California Penal Code 273.5(a) makes it a crime to willfully inflict a physical injury on a current or former spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, dating partner, or the parent of your child. A PC 273.5(a) corporal injury charge is a “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors can file it as a misdemeanor or a felony, and a felony conviction carries up to four years in state prison plus a $6,000 fine.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5 The fallout reaches firearm rights, child custody, immigration status, and professional licensing, and much of it survives even a later dismissal.
What the Prosecution Has to Prove
Two elements. First, that you willfully used physical force against the alleged victim. Second, that the force caused a “traumatic condition” — meaning any bodily injury resulting from physical force, including a bruise, swelling, redness, internal damage, or injury from strangulation.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5 The injury doesn’t have to be severe or permanent. What matters is that force was intentional and left some mark or harm.
The alleged victim also has to fit one of the statute’s relationship categories: current or former spouse, current or former cohabitant, fiancé, someone in a current or past dating relationship, or the other parent of your child.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5
Misdemeanor Versus Felony Sentencing
As a misdemeanor, PC 273.5 carries up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $6,000, or both. As a felony, the sentence runs two, three, or four years in state prison, with the same $6,000 fine ceiling.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5 Which way it’s filed usually turns on how badly the alleged victim was hurt and whether you have prior convictions.
The classification does more than change the sentence. A felony conviction disqualifies you from certain professional licenses, strips voting rights during incarceration, and shows up differently on background checks. When the charge is a wobbler, the fight over whether it stays a misdemeanor is often the most important part of the case.
Enhancements That Can Multiply the Sentence
Two enhancements come up often.
A prior domestic violence conviction within the past seven years pushes the numbers up. If the prior was PC 273.5, assault with a deadly weapon, sexual battery, or certain other violent offenses, the prison range becomes two, four, or five years and the fine ceiling rises to $10,000. If the prior was specifically domestic battery under PC 243(e), the prison range stays at two, three, or four years but the fine ceiling still climbs to $10,000.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5
The great bodily injury enhancement under Penal Code 12022.7(e) adds three, four, or five years, served consecutively, when the felony caused serious injury.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 12022.7 Broken bones, injuries requiring surgery, and concussions typically qualify. A felony conviction with GBI stacked on top can reach nine years.
How This Charge Compares to Domestic Battery
PC 273.5 is easy to confuse with Penal Code 243(e)(1), California’s domestic battery statute. The difference is injury. Domestic battery covers any unwanted physical contact with an intimate partner, even if the person isn’t hurt. A shove that leaves no mark can be charged as 243(e)(1). PC 273.5 requires proof that the contact caused an actual injury.
The gap in punishment is wide. Domestic battery is always a misdemeanor, capped at one year in county jail and a $2,000 fine. It also carries a ten-year firearm ban rather than a lifetime one. Prosecutors sometimes reduce a 273.5 charge to 243(e)(1) as part of a plea deal, and that reduction is often the realistic goal of a defense.
Mandatory Probation Conditions
If the court grants probation instead of straight custody, Penal Code 1203.097 imposes a fixed set of conditions whether the conviction is a misdemeanor or a felony. Probation lasts a minimum of 36 months. You must complete a 52-week batterer’s intervention program with weekly sessions of at least two hours, finish within 18 months, and submit progress reports to the court.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.097
There’s also a $500 payment to a domestic violence fund, which a judge can reduce or waive after a hearing on inability to pay. Program tuition is separate and paid weekly. The court can order restitution for the alleged victim’s medical bills, counseling, and other direct losses.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.097
Protective Orders During and After the Case
At the first court appearance, judges routinely issue a Criminal Protective Order, often before there’s any conviction. It typically bars contact with the alleged victim, direct or through a third party, for the duration of the case.4California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders Violating it is a separate crime and grounds for immediate arrest.
On conviction, the sentencing judge can issue a longer-term protective order lasting up to 15 years, with duration set based on the seriousness of the offense, the risk of future violations, and safety concerns.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5 That order survives an expungement.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4
Lifetime Firearm Ban
A PC 273.5 conviction ends firearm rights for life under both state and federal law. On the state side, Penal Code 29805(b) bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor violation of Section 273.5 on or after January 1, 2019 from possessing firearms, with no time limit.6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 29805 A felony conviction separately triggers the general felon-in-possession bar. Federal law independently imposes a lifetime firearm ban on anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.7California Department of Justice. Firearms Prohibiting Categories
You’ll be required to surrender any firearms you own to law enforcement or a licensed dealer. Restoring rights after conviction is extraordinarily difficult. A pardon or full expungement may theoretically help, but the federal ban often remains in effect even when the state conviction is dismissed.
Custody, Immigration, and Licensing Fallout
The collateral consequences often outlast the sentence itself.
Child custody. Under California Family Code Section 3044, a finding of domestic violence within the past five years creates a presumption that awarding the offending parent sole or joint custody would harm the child.8California Courts. href=”https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/domestic-violence-child-custody” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Domestic Violence and Child Custody The other parent typically receives sole legal and physical custody. Rebutting the presumption requires completion of a batterer’s program, any court-ordered substance abuse counseling, and full compliance with probation and any protective orders. Even a parent who clears those hurdles usually gets supervised visitation rather than unsupervised time.
Immigration. Federal law makes any non-citizen convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” deportable, and a PC 273.5 conviction fits that definition.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Violating a criminal protective order in the case is a separate ground for deportation. The conviction also generally counts as a crime involving moral turpitude, which can block green cards, naturalization, and visa renewals. Expungement does not fix the immigration consequences. Any non-citizen facing this charge should talk to an immigration attorney before entering a plea.
Professional licensing. Licensing boards for healthcare workers, teachers, law enforcement, and anyone working with vulnerable populations can deny, suspend, or revoke a license based on a domestic violence conviction, even if the conduct was unrelated to work. Felonies frequently trigger automatic disqualification; misdemeanors are usually reviewed case by case. A plea that looks favorable in criminal court can still end a career, so licensed professionals should get licensing-defense advice early.
Common Defenses
Three defenses come up most often.
Self-defense. If you used force to protect yourself or someone else from imminent harm, and the force was proportional to the threat, the contact isn’t criminal. This is central in cases where both people were physical and the real question is who started it.
Accidental injury. PC 273.5 requires that the injury was inflicted willfully. Genuine accidents — someone bumped during an argument and falling — aren’t crimes under the statute.
False accusation. Domestic violence cases are especially prone to fabricated or exaggerated claims, sometimes tied to custody battles or divorce leverage. Where the accuser had a motive to lie or the physical evidence doesn’t match the account, that gap can drive an acquittal or a dismissal.
Expungement and What It Won’t Fix
Penal Code 1203.4 lets some people convicted under PC 273.5 petition to withdraw the plea, enter a not-guilty plea, and have the case dismissed. You must have successfully completed probation, or convince the judge to grant relief in the interests of justice, and you can’t be on probation, serving a sentence, or facing new charges when you file.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4
Expungement helps with private employment and some licensing questions. It doesn’t end an unexpired protective order issued under PC 273.5(j), which stays in force despite the dismissal.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4 It doesn’t restore firearm rights under federal law. And it doesn’t erase the conviction for immigration purposes. Think of it as closing the case for some purposes while leaving the hardest consequences intact.