Texas sorts misdemeanors into three classes. A Class C misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $500 with no jail time. A Class B carries up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. A Class A sits at the top, with up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor Those are the ceilings written in the Penal Code. Prior convictions, DWI enhancements, and bias-motivated offenses can push the floor up. And even a low-level conviction can create consequences that outlast any fine.
Class C Misdemeanor
Class C is the lowest rung of criminal offenses in Texas. A judge cannot send you to jail on a Class C conviction. The only punishment on the table is a fine of up to $500.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor These cases are heard in municipal courts and justice courts, which have jurisdiction only over fine-only offenses.4Texas Judicial Branch. Court Structure of Texas
Most Class C charges begin with a citation rather than an arrest. Traffic violations, public intoxication, and assault involving offensive or provocative contact that doesn’t cause bodily injury fall here.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 22 – Assaultive Offenses So does theft of property worth less than $100, provided you don’t have prior theft convictions that would bump the charge up.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.03 – Theft
People treat Class C charges as trivial because there’s no jail exposure. That underestimates them. A conviction creates a permanent criminal record unless you clear it later, and skipping court or ignoring the fine can produce a failure-to-appear warrant that turns a ticket into an arrest.
Class B Misdemeanor
Class B is where real incarceration risk starts. A judge can impose up to 180 days in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor Cases move to county courts, where you have the right to a jury trial.
A first-offense DWI is the most common Class B charge, and it comes with a statutory minimum of 72 hours in jail before any judicial discretion enters the picture.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.04 – Driving While Intoxicated Possession of two ounces or less of marijuana also sits at the Class B level.8State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.121 – Offense: Possession of Marihuana
For first-time offenders, prosecutors often agree to community supervision (the Texas term for probation) rather than active jail time. Misdemeanor community supervision can last up to two years and typically includes conditions like drug testing, community service, or alcohol education classes.9State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.053 Violate a condition and the judge can revoke supervision and impose the original jail sentence.
Class A Misdemeanor
Class A is the most serious misdemeanor classification, one step below a state jail felony. A conviction can bring up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor Bond amounts and prosecutor posture reflect the potential for a full year of incarceration.
Assault causing bodily injury is the textbook Class A offense. Any physical pain or injury pushes the charge from the Class C level (offensive contact only) to Class A.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 22 – Assaultive Offenses Burglary of a vehicle, DWI with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or higher, and certain drug possession charges committed in drug-free zones also land here.10State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.134 – Drug-Free Zones
At this level, the long-term consequences begin to dominate the calculation. A Class A conviction on your record can disqualify you from jobs, professional licenses, and housing long after any jail sentence is served.
Enhancements That Raise the Minimum Sentence
The classification tells you the ceiling. Enhancement rules can raise the floor and take away a judge’s ability to grant straight probation.
Prior Convictions
If you’re convicted of a Class A misdemeanor and have a prior Class A or felony conviction, the maximum stays the same but the court must impose at least 90 days in jail. A Class B conviction with a prior Class A, Class B, or felony conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.43 – Penalties for Repeat and Habitual Misdemeanor Offenders Those minimums are mandatory. A judge who might otherwise have granted probation alone loses that option once a qualifying prior appears.
DWI Enhancements
Driving while intoxicated has its own enhancement track that supplants the general repeat-offender rules. A first DWI is a Class B with a 72-hour minimum. A second DWI is a Class A with a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, regardless of injury. A third DWI crosses into felony territory.12State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.09 – Enhanced Offenses and Penalties A DWI conviction also triggers a driver’s license suspension of up to two years for adults and requires completion of an alcohol education program within 180 days to avoid an outright revocation.13Texas Department of Public Safety. Alcohol-Related Offenses
Hate Crime and Drug-Free Zone Enhancements
When a court finds an offense was motivated by bias against a specific group, the classification bumps up one level. A Class C becomes a Class B; a Class B becomes a Class A. For an offense already at Class A, the minimum jail sentence becomes 180 days.14State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.47 Drug offenses committed within 1,000 feet of a school, playground, or youth center trigger a similar bump. Possession of a small amount of marijuana that would ordinarily be a Class B becomes a Class A inside a drug-free zone.10State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.134 – Drug-Free Zones
Deferred Adjudication
For many first-time defendants, the most important outcome isn’t a conviction at all. Deferred adjudication is a form of community supervision where the judge withholds a guilty verdict. You plead guilty or no contest, the court places you on supervision with conditions, and if you complete everything the case is dismissed without a final conviction.
