Vandalism Under California Penal Code 594: Penalties, Restitution, Defenses

California Penal Code 594 is the state’s main vandalism law. It makes it a crime to maliciously deface, damage, or destroy property that isn’t yours, and the dollar value of the damage largely controls what you face. Below $400, the offense is a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. At $400 or more, it becomes a “wobbler” the prosecutor can file as either a misdemeanor or a felony, with fines climbing to $50,000 once damage reaches $10,000. Repeat offenders, vandalism of places of worship, and graffiti cases trigger additional consequences, including possible suspension of your driver’s license.

What the Prosecutor Has to Prove

A conviction under Penal Code 594 requires three things: you acted maliciously, you defaced, damaged, or destroyed property, and the property was not your own.¹

“Malice” here does not mean hatred. Under Penal Code 7, it means acting with the intent to do a wrongful act or with the purpose of annoying or injuring someone else.² Backing into a neighbor’s fence by accident is not vandalism. Keying their car after an argument is.

The statute reaches real property, vehicles, signs, fixtures, furnishings, and anything belonging to a public agency or the federal government. Graffiti is defined broadly within the statute: any unauthorized writing, mark, figure, or design that is written, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on someone else’s property.¹ Scratching initials into a bathroom mirror and tagging a freeway overpass are legally the same act.

One wrinkle catches people off guard. Because the statute targets property that is “not his or her own,” property you share with someone else is not entirely yours. Courts have applied this to community property between spouses, meaning you can be convicted of damaging property you partly own if the co-owner did not consent.

How the Damage Amount Sets the Charge

Under $400 in repair or replacement cost, the offense is a straight misdemeanor. At $400 or above, it becomes a wobbler, and the prosecutor decides whether to file it as a misdemeanor or a felony based on the facts and your record.¹

Prosecutors don’t have to evaluate each act in isolation. Under California case law, damage from multiple acts can be added together when the acts were part of a single plan or impulse.³ Tag five walls in one night as part of the same outing and the combined cost sets your tier. Small individual acts can aggregate into felony exposure quickly.

Penalties by Tier

Damage under $400 (misdemeanor): up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.¹
Damage of $400 to $9,999 (wobbler): filed as a felony, the sentence is 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail under Penal Code 1170(h), with a fine of up to $10,000. Filed as a misdemeanor, the maximum is one year in county jail.¹
Damage of $10,000 or more (wobbler): same jail exposure as the middle tier, but the maximum fine rises to $50,000.¹
Repeat offender with damage under $400: if you have a prior conviction under Penal Code 594, 594.3, 594.4, 640.5, 640.6, or 640.7, the maximum fine jumps from $1,000 to $5,000. The charge stays a misdemeanor with up to one year in jail.¹

A judge can impose both a fine and jail time on any tier. If probation is granted, the court can still require jail time as a condition. The fines above are paid to the state and are separate from any restitution to the victim.

Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, and Cemeteries

Penal Code 594.3 creates a separate, more serious offense for vandalizing a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, religious school building, other place of worship, or cemetery. The dollar amount of the damage doesn’t matter: the charge is automatically a wobbler, punishable by up to one year in county jail or a felony term of 16 months, two years, or three years.⁴

When the same conduct also qualifies as a hate crime intended to intimidate people from exercising their religious beliefs, the charge becomes a straight felony with the same prison exposure under Penal Code 1170(h).⁴ A wobbler leaves the prosecutor room to show leniency. A straight felony removes that option.

Restitution, Graffiti Cleanup, and Counseling

On top of fines and jail, the court is required to order direct compensation to the victim. Restitution covers the actual cost of cleaning, repairing, or replacing the damaged property, and it goes to the owner rather than the state. That means it stacks on top of any criminal fines.

