Unlawful Restraint in the Texas Penal Code: Charges and Defenses

Unlawful restraint under the Texas Penal Code is the crime of intentionally or knowingly restricting another person’s movement without their consent. Section 20.02 sets the baseline offense as a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine, but the charge climbs through three felony tiers, reaching a second-degree felony with up to 20 years in prison, depending on who was restrained and what happened during the incident.¹

What the Offense Requires

Two elements sit at the core: a restraint, and the absence of consent. Section 20.01 defines “restrain” as restricting someone’s movement either by moving them from one place to another or by confining them, in a way that substantially interferes with their liberty.²

Consent is absent when the restraint is accomplished through force, intimidation, or deception. Locking someone in a room is the obvious form. Tricking someone into staying or going somewhere they would not have gone voluntarily also counts. For children under 14 and incompetent persons, consent is absent whenever the parent, guardian, or caretaker has not agreed, regardless of whether force was used.²

The state must also prove the defendant acted intentionally or knowingly. Accidentally blocking a doorway or unknowingly trapping someone does not satisfy the mental state.¹

Class A Misdemeanor: The Default Charge

When none of the aggravating factors below apply, unlawful restraint is a Class A misdemeanor.¹ Under Section 12.21, the punishment is up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.³

This is the level that most commonly arises in domestic arguments and altercations where one person physically prevents another from leaving. Community supervision may substitute for jail, but a conviction still creates a permanent criminal record that shows up in employment, housing, and licensing checks.

State Jail Felony: Victim Under 17

The charge becomes a state jail felony when the person restrained is younger than 17.¹ The age of the victim is what drives the elevation; force is not required. Punishment is 180 days to two years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000.⁴

The 180-day floor is a real minimum. If a deadly weapon was used or exhibited during the offense, or if the defendant has certain prior felony convictions, the state jail felony is punished as a third-degree felony instead.⁴

Third-Degree Felony: Serious Risk, Public Servants, or Confined Actors

Three separate circumstances push the offense to a third-degree felony:¹

The defendant recklessly exposes the victim to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury. Actual injury is not required; the risk is enough.
The defendant restrains someone they know is a public servant performing official duties, or does so in retaliation for the public servant’s service.
The defendant is in custody or civilly committed and restrains another person while confined.

A third-degree felony carries two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000.⁵ This is prison time, not state jail or county jail.

Second-Degree Felony: Peace Officer or Judge

The most serious classification applies when the victim is a peace officer or judge. If the defendant restrains someone they know is a peace officer or judge performing official duties, or acts in retaliation for that person’s exercise of official power, the offense is a second-degree felony.¹ The punishment range is two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁶

Restraining any other type of public servant during official duties remains a third-degree felony. Peace officers and judges are singled out for the higher tier.

How This Differs From Kidnapping

Unlawful restraint and kidnapping are frequently confused, but the line between them is precise. Unlawful restraint requires only that someone restricted another person’s movement without consent. Kidnapping under Section 20.03 requires abduction, which Section 20.01 defines as restraining a person with the intent to prevent their rescue, either by hiding them where they are not likely to be found or by using or threatening deadly force.² Kidnapping is a third-degree felony on its own, and aggravated kidnapping is higher still.⁷

Blocking someone from leaving a room during an argument is unlawful restraint. Dragging someone to a hidden location or holding them at gunpoint crosses into kidnapping.

Defenses Built Into the Statute

Section 20.02 contains several affirmative defenses and exceptions. These do not deny that a restraint occurred; they say the conduct is not criminal even when the elements are technically met.

Relative Assuming Control of a Young Child

It is an affirmative defense that the person restrained was under 14, the defendant is a relative of the child, and the defendant’s sole intent was to assume lawful control of the child.¹ “Relative” under this chapter includes parents, stepparents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, and uncles, including adoptive relatives.² The defense often comes up in custody disputes.

Near-Age Exception

A separate affirmative defense applies when the restrained person is 14, 15, or 16, the defendant is no more than three years older, and no force, intimidation, or deception was used.¹ This keeps teenagers from facing a state jail felony over conduct with peers close in age.

Lawful Arrest or Detention

Detaining or moving another person is not an offense under Section 20.02 when the purpose is to carry out a lawful arrest or to hold a person who has been lawfully arrested.¹ This covers police making arrests and, in limited situations, private citizens holding someone they witness committing a felony or a breach of the peace in their presence.

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

The fine and jail time are only part of the exposure. Several consequences follow the conviction long after the sentence ends.

Firearm Restrictions

A felony conviction at any tier, state jail through second-degree, triggers a federal lifetime ban on possessing firearms or ammunition under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1).⁸ Even a misdemeanor conviction can produce a firearms ban if it qualifies as a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” under federal law, which depends on the relationship between defendant and victim and the specific facts. Anyone facing a restraint charge involving a family member, household member, or dating partner should be aware of the risk.

Immigration Consequences

For noncitizens, a conviction can trigger removal or bar admission if federal authorities classify it as a crime involving moral turpitude. The analysis depends on the mental state required and the specific facts. Because unlawful restraint requires at least knowing conduct and involves restricting another person’s liberty, some convictions will meet that threshold. Consult an immigration attorney before entering a plea.

Sealing the Record

Texas allows orders of nondisclosure to seal certain records, but unlawful restraint faces special restrictions. A misdemeanor charge resolved through deferred adjudication does not qualify for automatic nondisclosure under Section 411.072; the defendant must petition and wait at least two years after discharge and dismissal. For misdemeanor convictions where community supervision was completed, the waiting period is also two years. Felony convictions face more limited options, and if the offense involved family violence, nondisclosure is not available at all.⁹

Civil Liability for False Imprisonment

Criminal charges are not the only exposure. The person restrained can bring a civil suit for false imprisonment, the tort counterpart to unlawful restraint. The civil claim requires proof that the defendant intentionally confined the plaintiff without consent and without legal justification, and the burden is preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.

Damages can include lost wages, emotional distress, and humiliation. Malicious or reckless conduct can support punitive damages on top of that. Texas applies a two-year statute of limitations to false imprisonment claims, running from the date of the restraint, and missing that deadline permanently bars the suit.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 20.02 – Unlawful Restraint
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 20.01 – Definitions
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.35 – State Jail Felony Punishment
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 20.03 – Kidnapping
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Texas Courts. An Overview of Orders of Nondisclosure