Misdemeanor deferred adjudication can last up to two years.15State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.103 Conditions resemble regular community supervision: drug testing, community service, counseling, or check-ins with a supervision officer, depending on the offense.
The catch is that deferred adjudication is not the same as the charge never happening. Violate the terms and the judge can find you guilty and impose any sentence within the original punishment range. And while a completed deferred adjudication avoids a conviction, the arrest and charge still appear on your record unless you obtain a nondisclosure order to seal them.
Consequences Beyond Jail and Fines
The jail cap and fine printed in the statute often aren’t what causes the most lasting damage. The consequences below sit outside the Penal Code but attach to a misdemeanor conviction all the same.
Federal Firearm Ban for Domestic Violence
A misdemeanor assault conviction involving a spouse, former partner, co-parent, or someone you lived with triggers a federal firearms ban under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(9). You cannot legally possess, buy, or receive any firearm or ammunition after a qualifying conviction, and the prohibition is permanent for most relationships.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Violating the ban is a separate federal crime carrying up to 15 years in prison.17Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions A Class A assault against a family member that results in probation and no jail still strips your firearm rights under federal law. The Texas court does not need to label the conviction “domestic violence” for the federal ban to attach.
Immigration Consequences
For noncitizens, including lawful permanent residents, even a minor misdemeanor can trigger deportation proceedings or make you inadmissible for re-entry. Federal immigration law has no statute of limitations, so an old conviction can surface during a green card renewal or citizenship application. Offenses involving drugs, theft, fraud, or violence are especially dangerous because they may be classified as crimes involving moral turpitude or as aggravated felonies under immigration law, even where Texas treats them as misdemeanors.
Professional Licensing
Texas licensing agencies evaluate criminal records in two steps. The agency first decides whether the offense is directly related to the duties of the licensed profession. If it is, the agency conducts a fuller review considering the seriousness of the crime, how long ago it happened, and evidence of rehabilitation. A conviction is not an automatic bar in most cases, but a Class A assault will raise red flags for anyone applying for a nursing, teaching, or law enforcement license.
Commercial Driver’s License
Commercial license holders face a separate layer of federal penalties. A DWI conviction, even as a misdemeanor, triggers a one-year CDL disqualification for a first offense and a lifetime disqualification for a second. Serious traffic violations like reckless driving or excessive speeding can also produce a CDL disqualification if they accumulate.18eCFR. 49 CFR Part 383 Subpart D – Driver Disqualifications and Penalties For a driver whose income depends on a CDL, a Class B DWI can effectively end a career.
Clearing a Misdemeanor From Your Record
Texas offers two paths for cleaning up a criminal record. Which one is available depends on how your case ended.
Expunction
Expunction destroys the records of an arrest and charge as though they never existed. You’re eligible if your case was dismissed, you were acquitted, or charges were never filed. The waiting period is 180 days after arrest for a Class C, one year for a Class A or B, and three years if a felony charge was also involved.19State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55.01 A completed deferred adjudication for a Class C also qualifies. For Class A and B misdemeanors resolved through deferred adjudication, expunction generally isn’t available, but a nondisclosure order may be.
Nondisclosure Orders
A nondisclosure order seals your record from public view rather than erasing it. Law enforcement and certain government agencies retain access; private employers, landlords, and the general public do not. If you completed deferred adjudication for most misdemeanors, you can petition for nondisclosure immediately upon discharge and dismissal. For misdemeanors involving assault, family violence, weapons, or sexual offenses, the waiting period is two years after discharge.20State of Texas. Texas Government Code 411.0725 – Procedure for Community Supervision Following Deferred Adjudication