Under Texas law, stalking is a pattern of two or more knowing acts directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear bodily injury, death, or harm to a family or household member, a dating partner, a pet, or property. That is what constitutes stalking in Texas: not a single unsettling encounter, but a documented course of conduct combined with a genuine, reasonable fear response. Because the offense is a felony from the first conviction, the line between annoying behavior and criminal stalking matters, and it sits in a specific place.
The Two-Act Course of Conduct
The foundation of a stalking charge is what the statute calls a “course of conduct,” meaning two or more separate acts directed at a specific person over time. One incident is not stalking, no matter how disturbing. The acts themselves can look very different from case to case: repeatedly showing up at someone’s home or workplace uninvited, following the person in public, sending unwanted gifts or messages, or making threats. No single type of behavior is required. What the law targets is the pattern.
That pattern also does not have to be uniform. A threatening voicemail followed weeks later by an appearance outside the person’s job can together form a course of conduct. The acts need to be aimed at the same person (or at people and things close to that person) and connected by the accused’s ongoing focus on the target.
The Knowing Element
The person engaging in the behavior must act knowingly. That means being aware the conduct is likely to be perceived as threatening, or aware it would cause the other person to feel harassed, alarmed, tormented, or fearful. Coincidence does not qualify. Running into the same person twice at a coffee shop by accident is not stalking, even if the other person finds it uncomfortable. The statute reaches people who understand the effect their conduct is having and keep going anyway.
The Reasonable Fear Requirement
Even a repeated, knowing pattern is not stalking unless it would make a reasonable person afraid. This is an objective test. It does not turn on whether the targeted individual happens to be unusually anxious or unusually stoic; the question is whether an ordinary person in the same circumstances would feel genuine fear.
Texas law is broad about what that fear can be directed at. The targeted person can fear for their own physical safety, for the safety of a family member, a household member, or someone they are dating. The statute also covers fear about property and fear for a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal. That animal-directed provision matters in practice, because abusers frequently threaten or harm animals as a way to control a victim, and the law specifically accounts for it.
Digital and Electronic Conduct
Texas does not separate physical stalking from digital stalking. The same statute covers both, and a course of conduct can be built entirely through electronic means. A stream of unwanted text messages, threatening comments flooding someone’s social media, fake profiles created to get around being blocked, or GPS tracking software used to monitor a person’s location without consent can all supply the repeated acts the statute requires.
Electronic cases often produce stronger evidence than in-person ones because messages, call logs, and app notifications create a timestamped record. Screenshots that show the sender, the date and time, and the full thread carry more weight than isolated clippings. Saved voicemails and phone logs help build the timeline prosecutors use to prove the pattern element.
How Stalking Differs From Harassment
Harassment and stalking overlap, but they are not the same offense and the consequences are far apart. Harassment in Texas is generally a misdemeanor, and a single act can be enough. It covers things like obscene or threatening phone calls, repeated electronic messages sent with intent to annoy or alarm, and anonymous communications meant to harass.
Stalking requires more: at least two acts, the knowing element, and a specific fear response measured against the reasonable person standard. The higher bar for what the prosecution must prove corresponds to a much steeper penalty. Where harassment carries jail time measured in months, stalking carries prison time measured in years. Conduct that begins as isolated harassing contacts can cross into felony stalking territory once it becomes a sustained campaign that produces real fear.
Criminal Penalties
A first stalking offense is a third-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment That is substantial prison exposure for a crime many people wrongly picture as a minor nuisance.
A prior stalking conviction raises a new offense to a second-degree felony, carrying 2 to 20 years in prison and the same $10,000 maximum fine.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment The enhancement is automatic once the prior conviction is established. Within the statutory range, judges can also impose harsher sentences when aggravating circumstances are present, such as threats of violence or actual physical harm.
Protective Orders
Stalking victims can seek a protective order under Chapter 7B of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Unlike family-violence protective orders, a stalking protective order does not require any particular relationship with the person. A victim, a parent or guardian, or a prosecutor acting on the victim’s behalf can file the application.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7B – Protective Orders
An order under Chapter 7B can prohibit the respondent from communicating with the victim directly or indirectly, from approaching the victim’s home, workplace, or school, and from engaging in any conduct reasonably likely to harass or alarm the victim.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7B – Protective Orders Under the federal Violence Against Women Act, victims are not charged filing or service fees for protection orders tied to stalking, sexual assault, or domestic violence. Violating a protective order is a separate criminal offense.
Firearm Consequences
A stalking protective order can trigger federal firearm restrictions that respondents often do not anticipate. Federal law prohibits anyone subject to a qualifying protective order that restrains them from stalking or threatening an intimate partner or child from possessing any firearm or ammunition.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The order qualifies when the respondent received notice and had a chance to participate in the hearing, and the order either includes a finding that the person is a credible threat or explicitly prohibits the use of physical force.
Possessing a firearm while subject to a qualifying order is a separate federal crime carrying up to 10 years in prison.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Protection Orders and Federal Firearms Prohibitions A valid Texas License to Carry does not change this. The federal prohibition applies for the life of the protective order regardless of state firearms law.