Graffiti convictions trigger additional requirements. The statute directs the court to order you to personally clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property, or to keep the affected property or a nearby area free of graffiti for up to one year. If you’re a minor, the obligation can extend to your parents or guardians. When graffiti cleanup isn’t practical, the court must consider other community service. The court can also order counseling for anyone sentenced to community service or graffiti removal.¹

Driver’s License Suspension

A vandalism conviction can cost you your driving privilege. The court has authority to suspend a convicted person’s license for up to two years, and if you don’t yet have a license, the court can delay your eligibility to apply by up to one year.⁵ The suspension power originated with graffiti cases involving younger defendants but reaches vandalism convictions more broadly. For many people, losing driving privileges causes problems that outlast any jail time.

If the Person Charged Is a Minor

Parents and guardians have direct financial exposure when a minor commits vandalism. Under California Civil Code 1714.1, when a minor willfully defaces property with paint or a similar substance, civil liability is imputed to the parent or guardian who has custody and control of the child. Parent and minor are jointly and severally liable for damages up to $25,000 per incident, including court costs and attorney’s fees.⁶

This civil liability sits alongside any criminal restitution ordered in the minor’s case. A parent can end up paying restitution through the criminal court and still face a civil suit from the property owner, each on its own timeline.

Defenses That Work

The strongest defenses attack malice or ownership. Because the statute requires malicious intent, accidentally damaging property isn’t vandalism no matter how costly the repair. If the damage was unintentional, the case fails on that element. Permission is another full defense. A landlord who told you to tear down a shed can’t later recast the demolition as vandalism.

False accusation is a real-world defense, particularly in disputes between neighbors, ex-partners, or former roommates. An alibi, surveillance footage, or evidence of the accuser’s motive to fabricate can undercut the claim. Identity is often a genuine issue in graffiti cases, where the act usually happens without witnesses and the link to a specific person may rest on thin circumstantial evidence.

Ownership itself works as a defense when the property is fully yours. The statute requires property that is “not his or her own,” so destroying something you own outright is not within Penal Code 594. Shared property is murkier, as noted above, but sole ownership defeats the charge.

Related Charges to Know About

Graffiti as an Infraction Under Penal Code 640.6

Not every graffiti case has to be charged as vandalism. Penal Code 640.6 creates a lesser infraction-level offense for graffiti defacement where damage is less than $250. The penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 with no jail exposure. But this lesser charge doesn’t block the prosecutor from filing under Penal Code 594 instead, and prior vandalism convictions make the infraction option unlikely. Repeat offenders under 640.6 face escalating penalties that reference the same prior-conviction list as Penal Code 594.⁷

Federal Property Is a Separate Charge

Penal Code 594 is a state statute. Damaging federal property, whether a federal building, a post office, or military property, is a separate federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1361. The federal misdemeanor-felony line is $1,000 in damage. Below that, up to one year in prison; above it, up to ten.⁸ Federal charges can be filed regardless of whether state charges also go forward.

Collateral Consequences

Immigration

For non-citizens, a vandalism conviction can create immigration problems that dwarf the criminal sentence. Federal immigration law treats certain offenses as “crimes involving moral turpitude,” which can make a person inadmissible or deportable. Whether a particular vandalism conviction qualifies depends on the specific facts and the sentence, not just the charge. A felony conviction with a sentence of a year or more is far more dangerous than a low-level misdemeanor. Anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen should talk to an immigration attorney before accepting any plea deal.

Bankruptcy Won’t Erase Restitution

If the court orders restitution, bankruptcy will not discharge it. Federal law expressly prohibits the discharge of criminal restitution orders under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.⁹ Criminal fines payable to the government are likewise non-dischargeable. Vandalism-related financial obligations follow you until paid in full.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 594 – Vandalism
2
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 7 – Preliminary Provisions
3
Justia. CALCRIM No. 2901 Vandalism Amount of Damage
4
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 594.3 – Vandalism of Places of Worship
5
California State Assembly. AB 1618 Analysis
6
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1714.1 – Liability of Parents and Guardians
7
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 640.6 – Graffiti
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1361 – Government Property or Contracts
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge