A charge of assault on a family member in Virginia is prosecuted under Virginia Code 18.2-57.2. A first offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-11 – Punishment for Conviction of Misdemeanor A third qualifying offense within 20 years is a Class 6 felony. And any conviction, even a first misdemeanor, triggers a lifetime federal ban on possessing firearms, with consequences that reach into custody, employment, and immigration status.
Who the Law Treats as a Family Member
Virginia Code 16.1-228 defines “family or household member” broadly. It includes current and former spouses, parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren. In-laws count if they share the home. Anyone who shares a child with the accused qualifies, whether or not the two ever married or lived together.
The definition also covers people who currently live together or lived together at any point in the past 12 months. Roommates, cohabitating dating partners, and former cohabitants all fall within the statute. If the relationship fits, the case is charged as domestic assault rather than ordinary assault and battery, and it moves to a different court.
Penalties by Offense Number
A first offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The maximum is 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both. A conviction does not require visible injuries. Any unlawful physical contact, or an act intended to cause harm or create fear of harm, can be enough. A shove or a grab qualifies.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-57.2 – Assault and Battery Against a Family or Household Member; Penalty
The charge escalates to a Class 6 felony when the accused has two or more prior convictions for qualifying domestic violence offenses within a 20-year window. The qualifying list includes domestic assault and battery, malicious or unlawful wounding, aggravated malicious wounding, causing bodily injury with a substance, and strangulation. Prior convictions from other states count if the offense had the same elements as a Virginia qualifying crime, and each prior must have occurred on a separate date.
A Class 6 felony carries one to five years in prison. The judge or jury can instead impose up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-10 – Punishment for Conviction of Felony; Penalty A felony conviction also costs the right to vote until the governor restores it, bars jury service, and restricts holding public office.
The Lifetime Federal Firearm Ban
This is the consequence that catches most people off guard. A conviction for domestic assault in Virginia, including a first-offense misdemeanor, triggers a lifetime federal ban on possessing or purchasing any firearm or ammunition. The ban comes from 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(9), known as the Lautenberg Amendment, and applies whether or not the state sentence included jail time.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
The federal definition of a qualifying misdemeanor requires that the offense involved the use or attempted use of physical force and that the offender had a qualifying relationship with the victim: spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating partner. Virginia’s domestic assault statute fits within that definition.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
Possessing a firearm after a qualifying conviction is a separate federal crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 924 – Penalties The ban can only be lifted if the conviction is expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or if civil rights are fully restored in a way that does not expressly prohibit firearm possession. For most people convicted in Virginia, the ban is permanent.
A separate firearm requirement kicks in earlier, when a full protective order is issued. Within 24 hours of being served, the respondent must surrender all firearms to a designated law enforcement agency, sell them to a licensed dealer, or transfer them to someone legally allowed to possess them. Within 48 hours, written certification must be filed with the court. Willfully failing to file that certification is contempt of court.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-308.1:4 – Purchase or Transportation of Firearm by Persons Subject to Protective Orders; Penalties
What Else a Conviction Can Cost You
The ripple effects often cause more lasting damage than the criminal penalty itself.
Custody and Visitation
Virginia courts must consider a parent’s history of domestic violence when deciding custody and visitation. A conviction does not automatically strip custody, but it creates a strong negative presumption. Courts may restrict unsupervised visitation, order exchanges at supervised locations, or require completion of treatment programs before expanding access.
Employment and Licensing
The conviction appears on criminal background checks. It can disqualify applicants from jobs in healthcare, education, law enforcement, the military, and any role requiring a security clearance. Licensing boards for nurses, teachers, therapists, and similar professions may investigate on the arrest alone and can impose discipline up to revocation, especially where the work involves vulnerable populations.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a domestic violence conviction is a deportable offense under federal immigration law. Even a misdemeanor can trigger removal proceedings, denial of naturalization, and bars to reentry. In most cases this consequence is irreversible.
Court-Ordered Conditions
Sentences rarely stop at jail and fines. Common additions include supervised or unsupervised probation lasting 12 to 24 months, a batterer intervention program (defendant pays, costs run from several hundred to over a thousand dollars), anger management or counseling, and no-contact orders that can extend well past trial even over the alleged victim’s objection.
Protective Orders Attached to the Charge
Virginia issues three types of protective orders in domestic situations, each with a different duration and process. All three can prohibit contact, require the respondent to leave a shared residence, and impose other conditions.
