13A-6-132: Domestic Violence Third Degree Penalties and Firearm Ban

Third-degree domestic violence in Alabama is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000.¹² Penalties climb sharply with prior convictions: a second offense carries a mandatory 10 days behind bars, and a third becomes a Class C felony with one to ten years in state prison. A conviction also triggers a permanent federal firearm ban and weighs against you in any child custody dispute.

First Offense

A first conviction is a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor grade in Alabama. The judge can sentence up to one year in county jail and impose a fine up to $6,000.¹

There is no statutory minimum jail time on a standard first offense. That leaves the judge room to impose probation, a suspended sentence, or a shorter stay depending on the facts. The one exception is the protection order overlay described below.

Second Offense

A second conviction stays a Class A misdemeanor, so the ceiling is still one year and $6,000. What changes is the floor: the defendant must serve at least 10 days in a city or county jail or detention facility, with no reduction for good behavior or any other reason.¹ Municipal court convictions count toward the tally the same as circuit court convictions.

Third Offense or Repeat With Prior Higher-Degree DV

A third conviction crosses into felony territory. The offense becomes a Class C felony carrying between one year and one day and ten years in state prison,¹³ with a maximum fine of $15,000.⁴

The felony enhancement also applies without a third strike if the defendant has any prior conviction for first- or second-degree domestic violence, or for domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation. In that case, even a technically first third-degree charge is automatically a Class C felony.¹ Substantially similar convictions from other states count too, so relocating with a prior record does not reset the clock.

If a Protection Order Was Violated

When the offense is committed while the defendant is willfully violating a court-issued protection order, the sentencing structure changes even for a first-time defendant. The court must impose at least 30 days in jail, with no reduction allowed for good behavior.¹ The protection order violation itself can also be charged separately.

What Actually Counts as Third-Degree Domestic Violence

The statute covers a set of lower-level offenses when committed against a qualifying victim: third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, criminal coercion, harassment, criminal surveillance, harassing communications, third-degree criminal trespass, second- or third-degree criminal mischief, and third-degree arson.¹ The most common is third-degree assault, which reaches intentionally or recklessly causing physical injury, or causing injury through criminal negligence with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.⁵

The charge only applies when the victim falls within a specific relationship: a current or former spouse, a parent or step-parent, a child or step-child, a grandparent or step-grandparent, a grandchild or step-grandchild, a co-parent, a current household member, or someone in a current or former dating relationship with the defendant.¹ “Household member” requires a romantic or intimate relationship, so platonic roommates are not covered. Where the relationship element is missing, the same conduct is charged as the underlying offense without the domestic violence label.

Federal Firearm Ban

Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing, shipping, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.⁶ The ban applies nationwide, has no expiration date, and attaches to a first-offense misdemeanor conviction. Firearms owned before the conviction have to go.

The federal penalty for violating that ban is up to 15 years in federal prison,⁷ which dwarfs the state misdemeanor that produced the disability in the first place.

Child Custody Consequences

In a contested custody case, if the court determines that domestic or family violence has occurred, Alabama law creates a rebuttable presumption that placing the child with the perpetrator is detrimental to the child and not in the child’s best interest. The presumption applies to sole custody, joint legal custody, and joint physical custody.⁸

The presumption can be rebutted, but you start behind. Even when the violence was directed entirely at the other parent, the family court can weigh it against you, and a documented conviction is exactly the kind of proof opposing counsel will put in front of the judge.

Can It Be Expunged

Generally no. Alabama treats domestic violence offenses as violent crimes for expungement purposes, and convictions for violent offenses are excluded from the standard expungement pathways. The normal three-year post-conviction waiting period for misdemeanor convictions does not open the door here.⁹

One narrow exception exists for a felony-level third-degree conviction under subsection (d) of the statute, and only when the defendant can demonstrate that the offense occurred while they were being trafficked and would not have been committed but for that trafficking.⁹ Outside that scenario, the conviction is permanent, and so are the firearm, custody, and background-check consequences that ride with it.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-6-132 – Domestic Violence – Third Degree
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-7 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
3
Justia Law. Alabama Code 13A-5-6 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-11 – Fines for Felonies
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-6-22 – Assault in the Third Degree
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-3-131 – Determination Raises Rebuttable Presumption
9
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Petition for Expungement of Records