California Penal Code 594 makes it a crime to maliciously deface, damage, or destroy property that belongs to someone else. Penalties climb with the dollar amount of the damage: vandalism under $400 is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, damage of $400 or more is a wobbler that can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony with fines up to $10,000, and damage of $10,000 or more carries fines reaching $50,000. Courts almost always add restitution on top.
What the Statute Covers
PC 594 reaches three acts against real or personal property that isn’t yours: defacing it with graffiti or other inscribed material, damaging it, or destroying it.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism Real property means land and structures. Personal property covers movable items like vehicles, signs, and furnishings. Public and private property both qualify, so tagging a freeway overpass and keying a neighbor’s truck fall under the same law.
The word “maliciously” does the heavy lifting. Under California’s jury instructions, a person acts maliciously when they intentionally do a wrongful act or act with the unlawful intent to annoy or injure someone else.2Justia. CALCRIM No. 2900 Vandalism Backing into a mailbox by accident isn’t vandalism. Kicking it over after an argument with the owner is. The prosecution has to prove deliberate, wrongful conduct, not just that damage happened.
One wrinkle catches people off guard. When the damaged property belongs to a public entity or the federal government, or involves vehicles, signs, or fixtures, the court can presume you didn’t own it and didn’t have permission to damage it.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism That makes it harder to argue you thought the property was yours.
Penalties by Damage Amount
Under $400
Vandalism causing less than $400 in damage is a misdemeanor. A first offense carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism First-time offenders with low-value damage often receive probation and community service rather than jail time, but the statutory maximum stays on the table.
Repeat offenders face a steeper fine. With a prior conviction under PC 594 or related statutes like 594.3, 594.4, or 640.5 through 640.7, the maximum fine for sub-$400 damage jumps to $5,000.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism Jail exposure remains one year.
$400 or More
At $400, vandalism becomes a wobbler. The prosecutor can file it as either a misdemeanor or a felony. As a misdemeanor, the penalty is still up to one year in county jail. As a felony, the sentence can include imprisonment under California’s realignment framework, which typically means county jail time served under felony terms rather than state prison for most offenders. The fine ceiling at this tier is $10,000.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism
$10,000 or More
The top tier kicks in at $10,000 in damage. It’s still a wobbler, but the fine ceiling climbs to $50,000.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism Combined with restitution, the total financial exposure at this tier is severe.
Restitution Is Separate From Fines
Beyond fines, the court can order you to pay restitution covering the actual cost of repairing or replacing the damaged property. Restitution goes to the victim, not to the state, and it’s based on evidence like contractor estimates, receipts, or appraisals. Unlike fines, restitution has no statutory cap. Spray-paint a mural across a commercial building and professional restoration runs $30,000? You can be ordered to pay $30,000 regardless of which penalty tier applies.
Unpaid restitution doesn’t disappear when a case closes. If you don’t pay during probation, the court can extend probation, revoke it, or convert the order into a civil judgment that follows you like any other debt.
Graffiti Cleanup Orders
When the vandalism involves graffiti or inscribed materials, the court has a specific tool beyond jail and fines. The judge can order you to personally clean up, repair, or replace the property you damaged. The court may also order you (and your parents or guardians if you’re a minor) to keep the damaged property or another community property free of graffiti for up to one year.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594
If graffiti cleanup isn’t practical, the court must consider other forms of community service instead.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 The court can also order counseling. These conditions come on top of jail time and fines, not in place of them.
Possession of Vandalism Tools
You don’t have to actually damage anything to catch a related charge. Under Penal Code 594.2, possessing certain tools with the intent to commit vandalism or graffiti is a standalone misdemeanor. The statute covers aerosol paint containers, felt-tip markers with tips wider than three-eighths of an inch, glass cutters, grinding stones, chisels, carbide scribes, and any other marking substance that could be used to draw, spray, paint, etch, or mark property.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594.2
Intent is the critical element. Carrying spray paint to touch up your fence is legal. Carrying it while walking toward a building you’ve been seen casing is not. As a probation condition for a 594.2 conviction, the court can order up to 90 hours of community service scheduled outside your work or school hours.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594.2
When a Minor Is Charged
Minors face the same criminal charges as adults under PC 594, handled through juvenile court. What catches many families off guard is the separate civil liability that falls on parents.
Under California Civil Code 1714.1, parents or legal guardians who have custody and control of a minor are jointly and severally liable for the minor’s willful misconduct that damages someone else’s property. The base cap is $25,000 per incident, adjusted every two years by the Judicial Council to reflect California’s cost of living. Graffiti and paint-based defacement trigger the same cap, and the $25,000 figure includes court costs and attorney’s fees awarded to the prevailing party, so the practical recovery for the victim can be somewhat less after those costs come out.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1714.1
Homeowner’s insurance offers limited help. The statute expressly caps an insurer’s liability for conduct imputed to a parent under this section at $10,000.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1714.1 Parents can end up paying a significant sum out of pocket.
Common Defenses
Several defenses can defeat or reduce a vandalism charge. Which ones apply depends on the facts.
No Malicious Intent
Because the prosecution must prove malice, showing that the damage was accidental or unintentional can undermine the charge entirely. Scratching a car while squeezing past it in a parking garage isn’t vandalism. The line between carelessness and malice is where many close cases are decided.
Mistaken Identity
Vandalism often happens in public spaces, at night, or in crowded areas where identification is unreliable. Alibi evidence, surveillance footage, or cell phone location data placing you elsewhere at the time can dismantle the prosecution’s case.
Claim of Right to the Property
The statute applies only to property “not his or her own.”1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 594 – Vandalism If you genuinely believed the property belonged to you, that belief can negate the charge. This comes up in disputes over shared belongings, landlord-tenant situations, and breakups where ownership of specific items is unclear. The belief doesn’t have to be correct, just honestly held.
Owner’s Permission
California’s standard jury instructions state that lack of the owner’s permission is not an element of vandalism.2Justia. CALCRIM No. 2900 Vandalism The prosecution doesn’t have to prove you lacked permission. Still, clear authorization from the owner makes it practically very hard to prove malice. An artist hired to paint a mural isn’t acting maliciously. The defense works because it negates malice, not because consent is a standalone shield.
Long-Term Consequences
The fines and jail time are the immediate hit, but a vandalism conviction reaches further. A felony shows up on background checks for employment and housing. Even a misdemeanor can make landlords and employers hesitate, especially in competitive rental markets where a property-damage conviction is exactly the kind of flag that moves an application to the bottom of the stack.
The professional impact extends further for certain careers. Vandalism can be treated as a crime of moral turpitude in some licensing contexts, complicating applications for licenses in fields like law, education, and healthcare. For non-citizens, a felony vandalism conviction can trigger immigration consequences including deportation proceedings.
California does allow expungement of vandalism convictions under Penal Code 1203.4 for defendants who successfully complete probation. Expungement withdraws the guilty plea and dismisses the case, which helps on most private-sector background checks. It doesn’t erase the record entirely, since law enforcement and certain licensing agencies can still see it, but it removes the largest practical barrier to moving on.