Domestic violence charges and penalties in Tennessee depend on the injury involved and the defendant’s record. A first offense is usually a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine. A second conviction adds a mandatory 30 consecutive days behind bars, a third jumps to 90, and any case involving serious injury, strangulation, or a weapon becomes a Class C felony punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison. A conviction also strips firearm rights for life under federal law and can trigger deportation for non-citizens.
What Counts as Domestic Assault
Tennessee treats domestic assault as an ordinary assault committed against someone the defendant has a domestic relationship with. The underlying assault can take three forms: intentionally or recklessly causing bodily injury, making someone reasonably fear they’re about to be physically harmed, or making physical contact a reasonable person would find extremely offensive.1Justia Law. Tennessee Code 39-13-101 – Assault No visible injury is required. A shove, a slap, or cornering someone while screaming threats can all qualify.
What makes it “domestic” is the relationship. The statute covers current and former spouses, people who live together or used to, dating partners past or present, blood relatives, people related by marriage or former marriage, and the children of anyone in those categories.2Justia Law. Tennessee Code 39-13-111 – Domestic Assault The definition does not reach casual acquaintances or roommates with no romantic or family tie. If the relationship doesn’t fit, the same conduct becomes simple assault instead, which carries the same statutory maximums but none of the mandatory minimums for repeat offenses.
Misdemeanor Penalties
First Offense
A first domestic assault that causes bodily injury or fear of imminent injury is a Class A misdemeanor: up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. If the conduct involved only offensive physical contact without injury or fear of injury, the charge drops to a Class B misdemeanor with a six-month jail maximum and a $500 fine.2Justia Law. Tennessee Code 39-13-111 – Domestic Assault Even a first offense can bring probation, a no-contact order, and a court-ordered batterer intervention program.
Second Offense
A second conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 30 consecutive days in jail that a judge cannot suspend or reduce. Fines range from $350 to $3,500.2Justia Law. Tennessee Code 39-13-111 – Domestic Assault The overall statutory maximum stays at 11 months and 29 days.
Third or Subsequent Offense
A third or later conviction requires at least 90 consecutive days of incarceration, with fines from $1,100 to $5,000. These mandatory minimums apply only to assaults involving bodily injury or fear of imminent injury, not to the offensive-contact version of the offense.
When the Charge Becomes a Felony
Domestic violence that causes serious bodily injury, involves strangulation, or is committed with a weapon is charged as aggravated assault, a Class C felony.3Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-102 – Aggravated Assault Strangulation cases are automatically treated as aggravated assault even without lasting visible injury.
Class C felony sentences run from 3 to 15 years, depending on the defendant’s prior record. A first-time felony offender faces 3 to 6 years; repeat offenders face longer terms.4Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-35-112 – Sentence Ranges The maximum fine for aggravated assault is $15,000, which overrides the standard felony fine schedule.
What Happens After Arrest
Officers responding to a domestic call don’t need a warrant to arrest when they have probable cause. Before making the arrest, the officer is required to identify the primary aggressor by weighing the severity of each person’s injuries, the history between them, witness statements, who acted in self-defense, and who is more likely to face future harm.5Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-619 – Officer Response – Primary Aggressor – Factors
Once arrested, the defendant cannot be released for at least 12 hours. A magistrate can shorten that hold only after finding the person is not a threat to the alleged victim.6Justia. Tennessee Code 40-11-150 – Additional Factors in Determining Amount of Bail – Conditional Release Bail conditions almost always include a no-contact order barring any communication with the alleged victim, including calls, texts, and messages through third parties. Violating that order while out on bail can lead to revocation and new charges.
Firearm Loss
A domestic assault conviction ends firearm rights under both Tennessee and federal law. State law prohibits anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing firearms.7Justia Law. Tennessee Code 39-17-1307 – Unlawful Carrying or Possession of a Weapon The federal Lautenberg Amendment independently bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
The federal ban has no exception for military personnel or law enforcement. A soldier, police officer, or federal agent convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence loses the ability to carry a weapon on duty, which effectively ends the career. Military policy requires retrieval and suspension of firearm and ammunition access, and commanders can start administrative separation. The same conviction bars new applicants from entering military service.
A final order of protection carries its own firearm surrender requirement. The respondent must give up all firearms within 48 hours by transferring them to someone legally allowed to possess them, turning them over to law enforcement, or leaving them with a licensed dealer, and the court requires proof.9Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-605 – Ex Parte Protection Order – Hearing – Extension
Immigration Consequences
For non-citizens, a domestic violence conviction creates deportation risk that runs alongside the criminal penalties. Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen deportable if convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” committed against a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or someone else protected under state domestic violence laws.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens A conviction for stalking or child abuse triggers the same ground. This applies to lawful permanent residents, and the conviction does not have to be a felony.
Federal Charges if State Lines Are Crossed
When domestic violence crosses state lines, the exposure changes completely. Under federal law, it is a crime to travel across state lines or into Indian country intending to injure, harass, or intimidate a spouse or intimate partner and then commit or attempt violence against that person.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence Forcing a partner across state lines by coercion or fraud and then committing violence also triggers federal jurisdiction.
Federal penalties scale with the harm:
- Death of the victim: life imprisonment or any term of years
- Permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injury: up to 20 years
- Serious bodily injury or use of a dangerous weapon: up to 10 years
- All other cases: up to 5 years
Crossing state lines to violate a protection order is a separate federal offense with the same penalty structure.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2262 – Interstate Violation of Protection Order Federal prosecutors pursue these cases more often than defendants expect, especially when a respondent follows a victim who relocated to another state.
Avoiding a Conviction: Diversion and Intervention Programs
Tennessee allows some first-time domestic assault defendants to avoid a permanent conviction through judicial diversion. The defendant pleads guilty, but the court holds off entering the conviction while the person completes conditions like a batterer intervention program, staying out of trouble, and complying with no-contact orders. Successful completion results in dismissal. Eligibility generally requires no prior felonies or Class A misdemeanor convictions, and diversion is far less likely in cases involving serious injury or any prior domestic violence history.
Whether through diversion or as a condition of probation after a conviction, courts routinely order a certified batterer intervention program. Tennessee’s certified programs require a minimum of 24 weekly sessions of 90 minutes to two and a half hours each. Programs typically cost $700 to $1,000 out of pocket, and failing to complete can result in probation revocation and imposition of the original jail sentence.
Because a conviction closes doors that a dismissal keeps open — firearm rights, immigration status, professional licensing, military service — the diversion question is usually the most important one a first-time defendant faces. It is worth raising with counsel at the arraignment stage rather than waiting.