In Texas, domestic violence can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, and the question of whether domestic violence is a felony or a misdemeanor comes down to a short list of factors: whether you have a prior family violence conviction, whether the incident involved strangulation, whether a deadly weapon or serious injury was involved, and whether there was more than one assault inside a 12-month window. A first simple assault against a family or household member with none of those factors is a Class A misdemeanor. Any one of them pushes the charge into felony territory, with penalties running from two years in prison up to life.
Who Counts as a Family or Household Member
Texas statutes use the term “family violence” rather than “domestic violence,” and the relationships it covers are broader than many people assume. Family includes people related by blood or marriage, former spouses, parents who share a child whether or not they were ever married, and foster parents and foster children.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.003 – Family Household means anyone living in the same home, related or not.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.005 – Household The law also reaches current and former dating partners, as long as the relationship was romantic or intimate rather than a casual acquaintance.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.0021 – Dating Violence Family violence itself means an act intended to cause physical harm, assault, or sexual assault, or any threat that reasonably puts the other person in fear of such harm. Self-defense is excluded.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.004 – Family Violence
When Domestic Violence Is a Misdemeanor
A simple assault against a family member, household member, or dating partner starts as a Class A misdemeanor when no aggravating factors are present.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault Punishment runs up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
The misdemeanor label is misleading in one important respect. A Class A family violence conviction triggers a permanent federal firearm ban, appears on background checks, and reshapes custody. It also means that any future family violence charge against anyone in a qualifying relationship will come in as a felony.
When Domestic Violence Becomes a Felony
Four distinct circumstances turn a family violence case into a felony in Texas. Some depend on what happened during the incident; one depends entirely on your record.
You Have a Prior Family Violence Conviction
This is the most common path to a felony charge. Any prior conviction for an offense committed against a family member, household member, or dating partner elevates a new assault to a third-degree felony, even if the new incident on its own would be a simple Class A misdemeanor.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault The earlier victim does not have to be the same person. The relationship category is what matters. A third-degree felony carries 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
The Incident Involved Strangulation
Choking or strangling a family member, household member, or dating partner is automatically a third-degree felony, even on a first offense with a clean record. The statute covers applying pressure to the throat or neck and blocking the nose or mouth. If you also have a prior family violence conviction, strangulation becomes a second-degree felony, carrying 2 to 20 years in prison.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault
A Deadly Weapon or Serious Bodily Injury Was Involved
Assault becomes aggravated assault when the attacker causes serious bodily injury or uses a deadly weapon.8State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault Serious bodily injury means an injury that creates a real risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or results in the long-term loss of function of a body part or organ.9State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions
Aggravated assault is a second-degree felony on its own, with a range of 2 to 20 years.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment When both factors are present at once, meaning a deadly weapon is used and serious bodily injury is caused to a family member, household member, or dating partner, the charge becomes a first-degree felony.8State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault A first-degree felony carries 5 to 99 years, or life, plus a fine of up to $10,000.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
Two or More Assaults Within 12 Months
Texas has a separate felony for patterns of abuse. Two or more assaults against a family member, household member, or dating partner within a 12-month period can be charged as continuous violence against the family, a third-degree felony. No prior conviction is required. The victims do not have to be the same person; two assaults against two different household members within a year will qualify. Prosecutors also do not need the jury to agree on the exact dates or locations of the individual assaults, only that two or more happened inside the 12-month window.12State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.11 – Continuous Violence Against the Family
Felony Punishment Ranges
The sentence depends on the felony level the case lands in. The ranges for the levels that appear in Texas family violence cases:
- State jail felony: 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility, plus a fine of up to $10,000.13State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.35 – State Jail Felony Punishment
- Third-degree felony: 2 to 10 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $10,000.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
- Second-degree felony: 2 to 20 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $10,000.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
- First-degree felony: 5 to 99 years in prison, or life, plus a fine of up to $10,000.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
The fine cap is the same across all four. The prison exposure is not.
The Federal Firearm Ban Applies Either Way
This is the consequence that surprises defendants most. Under federal law, anyone convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” is permanently prohibited from possessing, purchasing, shipping, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts You do not need a felony to lose your gun rights. A Texas Class A misdemeanor assault against a family member is enough.
The federal definition covers any misdemeanor involving the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed against a current or former spouse, someone you share a child with, a cohabitant, or a dating partner. A narrow exception exists for certain first-time dating violence misdemeanors: if the conviction is expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or if five years pass since the later of the conviction or completion of sentence without any new convictions, firearm rights may be restored.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions No equivalent five-year restoration exists for convictions involving spouses, cohabitants, or co-parents. Violating the ban is itself a separate federal crime carrying up to 15 years in federal prison.
How a Conviction Affects Custody
A Texas family violence conviction reshapes custody whether it is a misdemeanor or a felony. Courts must consider evidence of physical or sexual abuse in deciding conservatorship, and credible evidence of a history or pattern of family violence bars the court from appointing the parents as joint managing conservators.16State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.004 – History of Domestic Violence Texas normally presumes joint custody is in the child’s best interest; a finding of family violence eliminates that presumption.17State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.131 – Presumption That Parents to Be Appointed Joint Managing Conservators If the court finds a history or pattern of family violence during the two years before the custody case was filed, it can deny the abusive parent access to the child entirely. Even where some access is granted, supervised visitation, protected-setting exchanges, and drug or alcohol testing are available tools.
Protective Order Violations Can Add Their Own Felony
Most family violence arrests come with a protective order. For arrests involving serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon, a magistrate is required to issue an emergency protective order automatically.18Texas Courts. Magistrate’s Order for Emergency Protection A standard protective order lasts up to two years, with longer terms available where the case involved a felony, serious bodily injury, or two or more prior protective orders against the same person.19State of Texas. Texas Family Code 85.025 – Duration of Protective Order
Violating one of these orders is a Class A misdemeanor on the first offense. It becomes a state jail felony, carrying 180 days to 2 years, if the violation involves possessing a deadly weapon or if the order was issued after a conviction for an offense against the same victim. It becomes a third-degree felony, 2 to 10 years, if the person has two or more prior convictions for violating a protective order, or if the violation involves committing an assault or stalking.20State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.07 – Violation of Certain Court Orders A protective order violation can produce prison time on its own, separate from the underlying assault case.