Domestic Violence Laws in South Carolina: Degrees and Penalties

Domestic violence laws in South Carolina treat the offense as its own category of crime, separate from general assault, with four degrees of severity. The lowest is a misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail; the highest is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Which charge applies turns on how badly the alleged victim was hurt, whether a weapon was involved, whether the incident happened in front of a child or against a pregnant person, and the defendant’s prior record. These laws only reach relationships the statute specifically defines.

Who the Law Applies To

South Carolina’s domestic violence statutes only apply when the alleged victim is a “household member.” That term has a narrow definition: a current spouse, a former spouse, someone the accused shares a child with, or a person currently cohabiting with the accused or who has cohabited in the past.¹

Dating someone without living together doesn’t fit. Sharing a child does, whether or not the parents ever lived together. If the relationship falls outside these categories, prosecutors have to charge general assault and battery or another applicable offense instead of domestic violence.

The original statute limited the cohabitation category to “a male and female,” but the South Carolina Supreme Court struck that restriction down in Doe v. State (2017). Same-sex partners who are cohabiting or formerly cohabited receive the same protections under both the criminal statute and the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act.²

The Four Degrees of Domestic Violence

Third Degree

Third degree is the baseline charge. It applies when a person causes physical harm to a household member or threatens harm with the apparent present ability to carry it out. No visible injury is required. Evidence of an imminent threat of bodily harm is enough for the state to prosecute.³

Second Degree

Second degree applies when the victim suffers moderate bodily injury or the act could have caused it. “Moderate bodily injury” reaches further than most people expect. Under the statute it includes prolonged loss of consciousness, temporary disfigurement, temporary loss of function of a body part, any injury requiring treatment with regional or general anesthesia, and fractures or dislocations.¹

A third-degree offense also rises to second degree when it happens in the presence of a minor, is committed against someone the offender knew or should have known was pregnant, or is committed while violating an active protection order.³

First Degree

First degree applies when the incident causes great bodily injury or involves means likely to cause it, or when the person uses a firearm during the offense. Two other triggers push a charge up to this level: violating a protection order while committing what would otherwise be a second-degree offense, or having two or more prior domestic violence convictions in the past ten years.³ The ten-year lookback counts qualifying convictions from any state, not just South Carolina.¹

Domestic Violence of a High and Aggravated Nature

The most serious charge, known as DVHAN, is codified separately under Section 16-25-65. It applies when someone shows extreme indifference to the value of human life while injuring a household member, causes great bodily injury, or uses a deadly weapon. It also covers cases where the victim reasonably fears imminent death or great bodily injury because the accused used or threatened to use a weapon.⁴

Penalties

The sentences climb quickly, and the top two degrees are felonies that stay on a person’s record for life.

Third degree is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $2,500, up to 90 days in jail, or both.³
Second degree is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $2,500 to $5,000, up to three years in prison, or both.³
First degree is a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison.³
DVHAN is a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison.⁴

Courts often require convicted defendants to complete a certified domestic violence intervention program on top of any jail time or fine. For second and third-degree convictions, judges sometimes suspend the jail sentence in favor of probation conditioned on finishing that program. Failing the program can revoke probation and put the original sentence into effect.

Firearm Consequences

A domestic violence conviction triggers firearm restrictions at both the state and federal level. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), any person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. That applies to third-degree and second-degree convictions, not just felonies. The federal ban has no expiration and no exception for hunting or sport shooting.

Felony domestic violence convictions, meaning first degree and DVHAN, carry an independent prohibition under South Carolina’s felony firearms laws. Someone subject to a protection order may also be required to surrender firearms for the duration of the order. The practical result: a third-degree conviction that only produces a $1,000 fine can still cost a person the right to own a gun for life under federal law.

Diversion and Expungement Are Limited

South Carolina’s Pre-Trial Intervention programs, which let some first-time offenders earn a dismissal, generally exclude crimes of violence. Because domestic violence is classified as a violent offense, most solicitor’s offices will not accept a DV defendant into a standard PTI track. A few judicial circuits run specialized diversion programs for certain domestic violence cases, but availability is not uniform across the state.

Expungement is similarly narrow. A third-degree conviction may be eligible for expungement after a five-year waiting period, provided the person picks up no other convictions during that time. First-degree, second-degree, and DVHAN convictions are not eligible for expungement at all. That permanence, combined with the effects on employment, housing, and firearm rights, is one of the more consequential parts of a DV case.

Arrest, Bond, and Who Controls the Case

When officers respond to a domestic violence call, statute directs them to identify the “primary aggressor” rather than arrest everyone present. They weigh factors including prior complaints, the relative severity of each person’s injuries (including injuries that may not be immediately visible), the likelihood of future harm to each party, whether either acted in self-defense, and accounts from other household members about the history of violence in the home.⁴

After arrest, the court can impose restrictive bond conditions. Common ones include travel limits, stay-away orders covering the alleged victim, and supervision by a designated person or organization.⁵ Any bond requires the defendant to maintain good behavior toward the alleged victim, and courts can require a full cash bond for certain violent offenses instead of a surety bond.

One common misunderstanding: the alleged victim doesn’t control whether the case moves forward. Once an arrest is made, the decision to prosecute belongs to the solicitor’s office. The state can and often does proceed even when the victim asks that charges be dropped.

Orders of Protection Are a Separate Track

Criminal prosecution is not the only route. A victim of domestic abuse can file a Petition for an Order of Protection in Family Court under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act.⁶ The petition can be filed in the county where the respondent lives or where the abuse occurred, and the Judicial Branch publishes the forms and a self-represented petitioner’s manual.⁷

A judge can issue an emergency order after an initial hearing to provide immediate protection before the full hearing. The relief goes beyond no-contact provisions. Courts can grant the petitioner temporary possession of the shared home, order the respondent to leave, establish temporary custody of children, and require financial support or continued insurance coverage.⁶

A protection order typically lasts six months to one year if granted. Violating an active order is a separate criminal offense that can lead to immediate arrest and additional charges. That is true even when the protected person invites the contact; the order binds the respondent, and only the court can change it.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-25-10 – Definitions
2
South Carolina Attorney General. Opinion on Doe v. State
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-25-20 – Acts Prohibited, Penalties
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 16 Chapter 25 – Domestic Violence
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 17 Chapter 15 – Bail and Recognizances
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 20 Chapter 4 – Protection From Domestic Abuse Act
7
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Petition For Order of Protection