What Is a Wobbler Offense in California: Penalties and Reduction

A wobbler offense in California is a crime that can be charged, or later reduced, as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Dozens of California statutes are written this way, and the classification you end up with controls the sentence, the record, and a long list of consequences that follow you after the case closes. The authority to shift a wobbler between the two levels comes from Penal Code Section 17(b), and it stays alive at several points in a case.¹

When the Charge Can Flip

Every wobbler starts out as a presumptive felony, and most prosecutors file at the felony level because it preserves leverage in plea negotiations. Penal Code 17(b) then lays out the moments at which the charge can drop to a misdemeanor.¹

The district attorney can file the complaint as a misdemeanor from the start.
Before trial, the judge can reclassify the offense as a misdemeanor on the court’s own initiative or on a defense motion. If the motion is denied, the defense can only bring it again by showing changed circumstances.
At sentencing, if the judge imposes a sentence that does not include state prison or a qualifying county jail term, the offense becomes a misdemeanor automatically.
When granting probation, or at any point during or after probation on request from the defendant or probation officer, the judge can declare the offense a misdemeanor.

What Tips the Decision

Prosecutors and judges weigh similar factors at different stages. The seriousness of the conduct matters most. A grand theft involving tens of thousands of dollars looks very different from one just over the $950 threshold, even though both fall under the same statute. Physical harm, use of a weapon, or a particularly vulnerable victim pushes toward felony treatment.

Criminal history carries enormous weight. A first-time offender with no record is far more likely to see a wobbler charged or sentenced as a misdemeanor than someone with prior convictions. Planning or sophistication tilts toward felony classification, while cooperation with law enforcement, voluntary restitution, or evidence of genuine remorse pulls back toward misdemeanor territory. Judges reviewing a wobbler at sentencing have the benefit of a full probation report, which often contains details the prosecutor lacked at the filing stage.

Offenses Commonly Charged as Wobblers

California has a long list of wobbler statutes. A few of the most frequently charged:

Assault with a deadly weapon under Penal Code 245 covers assaults with weapons and assaults by force likely to cause serious injury. As a felony, the sentence is two, three, or four years in state prison. As a misdemeanor, the maximum is one year in county jail. Fines can reach $10,000 either way.²

Grand theft under Penal Code 487 applies when stolen property exceeds $950 in value and can be punished by county jail or state prison depending on the circumstances and record.³

Corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant under Penal Code 273.5 applies when someone inflicts a physical injury producing a visible wound or other bodily harm on a current or former intimate partner. The felony version carries two, three, or four years in state prison; the misdemeanor version caps at one year in county jail, with fines up to $6,000.⁴

Forgery under Penal Code 470 covers signing another person’s name, counterfeiting documents, or falsifying records with intent to defraud.⁵ Punishment is set by Penal Code 473, which makes forgery involving checks, money orders, and similar financial instruments a straight misdemeanor when the amount is $950 or less, unless the defendant also committed identity theft or has certain serious prior convictions.⁶ Above $950, forgery remains a full wobbler.

One boundary worth knowing: Proposition 47, passed in 2014, converted several former wobblers into misdemeanor-only offenses, including shoplifting and petty theft of property worth $950 or less, receiving stolen property under that threshold, lower-value forgery of financial instruments, and simple drug possession. If your charge falls in one of those buckets, the prosecutor no longer has felony discretion over it.

Penalties on Each Side

The gap between the two levels is substantial. Felony sentences on wobblers can be served either in state prison or in county jail, depending on the offense and the defendant’s history, under Penal Code 1170(h).⁷ Serious or violent conduct, sex offenses, and prior strikes still send people to state prison. County jail felonies can include a split sentence, with part of the time served on mandatory supervision in the community.

Misdemeanor punishment defaults to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine, but many wobbler statutes set their own misdemeanor maximum at up to one year.⁸ Assault with a deadly weapon, for instance, specifically allows up to one year in county jail when charged as a misdemeanor.²

What a Felony Conviction Costs Beyond the Sentence

The jail or prison term is only part of the picture. A felony on a wobbler brings collateral consequences that often outlast the sentence itself.

Firearms. Under Penal Code 29800, anyone convicted of a felony is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. The ban is for life and survives completion of the sentence and probation.⁹ A wobbler reduced to a misdemeanor can restore firearm rights in many cases, though certain misdemeanor convictions involving domestic violence trigger their own separate federal firearm prohibitions.

Voting. You lose voting rights only while actually serving a sentence in state or federal prison. People on parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or post-release community supervision can register and vote. Because many wobbler felonies are now served in county jail rather than state prison, many wobbler defendants never lose voting rights at all.¹⁰

Employment and housing. A felony on your record shows up on background checks and can disqualify you from certain jobs, professional licenses, and housing. California has banned the box on initial job applications, but employers can still ask about convictions later in the hiring process.

Immigration. Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction” that doesn’t always align with California’s. A wobbler reduced to a misdemeanor under state law may still be treated as a felony-equivalent for deportation or inadmissibility purposes, depending on the underlying offense and the sentence imposed. Noncitizens should treat the immigration analysis as a separate calculation from the state-court outcome.

International travel. Countries like Canada evaluate foreign criminal records against their own laws when deciding whether to admit a visitor. Even a misdemeanor can lead to being turned away at the border if the equivalent offense is considered serious under that country’s law. A felony makes the problem worse.

Reducing a Felony Wobbler to a Misdemeanor

Penal Code 17(b) is also the mechanism for reclassifying a felony wobbler as a misdemeanor after conviction. The most common path is subdivision (b)(3): the judge can declare the offense a misdemeanor when granting probation, or at any later point during or after probation on request from the defendant or probation officer.¹ Reduction also happens automatically under subdivision (b)(1) when the sentence imposed doesn’t include state prison or a qualifying county jail term.

When evaluating a reduction request, judges look at the same factors that drive the initial charging decision: seriousness of the offense, criminal history, and conduct during probation. Completing probation without violations significantly strengthens the case. Reduction is only available for wobblers; if the crime is a straight felony that can never be charged as a misdemeanor, 17(b) doesn’t apply.

The practical value of a successful 17(b) reduction is enormous. Once the felony becomes a misdemeanor, it is a misdemeanor “for all purposes.” That language in the statute erases the felony classification retroactively for most collateral consequences, including the firearm prohibition under Penal Code 29800 (with the domestic violence exception noted above).

Expungement After Reduction

Reduction under 17(b) and expungement under Penal Code 1203.4 are separate processes, and most people pursuing one should consider both. Under Section 1203.4, after completing probation you can petition the court to withdraw your guilty plea and have the case dismissed.¹¹ The typical sequence is to file the 17(b) reduction first and immediately follow with the 1203.4 dismissal petition.

Expungement under 1203.4 has real limits. It doesn’t erase the conviction entirely. A dismissed conviction can still be used against you in a later criminal case, you still have to disclose it on applications for public office or state licensing, and it does not restore firearm rights on its own.¹¹ For most private-sector employment and housing, though, a dismissed conviction carries far less weight than an active one, and California law prohibits most private employers from considering a conviction dismissed under 1203.4.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 – Felony, Misdemeanor, Infraction
2
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 245 – Assault With Deadly Weapon
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 487 – Grand Theft
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5 – Corporal Injury to Spouse or Cohabitant
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 470 – Forgery
6
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 473 – Forgery Punishment
7
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1170(h) – Sentencing
8
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 19 – Misdemeanor Punishment
9
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 – Felon in Possession of Firearm
10
California Secretary of State. Voting Rights – Persons with a Prior Felony Conviction
11
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4 – Dismissal After Probation