- An Emergency Protective Order is issued by a magistrate, usually at law enforcement’s request. It expires at the end of the third day after issuance or the next day court is in session, whichever is later.
- A Preliminary Protective Order is issued by a judge, sometimes without the respondent present, on a showing of good cause that the petitioner faces immediate danger of family abuse or that family abuse recently occurred. It lasts until a full hearing, which must happen within 15 days.
- A full Protective Order follows a hearing where both sides present evidence. It can last up to two years and may be extended.
8Virginia Judicial System. District Court Protective Order Information Sheet9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-152.9 – Preliminary Protective Orders
A first violation of a protective order is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A second violation within five years, where either offense involved an act or threat of violence, carries a mandatory minimum of 60 days in jail. A third or subsequent violation within 20 years, again involving violence or threats, is a Class 6 felony with a mandatory minimum of six months. These mandatory minimums run consecutively with any other sentence.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-60.4 – Violation of Protective Orders; Penalty
How the Case Moves Through Court
Officers responding to a domestic call can arrest without a warrant if they have probable cause, even if they did not witness the incident.11Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-81.3 – Arrest Without a Warrant Authorized in Cases of Assault and Battery Against a Family or Household Member After arrest, a magistrate sets bond conditions, which nearly always include a no-contact order with the alleged victim. Breaking that condition before trial can mean bond revocation and additional charges.
At arraignment the court states the formal charges and the right to counsel, with appointed counsel available for those who cannot afford a lawyer. Domestic assault cases are tried in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, not General District Court.12Virginia Judicial System. Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court JDR proceedings are bench trials: a judge decides, not a jury. If convicted in JDR, the defendant can appeal to Circuit Court and get a completely new trial, this time with the option of a jury. That resets the process and can add months.
The First-Offender Dismissal Option
Virginia Code 18.2-57.3 allows a deferred disposition that ends in dismissal rather than conviction. Eligibility is narrow. The accused must be at least 18, have no prior domestic violence convictions from any jurisdiction, and have never received this deferred disposition before.13Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-57.3 – Persons Charged With First Offense of Assault and Battery Against a Family or Household Member May Be Placed on Local Community-Based Probation
If eligible, the court defers a finding of guilt and imposes probation. Typical conditions include an assessment, a treatment or education program such as a batterer intervention program, payment of program costs, and good behavior for at least two years after probation ends. Supervised probation through a local community-based program may also be required. Successful completion dismisses the charge. Failure to comply means the court enters guilt and proceeds to sentencing.
One detail matters: even when the charge is dismissed through this program, the arrest record stays until you file a separate expungement petition.
Defenses That Apply
A charge is not a conviction. The right defense depends on the facts, the relationship, prior incidents, physical evidence, and inconsistencies in testimony.
Self-defense. Virginia recognizes the right to use reasonable force against imminent harm. The accused must show a genuine and immediate fear of injury and a response proportional to the threat. Virginia case law, including Foote v. Commonwealth, holds that a person not at fault has no duty to retreat before using force, including deadly force when reasonably necessary. That protection disappears if the accused was the initial aggressor.
Defense of others. Applies when the accused used reasonable force to protect someone else from an imminent unlawful attack, with a genuine belief that intervention was necessary and force that was proportional. Protecting a child from an abusive situation is a common example.
False allegations. Fabricated accusations arise in contentious divorces and custody disputes. The defense can attack credibility through inconsistent statements, missing physical evidence, text messages or recordings that contradict the account, and evidence of a motive to lie. Medical records and forensic evidence can refute claims of injury that don’t match the physical findings.
Whether It Can Come Off Your Record
Virginia’s expungement rules remain tight for domestic assault. Under Virginia Code 19.2-392.2, expungement is available only when a charge was dismissed, the defendant was acquitted, or the prosecution dropped the case. Actual convictions cannot be expunged.14Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 19.2-392.2 – Expungement of Police and Court Records
Virginia has expanded petition-based record sealing for certain misdemeanors and felonies, but crimes against family or household members are explicitly excluded.15Virginia Sentencing Commission. Sealing of Criminal Records Update 2026 A domestic assault conviction stays on your record permanently absent a gubernatorial pardon, which is rarely granted.
For defendants who complete the first-offender program, the dismissed charge makes the arrest record eligible for expungement. The petition is separate and must be approved by the court. If a case was dismissed through deferred disposition, filing that petition promptly is one of the most important steps for limiting the long-term damage.