California domestic violence laws punish violence, threats, and coercive control between people in close relationships more harshly than the same conduct between strangers, with penalties running from up to a year in county jail for misdemeanor domestic battery to four years in state prison for felony corporal injury. A conviction also brings mandatory probation conditions, a firearm ban, a legal presumption against child custody, and deportation exposure for non-citizens. The relationship between the people involved is what pulls a case into this body of law, and it changes almost everything that follows.
Who the Law Covers
Family Code Section 6211 defines the protected relationships. They include current or former spouses, current or former cohabitants (people who lived together as more than roommates), people in a current or past dating or engagement relationship, parents who share a child, a child of either party, and anyone related by blood or marriage within the second degree, which reaches siblings, grandparents, and in-laws.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 6211 A fight between siblings or with a grandparent falls under domestic violence law, not ordinary assault, and the procedural and sentencing differences follow from that classification alone.
What Counts as Abuse
Under Family Code Section 6203, abuse includes intentionally or recklessly causing bodily injury, sexual assault, and placing someone in reasonable fear of serious imminent harm. The statute explicitly states that abuse “is not limited to the actual infliction of physical injury or assault.”2California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 6203
Family Code Section 6320 extends the definition to “disturbing the peace,” meaning conduct that destroys another person’s mental or emotional calm. Coercive control is written into the statute: isolating someone from friends and family, depriving them of basic necessities, controlling their finances or daily movements, and using immigration status as a threat. The conduct can be direct or carried out through a third party, by phone, text, social media, or any other method.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 6320 These non-physical forms of abuse can support a protective order even when no one has been struck.
The Two Main Criminal Charges
Prosecutors work from two statutes, and the choice usually turns on whether the victim has a visible injury.
Corporal Injury: Penal Code Section 273.5
This charge applies when someone willfully inflicts a physical injury producing a “traumatic condition” on a person in a qualifying relationship. A traumatic condition is any wound or injury, internal or external, caused by physical force. It doesn’t have to be severe. A bruise or a scratch qualifies. Section 273.5 is a wobbler: the prosecutor can file it as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the injuries, the circumstances, and the defendant’s record.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 273.5
Domestic Battery: Penal Code Section 243(e)(1)
When there is no visible injury, prosecutors typically file under Section 243(e)(1). Domestic battery covers any willful and unlawful use of force or violence against an intimate partner. Temporary pain or discomfort is enough; no mark or lasting injury is required. This charge is always a misdemeanor.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 243
Both statutes require the prosecutor to prove the qualifying relationship before the domestic violence enhancements attach.
Sentences and Fines
A misdemeanor domestic battery conviction under Section 243(e)(1) carries up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 243
Corporal injury under Section 273.5 charged as a misdemeanor carries up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $6,000. Charged as a felony, the sentence is two, three, or four years in state prison.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 273.5
Prior domestic violence or assault convictions within the previous seven years increase the exposure sharply. A repeat conviction under Section 273.5 carries two, four, or five years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. If the court grants probation to a repeat offender, it must impose a mandatory minimum jail term: at least 15 days for one prior conviction within seven years, and at least 60 days for two or more.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 273.5
Separate from fines paid to the state, Penal Code Section 1202.4 requires the court to order the defendant to reimburse the victim’s actual economic losses. Restitution covers medical bills, mental health counseling, lost wages, property damage, and relocation expenses. The court must order “full restitution” and can set or adjust the amount after sentencing if losses are not yet fixed.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 1202.4
Probation Conditions the Judge Cannot Waive
When the court grants probation, Penal Code Section 1203.097 imposes a fixed set of conditions. Probation must last at least 36 months, and the following are required by statute:
- Completion of a 52-week batterer’s intervention program, with weekly sessions of at least two hours.
- A minimum $500 payment that funds domestic violence programs and shelters, which the court can waive for financial hardship.
- A criminal protective order in favor of the victim covering the probation period.
- Community service in an amount set by the court.
- Proof of enrollment in the batterer’s program filed within 30 days of conviction.
Failing any condition can trigger revocation of probation and imposition of the original jail or prison term.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 1203.097
Protective Orders During and After the Case
Courts routinely issue a Criminal Protective Order under Penal Code Section 136.2 while a case is pending. A “no-contact” order bars all communication and requires the defendant to stay a set distance away. A “peaceful contact” order permits communication but forbids further abuse, threats, or harassment. After a conviction, the court can extend the order for up to ten years, whether the defendant receives probation, jail, or prison. The order also requires the defendant to relinquish any firearms.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 136.2
Violating a protective order is a separate misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. If the violation causes physical injury, the court must impose at least 48 hours in jail. A second violation within seven years involving violence or credible threats becomes a wobbler, with felony exposure of up to three years in state prison.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 166
Firearm Bans
Under Penal Code Section 29805, a misdemeanor conviction for corporal injury under Section 273.5 on or after January 1, 2019, triggers a lifetime prohibition on owning, purchasing, or possessing any firearm. For convictions under the same statute before that date, the state prohibition runs ten years. Any felony conviction carries a lifetime firearm ban under California and federal law.10California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 2980511California Department of Justice. Firearms Prohibited Categories
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(9), the Lautenberg Amendment, imposes its own lifetime ban on anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, whatever state statute applies. The federal prohibition covers firearms and ammunition and reaches convictions that occurred before the law’s 1996 effective date.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts13U.S. Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 1117 – Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence Where the California state ban runs only ten years, the federal ban continues. Possessing a firearm in violation of either prohibition is a separate felony.
Child Custody After a Domestic Violence Finding
Family Code Section 3044 creates a rebuttable presumption that awarding sole or joint custody to a parent who has committed domestic violence against the other parent, the children, or the children’s siblings within the previous five years would harm the child.14California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 3044
Rebutting the presumption is not straightforward. The parent must show by a preponderance of the evidence that a custody award is in the child’s best interest, and the general policy favoring frequent and continuing contact with both parents cannot be used to satisfy that test. The court also weighs whether the parent has completed a batterer’s treatment program, complied with probation and protective order terms, finished any required substance abuse or parenting classes, and avoided further acts of domestic violence.14California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 3044 In practice, the presumption often results in supervised visitation rather than shared custody, at least at the outset.
Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens
Federal immigration law under 8 U.S.C. Section 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) makes any non-citizen convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” deportable. The statute defines the term as any crime of violence committed against a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, co-parent, or anyone else protected under domestic violence laws.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
Both misdemeanor and felony California domestic violence convictions can trigger this ground for removal. If the court imposes a sentence of a year or more, including a suspended sentence, the offense can be classified as an aggravated felony for immigration purposes, which permanently bars the person from establishing good moral character for naturalization.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 4 – Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character A plea that looks favorable on the criminal side can have irreversible immigration consequences, which is why non-citizens should consult an immigration attorney before resolving any domestic violence charge.
Cleaning Up the Record Later
California’s version of expungement, formally a dismissal under Penal Code Section 1203.4, is available after successful completion of probation. If every condition has been met, including the 52-week program, fees, community service, and no violations, the defendant can petition to withdraw the plea and have the case dismissed.
The relief is real but limited. Private employers generally cannot ask about the dismissed conviction, and the court record reflects the dismissal. The conviction still has to be disclosed when applying for public office or any state or local license. Section 1203.4 does not restore firearm rights, and the statute says so directly.17California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 1203.4 A criminal protective order still in effect remains enforceable until its expiration date. And a dismissed conviction still counts as a prior for the enhanced penalties under Penal Code Section 273.5(f) if a new domestic violence charge comes later.