In Texas, the statute of limitations for assault family violence is three years for misdemeanor charges and five years for most felony charges, measured from the date of the alleged incident.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation Both windows are a year longer than the standard limits for other crimes at the same level. Once the deadline passes without a charging document being filed, the case is time-barred, and the person arrested can move to have the arrest wiped from their record.
The Three-Year Misdemeanor Deadline
Most misdemeanors in Texas carry a two-year statute of limitations. Assault family violence gets an extra year, so prosecutors have three years from the date of the alleged offense to file a misdemeanor charge.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation
A first-time accusation of causing bodily injury to a family member, household member, or dating partner is a Class A misdemeanor. Texas defines bodily injury broadly: any physical pain, illness, or impairment of physical condition.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions A bruise, a scratch, or pain without a visible mark can all qualify. A Class A misdemeanor conviction carries up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 12 – Punishments
One point people often get wrong: an arrest, a police report, or an active investigation does not stop the clock. The limitations period stops running only when a formal charging document is filed. For misdemeanors, that means an information filed with the court. For felonies, it means an indictment returned by a grand jury.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation If three years pass after the alleged incident and no charging document has been filed, a misdemeanor family violence prosecution is barred.
The Five-Year Felony Deadline
Most felony-level family violence offenses carry a five-year statute of limitations, longer than the three-year default that applies to felonies without a specifically assigned deadline.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation Several distinct charges fall inside that five-year window.
Third-Degree Felony Assault
An assault against a family member or dating partner jumps from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony in two situations. The first is when the defendant has a prior conviction for family violence. The second is when the assault involves strangulation, meaning the defendant blocked the victim’s breathing or blood flow by applying pressure to the throat or neck or by covering the nose or mouth.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault Either path triggers the five-year deadline.
Second-Degree Felony Assault
When both aggravating factors show up in the same case, the charge climbs to a second-degree felony under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01(b-3): a prior family violence conviction combined with strangulation of a family member or dating partner.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 22 – Assaultive Offenses The five-year limitations period still governs.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault under Section 22.02 applies when the defendant causes serious bodily injury or uses a deadly weapon during the assault. Serious bodily injury means an injury that creates a real risk of death, causes permanent disfigurement, or results in lasting loss of function in a body part or organ.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions Without more, aggravated assault is a second-degree felony. It becomes a first-degree felony when the defendant uses a deadly weapon to cause serious bodily injury to a family member, household member, or dating partner.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault Both versions carry a five-year statute of limitations.
Continuous Violence Against the Family
Texas also has a separate offense for a pattern of abuse. A person can be charged with continuous violence against the family, a third-degree felony, for committing assault against a family member, household member, or dating partner two or more times within a 12-month period.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.11 – Continuous Violence Against the Family Prosecutors do not need two separate convictions; they only need to prove two incidents. The five-year deadline applies here too.
What Can Pause the Clock
The three-year and five-year deadlines are not always as firm as they look. Any time the accused spends outside of Texas does not count toward the limitations period.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation Someone facing a three-year deadline who leaves the state for 18 months and then returns effectively gives prosecutors four and a half calendar years to bring charges. The clock picks up where it left off.
A boundary worth noting: if the case involves injury to a child under Penal Code Section 22.04, a separate offense from standard assault, the deadline is 10 years from the victim’s 18th birthday.1State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation Standard assault family violence charges against a child victim still follow the three-year or five-year deadlines above.
Who Counts as Family, Household, or Dating
The extended deadlines only apply when the alleged victim has a specific relationship with the accused. Texas law covers three categories. Family members include people related by blood or marriage, former spouses, and parents who share a child regardless of whether they were ever married. Household members are people living together in the same home, whether or not they are related. A dating relationship means an ongoing romantic or intimate connection; a casual acquaintance or ordinary social interaction does not qualify.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 71 – Definitions
If the alleged victim does not fall into one of these categories, the incident might still be prosecutable, but under different statutes with different deadlines. The relationship is what separates a standard assault charge from an assault family violence charge and triggers the longer limitations periods.
Raising the Statute of Limitations Defense
The deadline does not dismiss a case on its own. If a defendant believes charges were filed too late, the defense has to raise the issue, typically through a motion to dismiss arguing that the limitations period has expired. The state generally bears the burden of proving that charges were filed within the applicable deadline, but as a practical matter, the defense raises the issue and presents the timeline.
Waiting too long to raise the defense can create problems. In jurisdictions treating the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense rather than a jurisdictional bar, a defendant who fails to assert it before or during trial may lose the right to raise it on appeal. Getting it in front of the judge early matters.
Expunction Once the Deadline Passes
When the limitations period expires without charges ever being filed, a person who was arrested for the offense has a clear path to getting the arrest erased. Texas law entitles a person to expunction of all records and files related to the arrest if prosecution is no longer possible because the limitations period has run out.9State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A – Expunction of Criminal Records
Expunction may also be available before the limitations period fully expires if no charges have been filed and enough time has passed since the arrest. For a Class A or B misdemeanor arrest where no felony arose from the same incident, the waiting period is one year from the date of arrest. For a felony arrest, the waiting period is three years.9State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A – Expunction of Criminal Records No charges can be pending and there can be no prior court-ordered community supervision for the offense. Expunction does not happen automatically; you have to file a petition with the court.