traumatic Condition

A “traumatic condition” is any wound or bodily injury, internal or external, minor or serious, caused by physical force.¹ Broken bones, concussions, and internal bleeding all count, but so do bruises, swelling, redness, and scratches. The injury doesn’t have to be permanent, and it doesn’t have to require medical treatment.

The statute specifically calls out strangulation and suffocation, defined as impeding normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck.¹ Prosecutors treat strangulation cases aggressively. The “including, but not limited to” language in the definition also makes clear the traumatic condition standard is deliberately broad. If there’s any visible mark or documented injury from intentional force, the threshold is met.

Great Bodily Injury Enhancement

When the injuries go beyond that baseline and rise to “significant or substantial,” the prosecution can add a great bodily injury allegation under Penal Code 12022.7. That’s a sentence enhancement stacked on top of the base 273.5 sentence, and in domestic violence cases it adds three, four, or five consecutive years in state prison.⁴ The enhancement attaches only to felony charges. Whether an injury qualifies is decided case by case, with judges and juries weighing severity and whether medical treatment was needed. Broken bones, injuries requiring surgery, and serious concussions are common examples. A felony 273.5 conviction with a GBI finding can carry up to nine years: four on the base charge plus five for the enhancement.

Penalties for a First Offense

Because PC 273.5 is a wobbler, the prosecution decides whether to charge it as a misdemeanor or felony based on the severity of the injuries, the circumstances of the incident, and the defendant’s record.¹

As a misdemeanor: up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $6,000, or both.
As a felony: two, three, or four years in state prison, a fine of up to $6,000, or both.

The “or” matters. A judge can impose jail time alone, a fine alone, or combine them. Even without custody time, a conviction still carries the probation conditions described below.

Enhanced Penalties for Prior Convictions

Repeat exposure is significantly worse. If you’re convicted under PC 273.5 and you have a prior conviction within the past seven years for certain violent offenses, including a previous 273.5, assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245), battery causing serious injury (PC 243(d)), sexual battery (PC 243.4), or assault with caustic chemicals (PC 244), the maximum prison term jumps to five years and the fine ceiling doubles to $10,000.¹

If the prior was misdemeanor domestic battery under PC 243(e)(1), the prison range stays at two, three, or four years, but the fine ceiling still climbs to $10,000.¹

Priors also change probation. One qualifying prior within the past seven years triggers a minimum of 15 days in county jail as a condition of probation. Two or more priors bumps that minimum to 60 days. A judge can waive these minimums for good cause but has to explain the reasons on the record.¹

Probation Conditions

When a judge grants probation, the defendant doesn’t walk free. PC 273.5 probation follows the conditions in Penal Code 1203.097, which are among the strictest in California criminal law.⁵

A batterer’s treatment program of at least one year, with weekly two-hour sessions, progress reports to the court every three months, completion within 18 months, and no more than three excused absences across the entire program.
A criminal protective order barring contact with the person injured. It can include stay-away requirements and residence exclusions, and its duration depends on the seriousness of the case, the risk of further violations, and the safety of the person protected and their family.
A minimum $500 payment to the domestic violence fund, two-thirds of which goes to county domestic violence programs. The court can reduce or waive the fee if it finds the defendant can’t pay, but the judge must state the reason on the record.

Program fees for batterer’s treatment are separate from the $500 fund payment. Participants typically pay session costs out of pocket each week, and probation doesn’t end until those fees are paid in full, though a court can reduce or waive them if financial circumstances change.⁵ Violating any probation condition can result in revocation and imposition of the original jail or prison sentence.

How PC 273.5 Differs From Domestic Battery

PC 273.5 is often confused with Penal Code 243(e)(1), domestic battery. The dividing line is the injury requirement. PC 273.5 requires a traumatic condition, meaning a visible or detectable injury. PC 243(e)(1) covers any unwanted physical contact against a spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating partner, even if no mark is left.⁶

Domestic battery is always a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. PC 273.5 can be filed as a felony with up to four years in state prison. Prosecutors often use 243(e)(1) when the evidence of injury is weak or as a plea offer to reduce a 273.5 charge. Both count as domestic violence convictions for the federal firearms ban, and both require a batterer’s treatment program on probation.

