What Is Considered Family Violence in Texas: Definition and Consequences

In Texas, family violence is any act by a family member, household member, or dating partner that is intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, sexual assault, or a credible threat of imminent harm, along with specific categories of child abuse committed by someone in the household. The definition sits in Chapter 71 of the Texas Family Code, and what qualifies as family violence in Texas matters because it decides who can get a protective order, which criminal charges apply, and whether a person loses the right to possess a firearm.

The Core Definition

Texas Family Code Section 71.004 defines family violence as an act by a family or household member against another family or household member that is intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, or sexual assault. Physical contact is not required. A threat that would make a reasonable person fear imminent physical harm or sexual assault also qualifies.¹ The threat has to point to imminent danger, not a vague future possibility.

The statute carves out one exception by name: acting in self-defense is not family violence.¹ If someone shoves you and you push back to protect yourself, the defensive act does not meet the statutory definition. Courts examine whether the force was genuinely protective rather than retaliatory.

Who Counts as Family, Household, or Dating Partner

The second half of the definition is the relationship between the people involved. Texas law casts a wide net across three overlapping categories.

Family

Section 71.003 covers people related by blood, people related by marriage, former spouses, parents who share a child regardless of whether they ever married, and foster children and foster parents.² None of these relationships require current cohabitation.

The blood category runs the full family tree: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In-laws and step-parents are covered as relatives by marriage. Divorce does not sever the protection. If an ex-spouse threatens you years after the divorce is final, that still falls under the family violence statute.² The same logic applies to co-parents: two people who share a child are permanently family for these purposes, even if they were never in a romantic relationship. Foster relationships count whether the placement is active or has ended.

Household and Former Household Members

Section 71.005 defines a household as people living together in the same dwelling, whether or not they are related.³ Roommates, long-term guests, and unmarried couples sharing a home all qualify. Section 71.006 adds that someone who previously lived in the household still counts as a household member.⁴ Moving out does not erase the connection.

Dating Partners

Section 71.0021 covers violence between people in a dating relationship, even if they have never lived together or married. The prohibited conduct mirrors the main definition: physical harm, bodily injury, sexual assault, or credible threats of the same, with self-defense excluded. The statute also reaches violence committed against someone because of that person’s relationship with the abuser’s current or former partner, so an attack on an ex’s new partner can qualify.⁵

Courts decide whether a dating relationship existed by looking at three factors: how long it lasted, whether it was romantic or intimate in nature, and how often the two people interacted.⁵ A casual acquaintanceship or an ordinary social interaction in a business setting does not qualify.

Child Abuse That Counts as Family Violence

Section 71.004 also pulls in a specific list of child abuse categories from Section 261.001.¹ When a family or household member commits any of the following against a child in the home, it is legally family violence:

Physical injury causing substantial harm. Ordinary accidents and reasonable discipline are excluded, but the category covers any injury inconsistent with the explanation given.⁶
Sexual abuse, including indecency with a child, sexual assault, and aggravated sexual assault.⁶
Sexual exploitation, including compelling or encouraging a child to engage in sexual conduct and trafficking-related offenses.⁶
Child pornography: photographing, filming, or depicting a child in obscene or pornographic material when the person knew or should have known the nature of the images.⁶
Drug-related harm: using controlled substances in a way that injures a child physically, mentally, or emotionally, or causing a child to use controlled substances.⁶
Forced marriage: forcing or coercing a child into a marriage.⁶

This is the piece people often miss. A parent’s drug use that results in harm to a child is not just a child welfare matter. It is legally family violence, which opens the door to protective orders and the enhanced criminal consequences that follow.

What a Family Violence Finding Triggers

Protective Orders

If a court finds that family violence has occurred and is likely to occur again, it must issue a protective order against the person who committed the violence.⁷ You can apply yourself, or a prosecutor or the Department of Family and Protective Services can file on your behalf. The order can:

Prohibit threatening or harassing communication with you or your family, and in some cases bar all contact except through attorneys.⁸
Keep the abuser away from your home, workplace, your child’s school, and child-care facilities.⁸
Prohibit the abuser from possessing firearms and require the court to suspend any handgun carry license.⁸
Bar the abuser from harming, threatening, or interfering with your pets or assistance animals.⁸
Prohibit the use of tracking apps, GPS devices, or other methods to monitor your location or vehicle.⁸

Texas law prohibits charging you any fee, cost, or expense to file, serve, modify, or withdraw a protective order. Under Section 81.002, court clerks, sheriffs, and constables cannot assess fees against an applicant. A protective order typically lasts up to two years. Courts can extend the duration when the abuser caused serious bodily injury or has been the subject of two or more prior orders. You can renew the order by filing a new application within 30 days before the existing one expires.

Criminal Penalties

Family violence also drives criminal charges with escalating severity. A first-time assault against a family member, household member, or dating partner is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.⁹ The penalties jump sharply in two situations:

A prior conviction for family violence or a related offense turns a new assault against a family member, household member, or dating partner into a third-degree felony, punishable by two to ten years in prison.⁹
Strangulation, meaning choking or blocking someone’s breathing or blood circulation, is a third-degree felony even as a first offense. With a prior family violence conviction, it becomes a second-degree felony, carrying two to twenty years.⁹

Texas also recognizes continuous violence against the family. Two or more assaults against a family member, household member, or dating partner within a twelve-month period form a third-degree felony on their own, regardless of whether either individual assault was previously charged.¹⁰ The jury does not need to agree unanimously on which specific dates the assaults occurred, only that at least two happened within the window.

Firearm Consequences

A family violence finding or conviction triggers serious firearm consequences at both the state and federal level. Under Texas law, a protective order must include a firearm ban and must suspend any handgun carry license.⁸

Federal law adds a second, independent layer. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), anyone subject to a qualifying protective order (one issued after a hearing where the person participated, restraining them from threatening an intimate partner or child, and including a credible-threat finding or an explicit prohibition on force) is federally prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition. Separately, under § 922(g)(9), a conviction for any misdemeanor crime of domestic violence creates a permanent federal firearm ban.¹¹ Violating either prohibition is a federal felony carrying up to ten years in prison.

This is where people get tripped up most often. A Class A misdemeanor assault-family violence conviction in Texas, which many defendants treat as a minor charge and plead out quickly, can permanently strip federal firearm rights. The only exceptions are if the conviction is later expunged, set aside, or the person receives a pardon that specifically restores firearm rights.¹²

1
State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.004 – Family Violence
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.003 – Family
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.005 – Household
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.006 – Member of a Household
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.0021 – Dating Violence
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 261.001 – Definitions
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 85.001 – Protective Order Requirements
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State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 85.022 – Protective Order
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State of Texas. Texas Code Penal Code 22.01 – Assault
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State of Texas. Texas Code Penal Code 25.11 – Continuous Violence Against the Family
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
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Legal Information Institute. Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence