In Texas, assault that causes bodily injury to a family member is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. The charge jumps to a third-degree felony (2 to 10 years in prison) if you have a prior family-violence conviction or the allegation involves choking or suffocation. A conviction, even a misdemeanor one, also brings an emergency protective order, a lifetime federal firearm ban, a permanent record that cannot be sealed, and serious consequences for child custody, professional licenses, and immigration status.
What Counts as Bodily Injury
The bar is low. The Penal Code defines bodily injury as any physical pain, illness, or impairment of physical condition.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions No bruises, no medical records, no photographs required. If the complainant testifies that a push, grab, or slap hurt, that testimony alone can satisfy this element. A shove during an argument that left no visible mark still qualifies if the other person felt pain.
Whose Assault Triggers the Family-Violence Label
Three categories of relationships turn a plain assault into a family-violence case, and they reach further than most people expect.2Justia. Texas Family Code Chapter 71 – Definitions
- Family: people related by blood or marriage, former spouses, and parents who share a child whether or not they were ever married. In-laws and step-parents are included.
- Household: anyone living in the same dwelling, related or not. Roommates count.
- Dating: a current or former continuing romantic or intimate relationship. Courts look at the length, nature, and frequency of the interactions. Living together isn’t required.
The dating category is the one that surprises people. A short relationship that ended months ago can still fall within the statute if a court finds it was ongoing and romantic in nature while it lasted.
Arrest and the Emergency Protective Order
Officers responding to a domestic call can arrest without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe family violence occurred.3State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.03 – Authority of Peace Officers They identify a primary aggressor and take that person in. There is no waiting period.
At the initial court appearance, the magistrate can issue an emergency protective order on their own, or at the request of the victim, an officer, or the prosecutor. If the arrest involved serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon, the magistrate must issue one.4State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.292 – Magistrates Order for Emergency Protection A standard EPO runs 61 to 91 days; with a deadly weapon involved, 91 to 121 days.
The order can bar you from the complainant’s home, workplace, and children’s school, forbid direct contact, prohibit firearm possession, and prohibit tracking the complainant’s vehicle or devices. Violating any condition is a separate criminal offense.
First-Offense Penalties
A first family-violence assault with no aggravating facts is charged as a Class A misdemeanor, the highest misdemeanor class in Texas.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault Conviction carries up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $4,000, or both.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
Judges can add community service, anger-management classes, or a battering intervention and prevention program (BIPP). Court costs, administrative fees, and program fees stack on top of the statutory fine, so the actual financial burden runs well past $4,000. And unlike most Class A misdemeanors, this one leaves a criminal record that cannot be sealed.
When the Charge Becomes a Felony
Two situations turn this into a felony, and both come up often.
A Prior Family-Violence Case
If you have a previous conviction, or a previous grant of deferred adjudication, for certain offenses against a family, household, or dating partner, a new assault charge is a third-degree felony.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault The qualifying priors are broad: prior assault, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual offenses against a child, continuous violence against the family, and violations of family-violence protective orders. A deferred adjudication that was successfully completed still counts.
Strangulation or Suffocation
The charge is also a third-degree felony if you allegedly impeded the complainant’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault No prior record is needed. A first-time choking allegation is a felony from the start. With a prior family-violence conviction and a current strangulation allegation, the charge is a second-degree felony carrying 2 to 20 years and up to a $10,000 fine.7Texas Legislature. Texas Penal Code Chapter 22 – Assaultive Offenses
Continuous Violence Against the Family
Two or more assaults against a family, household, or dating partner within a 12-month period is a third-degree felony on its own, even if neither individual incident would have been a felony.8State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.11 – Continuous Violence Against the Family Prosecutors use this charge when a complainant describes a pattern of violence that is hard to tie to exact dates.
What a Third-Degree Felony Carries
Two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine up to $10,000.9State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment A felony conviction also removes the right to vote during incarceration and parole, closes off many professional licenses, and bars firearm possession under state and federal law.
The Affirmative Finding of Family Violence
When the court determines the assault involved family violence, the judge enters an affirmative finding of family violence in the judgment.10State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 42.013 It attaches to convictions and to deferred adjudication dispositions. This finding is the trigger for most of the collateral consequences below: the federal gun ban, felony enhancement of any future charge, ineligibility for record sealing, and the negative weight it carries in custody court. It follows you permanently.
The Federal Firearm Ban
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing, shipping, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A Texas Class A misdemeanor for assault-family-violence qualifies. The ban has no expiration and no built-in restoration process. Violation is a separate federal offense carrying up to 10 years.
The prohibition covers both actual possession (a gun on your person) and constructive possession (a gun stored somewhere you can access). Keeping a firearm in a shared home after a qualifying conviction can trigger a federal charge even if the gun belongs to someone else living there.
Deferred Adjudication and Why the Record Stays
Deferred adjudication lets a judge place a defendant on community supervision without entering a formal conviction, and if all conditions are met, the case is dismissed. It’s available for assault-family-violence charges and judges use it regularly for first offenses. But three things people usually assume about deferred adjudication are not true here.
First, the record cannot be sealed. Texas law prohibits an order of nondisclosure for any offense involving family violence. The arrest, charge, and deferred adjudication stay visible on background checks indefinitely.
Second, it doesn’t protect against felony enhancement later. A prior deferred adjudication counts as a previous conviction when a new family-violence charge is enhanced to a third-degree felony.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.01 – Assault
Third, the federal firearm ban can still apply. Deferred adjudication that includes an admission of domestic violence is often treated as a conviction for federal firearm purposes.
Child Custody Consequences
A family-violence finding reshapes any custody proceeding you’re in or later face. Texas Family Code 153.004 requires courts to consider evidence of abusive physical force by a parent.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.004 – History of Domestic Violence or Sexual Abuse Credible evidence of a history or pattern of physical abuse blocks joint managing conservatorship. It also creates a rebuttable presumption against unsupervised visitation, putting the burden on you to show unsupervised access is safe. If a preponderance of the evidence shows a history or pattern of family violence within the two years before the custody suit was filed, the court can deny access entirely.
Family courts don’t have to wait for a criminal conviction. An arrest, a protective order, or testimony from the other parent can be enough.
Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens
Federal law classifies a domestic-violence conviction as a deportable offense for any non-citizen, regardless of status. The definition covers a crime of violence committed by a current or former spouse, a co-parent, a cohabitant, or someone similarly situated under state domestic-violence law.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens A Texas Class A misdemeanor for assault-family-violence fits.
Even a first offense with no jail time can trigger removal. If the offense qualifies as an aggravated felony (which includes crimes of violence with a sentence of one year or more, even if suspended), the person becomes permanently barred from establishing the good moral character required for naturalization.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 4 – Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character A no-contest plea counts as a conviction for immigration purposes, and deferred adjudication that includes an admission of guilt may also be treated as a conviction by immigration courts. If you are not a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration attorney before you accept any plea or deferral.
Professional Licensing and Employment
Licensing boards for healthcare, law, education, and other regulated professions review family-violence convictions as potential grounds for discipline, often categorizing domestic violence as a crime of moral turpitude. Suspension and revocation are both on the table depending on the profession and the facts. Most boards require you to self-report, and failing to disclose is itself grounds for discipline.
Because the affirmative finding cannot be sealed, it shows up on background checks permanently. Employers in healthcare, education, childcare, law enforcement, and financial services routinely disqualify applicants with a domestic-violence record. The employment fallout lasts long after the sentence itself is done.