Common Defenses

The elements the prosecution has to prove leave several openings for the defense.

Self-Defense

If the defendant reasonably believed they were in imminent danger and used only as much force as was necessary to protect themselves, self-defense applies. Once it’s raised, the burden shifts: the prosecution has to prove the defendant did not act in self-defense.² Force also has to be proportional. Punching someone who shoved you might qualify. Using a weapon against an unarmed person almost certainly won’t.

Accidental Injury

Because the statute requires the infliction to be “willful,” showing the injury was accidental is a complete defense. This comes up more often than people expect. Couples collide during arguments, trip in tight spaces, or get hurt while one person is trying to restrain the other rather than strike them. If the physical evidence is equally consistent with an accident, the case weakens.

False Allegations

Domestic violence cases often depend heavily on the accuser’s statement with little corroborating physical evidence. Defense attorneys challenge credibility using text messages, social media, and communications that contradict the accuser’s account. Witness testimony, recorded audio or video, and inconsistencies in police reports all play a role. Custody disputes and contentious breakups are frequent backdrops.

Federal Firearms Ban

For many defendants, this is where a 273.5 conviction hits hardest, and it catches people off guard. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently prohibited from possessing, shipping, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.⁷ There’s no exception for law enforcement or military. It applies whether the 273.5 was charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, and it lasts for life unless the conviction is expunged or pardoned. California layers its own 10-year state firearm ban on top of the federal lifetime prohibition.

Immigration Consequences

For non-citizens, a PC 273.5 conviction is a deportation ground. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E), any non-citizen convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” after admission to the United States is deportable.⁸ The statute draws no line between felony and misdemeanor. A misdemeanor 273.5 carries the same deportation exposure as a felony. Immigration authorities can start removal proceedings based on the conviction alone, and a California expungement does not eliminate the immigration consequences.

If you aren’t a U.S. citizen and you’re facing a 273.5 charge, the immigration exposure deserves at least as much attention as the criminal penalties. A plea that looks reasonable from a criminal defense standpoint can be catastrophic from an immigration standpoint.

Effects on Professional Licenses and Travel

California licensing boards for healthcare workers, attorneys, teachers, and other regulated professionals can take disciplinary action against anyone convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, and domestic violence convictions commonly fall into that category. The process isn’t automatic. Boards investigate and hold hearings, and suspension or revocation of a professional license is a real possibility. Many boards also require self-reporting of criminal convictions, and failing to report is independent grounds for discipline.

International travel is often overlooked. Canada, for example, can deny entry to anyone with a criminal conviction. Overcoming that bar requires applying for “criminal rehabilitation,” a process that takes over a year and requires at least five years to have passed since the end of the sentence, including probation.⁹ A temporary resident permit is available for urgent travel but is discretionary and hard to get.

Expungement and Its Limits

A PC 273.5 conviction can be expunged under Penal Code 1203.4 once all probation conditions have been completed. For felony wobbler convictions, the usual path is to first petition the court to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b), then seek expungement. Eligibility generally requires that probation is finished, all fines and fees are paid, and no new criminal charges are pending.

Expungement updates the record to show the conviction was dismissed, which helps with private employment applications. It doesn’t do everything, though. The federal lifetime firearms ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) is not lifted by a California expungement.⁷ Immigration authorities can still consider the conviction when evaluating deportation or visa eligibility.⁸ Professional licensing boards can still weigh the expunged conviction during application reviews. And if you pick up a new criminal case later, the expunged conviction can still be used as a prior for sentencing.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5
2
Judicial Council of California. California Criminal Jury Instructions – CALCRIM 840
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 13700
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 12022.7
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.097
6
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 243
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
9
Government of Canada. Overcome Criminal Convictions