Domestic violence can be either a felony or a misdemeanor in California, and the answer usually turns on one question: did the victim have a visible physical injury? If the act left a wound or mark, even a small bruise, prosecutors can file a felony under Penal Code 273.5, which carries two to four years in state prison. Without a visible injury, the same conduct is typically filed as misdemeanor domestic battery under Penal Code 243(e)(1), punishable by up to a year in county jail. A large share of cases sit in the middle, where either charge is legally available and the prosecutor decides.
The Misdemeanor Charge: Penal Code 243(e)(1)
The everyday misdemeanor charge is domestic battery. It covers any willful and unlawful use of force or violence against an intimate partner, meaning a current or former spouse, a cohabitant, the other parent of your child, or someone you have or had a dating relationship with.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 243
The touching does not have to leave a mark. Grabbing an arm during an argument, a shove, or a slap that leaves no bruise all fit. What the statute requires is that the contact was harmful or offensive, not that it caused an injury you can photograph.
A conviction can bring up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 243 If the court grants probation, the defendant must complete a batterer’s treatment program of at least one year, meeting weekly for two-hour sessions and finishing within 18 months. The minimum probation term for any domestic violence conviction in California is 36 months.2California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 1203.097
The Felony Charge: Penal Code 273.5
The case crosses into felony territory when the act inflicts a “corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition.” The phrase is legal shorthand for a visible physical injury caused by force. That injury can be minor, like a bruise, redness, swelling, or a scratch, or serious, like a broken bone, a concussion, or internal bleeding. Strangulation and suffocation are specifically included even when they leave no outward mark.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5
Because the visible injury is what separates the felony from the misdemeanor, two nearly identical incidents can be charged very differently. A push that leaves a mark on the arm is a potential felony. The same push, with no mark, is a misdemeanor. That is why officer observations and injury photographs taken at the scene weigh so heavily in how the case is filed.
Other Facts That Push a Case Toward a Felony
- A prior domestic violence conviction within the past seven years raises the exposure to two, four, or five years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5
- Use of a deadly weapon is a separate wobbler under Penal Code 245, carrying two to four years in state prison and fines up to $10,000 when charged as a felony.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 245
- Force likely to produce great bodily injury, even without a weapon, can be charged as a felony under the same statute.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 245
Why the Prosecutor’s Choice Matters: Wobblers
Many domestic violence crimes are “wobblers,” meaning the prosecutor can file them as a felony or a misdemeanor. Penal Code 273.5 is the most common one in this area. The statute says the offense is a felony but also authorizes county jail for up to a year, which in practice gives the district attorney the option to treat it as a misdemeanor.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5
Prosecutors weigh how badly the victim was hurt, whether a weapon was involved, whether children witnessed the incident, and the defendant’s criminal history. A first-time offender in a case with a small bruise may see misdemeanor charges. A defendant with priors whose partner was hospitalized will almost certainly face a felony. That charging decision happens early, and it shapes everything that follows because the penalties are so different.
Felony Penalties and the Great Bodily Injury Enhancement
A first-time felony conviction under Penal Code 273.5 carries a state prison term of two, three, or four years and a fine up to $6,000. With a qualifying prior domestic violence or assault conviction within the past seven years, the range moves to two, four, or five years and the maximum fine rises to $10,000.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5 If probation is granted with priors, the court must still impose at least 15 days in county jail for one prior conviction, or 60 days for two or more.
California also adds a sentencing enhancement when a domestic violence felony causes great bodily injury. The enhancement adds three, four, or five consecutive years of prison time.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 12022.7 With the enhancement, a defendant convicted of felony corporal injury with great bodily injury can face up to nine years in prison even without a weapon.
Firearm Restrictions Follow Either Charge
A domestic violence conviction triggers firearm restrictions under both federal and California law, and the details depend on the exact charge.
Federal law bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition for life, regardless of which California statute applied.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922
California state law splits the two misdemeanors. A misdemeanor conviction under Penal Code 273.5 on or after January 1, 2019, brings a lifetime state firearm ban.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29805 A misdemeanor conviction under Penal Code 243(e)(1) carries a 10-year state ban.8California Department of Justice. Firearms Prohibiting Categories Any felony domestic violence conviction is a lifetime ban under state law. Which statute the prosecutor picks can affect gun rights for decades even when both are filed as misdemeanors.
Protective Orders
When someone is charged with a domestic violence offense, the court will consider a criminal protective order, sometimes called a stay-away order. It can bar the defendant from contacting, threatening, or approaching the victim and the victim’s family, and it requires the defendant to give up any firearms while it is in effect.9California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 136.2
These orders can be issued at any point in a criminal case. On a conviction, the sentencing court can extend the protective order for up to 10 years.9California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 136.2 Violating one is a separate criminal offense.
The Victim Cannot Drop the Charges
One common misunderstanding is worth flagging because it affects how people think about the misdemeanor-versus-felony question. Once an arrest is made in California, the decision to prosecute belongs to the district attorney, not the victim. California was one of the first states to adopt evidence-based prosecution in domestic violence cases, meaning the case is built from 911 recordings, officer observations, injury photographs, medical records, and witness statements. If the victim recants or refuses to testify, the case can still move forward, and whether it moves forward as a misdemeanor or a felony is the prosecutor’s call.