Texas Penal Code 25.07: Violations, Penalties, and Arrest

Texas Penal Code Section 25.07 makes it a crime to knowingly violate a protective order or a bond condition issued in a family violence, child abuse or neglect, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking case. A standard violation is a Class A misdemeanor. With the right aggravating facts, the same conduct becomes a state jail felony or a third-degree felony, and a conviction can trigger federal firearms prohibitions and deportation for non-citizens.¹

What Conduct Violates Section 25.07

The statute lists seven categories of prohibited conduct. Each requires a knowing or intentional mental state, so an accidental or unknowing violation does not qualify. A person violates Section 25.07 by doing any of the following while subject to a qualifying order or bond condition:¹

Committing family violence or an act furthering human trafficking, sexual assault, indecent assault, or stalking.
Communicating with a protected person or their family member in a threatening or harassing way, relaying a threat through a third party, or communicating in any manner when the order bars all contact. When an order prohibits all communication, the only permitted channels are through an attorney or a court-appointed intermediary.
Going to or near the protected person’s home, workplace, or a child’s school or daycare as described in the order.
Possessing a firearm, regardless of whether it is used or displayed.
Harming, threatening, or interfering with the care of a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal belonging to the protected person.
Removing, attempting to remove, or interfering with a court-ordered GPS monitoring device.
Tracking or monitoring the protected person’s vehicle or personal property without consent, including through tracking apps, hidden devices, or physically following the person or having someone else do so.

The tracking and GPS tampering provisions sweep in conduct that defendants sometimes assume is a technical issue rather than a crime. Removing an ankle monitor or installing a tracking app on a former partner’s phone exposes the restrained person to the same criminal charge as showing up at the protected person’s front door.

Which Orders and Bond Conditions Trigger the Statute

Section 25.07 does not create a standalone protective order. It criminalizes the violation of orders and bond conditions issued under several other Texas statutes. The qualifying instruments include:¹

Magistrate’s Orders for Emergency Protection under Article 17.292 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, typically issued at a defendant’s first court appearance after a family violence arrest.²
Protective orders under Chapter 85 of the Texas Family Code, issued after a hearing.
Temporary ex parte protective orders under Chapter 83 of the Family Code, enforceable once served on the restrained person.
Orders issued during divorce proceedings under Section 6.504 of the Family Code.
Child abuse or neglect orders under Subchapter F, Chapter 261 of the Family Code.
Protective orders from other states recognized under Chapter 88 of the Family Code.
Bond conditions set in family violence, sexual assault, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking cases related to victim or community safety.

Bond conditions carry the same weight as a formal protective order under this statute. A defendant who assumes a condition of release is a lesser restriction is wrong, and violating it triggers the same charge.

Penalties Under Section 25.07

The statute creates three penalty tiers based on the circumstances of the violation.

Class A Misdemeanor

A standard violation is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.³⁴ This is the floor. Even a first offense can bring jail time.

State Jail Felony

The charge rises to a state jail felony if the defendant violates a protective order that was issued after a conviction or deferred adjudication for an offense, and the order specifically protects the victim of that offense.³ A state jail felony carries 180 days to two years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000.

Third-Degree Felony

The most severe tier applies in two situations. First, the charge is a third-degree felony if the defendant has two or more prior convictions under Section 25.07 or Section 25.072 (the continuous violation statute), regardless of what the current violation involved. Second, it is a third-degree felony if the violation itself included an assault or an act of stalking, even without any prior convictions.³ A third-degree felony carries two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁵

The prior-conviction path is where many defendants underestimate their exposure. Two prior Class A misdemeanor convictions for protective order violations convert the third offense into a felony that can send the defendant to prison for a decade, with no additional act of violence required on the third violation.

Arrest Without a Warrant

Texas gives peace officers broad arrest authority for protective order violations. An officer who witnesses a violation in progress is required to arrest without a warrant; the arrest is mandatory, not discretionary. An officer who arrives after the violation has ended can still arrest without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe the violation occurred. The officer is also required to remain at the scene as long as reasonably necessary to verify the allegation and prevent further violations.⁶

Why the Protected Person Cannot Waive the Order

One of the most dangerous misconceptions about protective orders in Texas is that the protected person can waive the order by inviting the restrained person over or agreeing to resume contact. That is not how it works. A protective order is a court directive issued to the restrained person, and only a judge can modify or dissolve it. A private agreement between the parties to ignore the order has no legal effect. The restrained person remains criminally liable for any contact, including contact the protected person initiated or encouraged.³

If both parties want to restore contact, the proper route is a motion asking the judge to modify or terminate the order. Until a judge signs the modification, every visit, text message, and phone call is a potential criminal charge. This trap catches people trying to reconcile more often than most realize.

Federal Firearms Prohibition

A Texas protective order can trigger federal firearms restrictions that go beyond state law. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), anyone subject to a qualifying protective order is prohibited from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.⁷ Violating the federal prohibition carries up to 15 years in federal prison.⁸

Not every order triggers the federal ban. The order must meet three criteria: it must have been issued after a hearing where the restrained person received actual notice and had an opportunity to participate; it must restrain the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or that partner’s child; and it must either include a finding that the person represents a credible threat to the partner’s physical safety or explicitly prohibit the use of physical force against the partner or child.⁷ Most final protective orders issued after a full hearing in Texas will meet these criteria. Temporary ex parte orders generally do not, because they lack the hearing requirement.

Immigration Consequences

A conviction under Section 25.07 can place a non-citizen in removal proceedings. Federal immigration law lists protective order violations as an independent ground for deportation: any non-citizen enjoined under a protection order and found by the court to have engaged in conduct violating provisions that protect against credible threats of violence, repeated harassment, or bodily injury is deportable.⁹

A felony conviction is not required. A single misdemeanor conviction for violating a protective order can be enough. Non-citizens convicted of crimes of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse face a separate ground for deportation under the same statute.⁹ A non-citizen charged under Section 25.07 should consult an immigration attorney before entering any plea.

The Order Does Not End at the State Line

A Texas protective order follows the restrained person out of state. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state, tribal government, and territory must give full faith and credit to protection orders issued by any other jurisdiction and enforce them as local orders.¹⁰ Likewise, a protective order from another state and recognized under Chapter 88 of the Texas Family Code is enforceable in Texas under Section 25.07. For the order to qualify for interstate enforcement, the issuing court must have had jurisdiction over the parties and the restrained person must have received reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.07 – Violation of Certain Court Orders or Conditions of Bond in a Family Violence, Child Abuse or Neglect, Sexual Assault or Abuse, Indecent Assault, Stalking, or Trafficking Case
2
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 17.292 – Magistrates Order for Emergency Protection
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.07
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
6
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 14.03 – Authority of Peace Officers
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders