Whether domestic assault is a felony or a misdemeanor depends on what happened during the incident and what came before it. A first offense that leaves minor bruises is usually a misdemeanor. The same assault becomes a felony when the victim is seriously injured, a weapon is used, strangulation is involved, a protective order was already in place, the victim is pregnant, a child witnesses the attack, or the defendant has prior domestic violence convictions. The gap between the two charges is enormous: misdemeanors cap out around a year in county jail, while felonies can send a person to state prison for a decade or more and carry lifelong collateral consequences.
When It Stays a Misdemeanor
In its baseline form, domestic assault is a misdemeanor. A first-time incident that causes minor injuries like bruising or scrapes, offensive physical contact without lasting harm, or a verbal threat that puts someone in reasonable fear of being hurt will generally be charged at the misdemeanor level, as long as no weapon is involved and no serious injury results.
Misdemeanor penalties are lighter than felony penalties, but they are not trivial. A conviction can mean up to a year in county jail, fines reaching several thousand dollars, probation, and a court order to complete a domestic violence intervention program. The conviction creates a permanent criminal record, and as covered below, even a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction triggers a federal firearms ban that applies for life.
What Pushes It Into Felony Territory
The exact triggers vary by state, but the same core factors appear across the country. Any one of them can transform a misdemeanor-level incident into a felony prosecution.
Serious Bodily Injury
The most common felony trigger is the severity of the injuries. “Serious bodily injury” has a specific legal meaning: injuries that create a real risk of death, cause extreme physical pain, result in obvious and lasting disfigurement, or lead to prolonged loss of function in a limb, organ, or mental faculty. Broken bones, internal bleeding, injuries requiring surgery, and traumatic brain injuries all qualify. In many jurisdictions, recklessly causing serious injury is enough; the prosecution does not have to prove the defendant intended that level of harm.
Use of a Deadly Weapon
An assault involving a deadly weapon is almost universally charged as a felony. The term reaches well beyond firearms and knives. Courts have classified baseball bats, vehicles, boiling liquids, and even feet (when used to stomp someone) as deadly weapons depending on how the object was used. In some jurisdictions, simply threatening a domestic partner with a deadly weapon is enough for a felony charge, even without physical contact.
Strangulation
Nearly all states now treat strangulation as a standalone felony, regardless of whether visible injuries result. Most of these laws were enacted in the last two decades. Strangulation can cause brain damage or death in minutes, and visible marks often fade before a victim reaches an emergency room. These statutes typically cover any intentional act of restricting someone’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth. A first-time offense qualifies.
Prior Convictions
Criminal history is one of the most reliable predictors of a felony charge. Most states automatically elevate a domestic assault to a felony when the defendant has one or more prior domestic violence convictions. Some states escalate on the second offense, others on the third. The prior conviction does not always need to be from the same state; convictions from other states for substantially similar offenses usually count.
Violating a Protective Order
Committing an assault while a protective or restraining order is in effect almost always results in a felony charge. The defendant already had a court order specifically prohibiting this conduct. The violation itself may also be charged separately, on top of the assault.
Pregnancy
Assaulting a pregnant partner when the defendant knows about the pregnancy is a felony in many jurisdictions. Some states impose mandatory prison time. Ohio’s statute, for instance, requires a mandatory prison sentence when the offender knew the victim was pregnant at the time of the assault.
A Child Witnessing the Assault
Committing domestic violence in front of a child can elevate the charge to a felony. Some states require the child to be under a certain age; others require that the defendant knew the child was present and could see or hear the assault. A handful of states treat domestic violence in the presence of a child as a separate, standalone felony rather than an enhancement.
Stalking Patterns
Repeated surveillance, following, harassment, or cyberstalking of a domestic partner can produce felony charges, particularly when paired with credible threats or a protective-order violation. Federal law also criminalizes interstate stalking, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison for a basic offense and up to life imprisonment if the victim dies as a result.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261A – Stalking
Felony Penalties
Felony domestic assault penalties vary widely by jurisdiction and offense severity, but every version is substantially harsher than a misdemeanor. Prison sentences typically start at one year and can reach decades. An assault involving a deadly weapon, serious injury, or a pattern of repeated violence can result in ten to twenty years or more.
State-level fines for felony domestic violence can reach $10,000 or higher. Courts also impose lengthy periods of supervised probation after release, which frequently include electronic monitoring, mandatory check-ins with a probation officer, and completion of a certified domestic violence treatment program. Violating probation conditions can send a person back to prison to serve the remainder of the original sentence.
