In Texas, an Assault BI FV charge means Assault – Bodily Injury – Family Violence: intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing physical pain or injury to a family member, household member, or dating partner under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Title 5 Chapter 22 Section 22.01 – Assault A first offense with no aggravating facts is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. Prior family violence convictions, strangulation, or a weapon can push it into felony territory, and any conviction, even the misdemeanor version, triggers a lifetime federal ban on possessing firearms.
Who the Family Violence Label Covers
Texas does not limit the “FV” tag to spouses or blood relatives. Through cross-references to the Texas Family Code, the charge applies to current and former spouses, parents of a shared child whether or not they ever lived together, people related by blood or marriage, current and former roommates, and foster parents and children. It also covers dating relationships, which courts evaluate based on the length, nature, and frequency of contact between the two people.
The practical consequence: people who never married and never shared a home can still be charged with family violence if they had an intimate or romantic relationship. That reach is why many defendants are surprised to see “FV” attached to what they think of as an ordinary assault.
What “Bodily Injury” Actually Means
Under Texas law, bodily injury is any physical pain, illness, or impairment of a physical condition. Broken bones and visible bruises are not required. A slap that leaves redness, a shove that leaves a sore shoulder, a grab that causes pain — any of it can qualify. This is the threshold detail that most often catches people off guard, because the charge sounds more serious than the contact that produced it.
Penalties for a First-Offense Misdemeanor
A first-time Assault BI FV with no enhancements is a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor level in Texas.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Title 5 Chapter 22 Section 22.01 – Assault The statutory exposure is:
- Up to one year in county jail.
- A fine of up to $4,000.
- Community supervision, often one to two years, imposed in place of jail. Conditions commonly include anger management, a batterer intervention program, community service, and drug or alcohol testing.
- Restitution to the victim for medical costs, counseling, lost wages, or property damage.
Even where the sentence is probation, the family violence label itself produces consequences that outlast the case. The firearms ban and the record consequences described below attach to the conviction regardless of whether anyone serves a day in jail.
What Turns the Charge Into a Felony
Three sets of facts move Assault BI FV out of misdemeanor range, and the sentencing ranges on either side of the line are very different.
A Prior Family Violence Conviction
One prior conviction for a crime committed against a family member, household member, or dating partner bumps the new charge to a third-degree felony, carrying two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Title 5 Chapter 22 Section 22.01 – Assault The prior does not have to be an assault; it can include protective order violations based on family violence, sexual offenses against a family member, and other qualifying crimes in the same chapter. Two or more priors push the new case to a second-degree felony, with a range of two to twenty years and the same $10,000 fine cap. Prosecutors pull criminal histories aggressively, including out-of-state convictions.
Strangulation or Impeding Breath
If the assault involved impeding the victim’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck, or by covering the nose or mouth, the charge is a third-degree felony on its own, with no prior conviction required.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Title 5 Chapter 22 Section 22.01 – Assault Texas added this enhancement because strangulation is one of the strongest predictors of future lethal violence in domestic cases. A brief grab around the neck during an argument is enough to invoke it.
A Weapon or Serious Bodily Injury
When a weapon is used or the victim suffers serious bodily injury (an injury creating a substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, or loss of a bodily function), the case is typically charged as aggravated assault under Penal Code Section 22.02 rather than simple assault. Aggravated assault against a family member is a first-degree felony carrying five to ninety-nine years in prison. A case that starts as Assault BI FV can be refiled this way once prosecutors review full medical records or learn a weapon was present.
The Federal Firearms Ban
This is the consequence most people do not see coming. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions It is federal law, it applies in every state, and it applies to a first-offense Class A misdemeanor.
There is no carve-out for law enforcement officers or military personnel. The Lautenberg Amendment removed the government-employee exemption that exists for other federal firearm prohibitions, so a police officer or service member convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor cannot carry a weapon even on duty.3United States Department of Justice Archives. Criminal Resource Manual 1117 – Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence For anyone whose job depends on carrying a weapon, this single consequence can outweigh any jail exposure. A person subject to a domestic violence protective order is also prohibited from possessing firearms for the duration of that order, before any conviction.
Immigration, Custody, and Licensing Fallout
For a non-citizen, an Assault BI FV conviction is an independent ground for deportation. Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen convicted of a crime of domestic violence committed after admission to the United States deportable, regardless of status or how long they have lived here.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens The statute defines the term broadly, covering violence against a current or former spouse, co-parent, cohabitant, or anyone else protected under domestic violence laws. The conviction can also be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude, and felony-level convictions may qualify as aggravated felonies, which carry a near-permanent bar on relief from removal. Pleas that look favorable on the criminal side, like probation in place of jail, can still trigger automatic deportation if the family violence finding stays on the record.
In family court, a family violence finding feeds directly into the best-interest-of-the-child analysis and can lead to restricted visitation, supervised access, or loss of the right to decide where a child lives. Licensing boards in nursing, teaching, law, and other regulated fields treat the conviction as grounds for discipline up to denial or revocation of a license. The conviction shows up on background checks and complicates jobs that require security clearances or peace officer certification.
Why the Victim Cannot Simply Drop the Case
Texas requires officers responding to a family violence call to identify the primary aggressor and, if probable cause exists, make an arrest. The victim’s wishes do not control that decision. After charges are filed, many Texas prosecutors operate under a no-drop policy and continue the case even when the victim recants or refuses to cooperate. They rely on 911 recordings, body-camera footage, scene photographs, medical records, and statements the victim made to officers at the time, which often come in under hearsay exceptions like excited utterances. Assuming the case will disappear because the victim wants it dismissed is a mistake.
Protective Orders Attached to the Case
A magistrate’s emergency protective order can be issued immediately after an arrest and lasts up to 61 days, or up to 91 days if a deadly weapon was involved. The victim does not have to ask for it; the judge can enter it on their own. A no-contact condition is also standard at bond, forbidding any communication with the alleged victim directly or through third parties, and often requiring the defendant to leave a shared home. Violating that order is a separate criminal offense.
A longer-term protective order requires the victim to petition the court. If the court finds family violence occurred and is likely to occur again, it can issue an order lasting up to two years, typically barring contact and proximity to the victim’s home, workplace, and children’s schools, and often requiring a batterer intervention program. There is generally no filing fee. Violating a protective order is itself a Class A misdemeanor, and repeat or assault-related violations become felonies.
Deferred Adjudication Is Not a Clean Slate
Texas courts can offer deferred adjudication for Assault BI FV. The defendant pleads guilty or no contest, the court withholds a formal conviction, and if probation is completed successfully the case is dismissed. For family violence, this is not the fresh start it sounds like.
A deferred adjudication for family violence still counts as a prior conviction for enhancing any future family violence charge to a felony. It still triggers the federal firearms ban. And Texas law specifically prohibits expunction or an order of nondisclosure for offenses involving family violence, so the record of the charge and the deferred adjudication stays visible on background checks. Even the best plea outcome on this charge carries permanent consequences that good behavior on probation cannot erase.