When Federal Law Takes Over
Domestic violence is primarily a state crime, but crossing state lines turns it into a federal offense. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2261, traveling across state lines (or into Indian country) with the intent to injure, harass, or intimidate a spouse, intimate partner, or dating partner is a federal crime when the person commits or attempts violence during or as a result of that travel. The statute also covers forcing a partner across state lines through coercion or fraud.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence
Federal penalties are steep: up to five years for a basic offense, up to ten years if serious bodily injury results or a dangerous weapon was used, up to twenty years for permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injuries, and up to life imprisonment if the victim dies.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence
Who Counts as a Domestic Victim
Not every assault between people who know each other qualifies as domestic. For the “domestic” label to attach, the victim and the accused must share a specific kind of relationship. Federal law under the Violence Against Women Act defines domestic violence as acts committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner, someone cohabiting or who has cohabited with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, someone who shares a child with the victim, or someone similarly situated to a spouse.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 12291 – Definitions and Grant Provisions
State laws typically cover a wider range of relationships. Most include people related by blood or marriage, such as parents, siblings, and in-laws. Dating relationships are covered in a majority of states, with courts weighing factors like the length and nature of the relationship. Many states extend protections to non-romantic cohabitants, meaning roommates and other household members can qualify. The broadest statutes protect anyone who has lived together in the same household at any point.
Consequences That Outlast the Sentence
A domestic violence conviction, especially a felony one, follows a person long after the sentence is served.
Firearms
Federal firearms law is one area where the misdemeanor-felony line matters less than most people expect. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), any conviction punishable by more than one year of imprisonment bars a person from possessing, shipping, or receiving firearms or ammunition.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts That covers virtually every felony domestic assault.
The Lautenberg Amendment, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), extends the same ban to anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The law defines that as any misdemeanor involving the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or cohabitant. The ban applies to convictions that predate the 1996 law and reaches law enforcement officers and military personnel while on duty.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A person subject to a domestic violence restraining order with a finding of credible threat is separately prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), a provision the Supreme Court upheld in June 2024 in United States v. Rahimi.5Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915
Immigration
For non-citizens, a domestic violence conviction can be devastating. Federal immigration law lists domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, and violation of a protection order as independent grounds for deportation. Any non-citizen convicted of a crime of domestic violence after admission is deportable, regardless of how long they have lived in the United States or their current immigration status.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Convictions classified as crimes involving moral turpitude, which includes most domestic violence offenses, also make a person inadmissible for visas or green cards.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens A narrow exception exists for a single offense with a maximum possible sentence of one year or less where the actual sentence was six months or less, but most felony convictions exceed both thresholds.
Professional Licensing and Employment
A felony domestic violence conviction can disqualify a person from obtaining or keeping a professional license. Healthcare, education, law enforcement, and legal professions are particularly affected. Many licensing boards treat a domestic violence conviction as independent grounds for denial or revocation, separate from the general question of a felony record.
Child Custody
Family courts weigh domestic violence heavily in custody decisions. A felony conviction creates a strong presumption against unsupervised custody or visitation in most states. Some go further, establishing a rebuttable presumption that awarding custody to a parent with a domestic violence conviction is not in the child’s best interest.
Expungement
Erasing a felony domestic violence conviction is difficult or impossible in many states. Several specifically exclude domestic violence felonies from their expungement statutes, meaning no amount of time or rehabilitation makes a person eligible. Even states that allow expungement of certain felonies after a waiting period frequently carve out domestic violence offenses. This is one of the starkest differences between a domestic violence felony and other felony convictions.
Voting Rights
A felony conviction can cost the right to vote, and the rules depend entirely on the state. Three states never revoke voting rights. About two dozen restore them automatically upon release from prison. The rest impose waiting periods, require completion of parole and probation, or demand a governor’s pardon. In roughly ten states, some felony convictions result in permanent loss of voting rights unless the individual successfully petitions for restoration.
What Happens Right After an Arrest
Roughly half of states have mandatory arrest laws for domestic violence, requiring police to make an arrest if they find probable cause. In the remaining states, officers still have discretion to arrest, and department policies often strongly encourage it. When both parties accuse each other, officers are trained to identify the primary physical aggressor based on comparative injuries, prior history, and threats of future harm.
Courts routinely issue no-contact orders as a condition of release. These prohibit the defendant from contacting the victim directly, indirectly, or through a third party. They can also bar the defendant from the shared residence, the victim’s workplace, and the victim’s children’s school. The order typically stays in effect until the case is resolved, and violating it can trigger immediate re-arrest and additional charges. A defendant who returns home because the victim says it’s fine is making a serious mistake. Only the court can lift a no-contact order.