What Penal Code 273.5 actually charges.
Penal Code 273.5 makes it an offence to wilfully inflict corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition on a person in one of the relationships the section lists. Three elements have to be established, and each of them is arguable.
- Wilfully. The act has to be deliberate. An accident during a struggle is not the same thing, and the difference is frequently the case.
- Corporal injury. Physical injury to the body, as distinct from an unlawful touching, which is what the lesser domestic battery section covers.
- A traumatic condition. A wound or bodily injury caused by physical force. It can be minor — a bruise or a scratch will do — which is what surprises people most about this section.
Who counts as a protected person
The section applies where the other person is a spouse or former spouse, a cohabitant or former cohabitant, someone the accused is or has been in a dating relationship with, or the other parent of the accused's child. Where none of those applies, the conduct is charged under a different section entirely, which usually carries different consequences.
Section 273.5 was last amended in 2024.
What the statute sets for penalties.
Section 273.5 is a wobbler, so the District Attorney decides whether to file it as a felony or a misdemeanour, and that decision matters more than almost anything that follows.
As a felony, the statute provides for imprisonment in state prison for two, three or four years, or in county jail for not more than one year, or a fine of up to $6,000, or both the fine and imprisonment. Where the prior-conviction subdivision applies, the fine ceiling rises to $10,000.
If probation is granted
Subdivision (g) makes certain probation conditions mandatory rather than discretionary. In practice that means a batterer's intervention programme and the other terms the court is required to impose — they are not available to be negotiated away, which is why what the charge is reduced to matters more than the sentence attached to it.
These figures are read from the current text of the section. Penalty provisions are amended regularly, and what applies to your case depends on the count as filed, your record, and any enhancement charged alongside it. Nothing on this page is advice about your exposure.
What usually matters.
Whether a traumatic condition can actually be established
The threshold is low but it is not nothing, and the evidence for it is usually photographs taken at the scene, a description in a report, and sometimes nothing else. Whether what is described meets the definition is a real question rather than a formality.
Whether 273.5 is the right section at all
Where there is no injury, domestic battery under Penal Code 243(e)(1) is the section that fits, and it is a misdemeanour. A great deal of the work in these cases is about which of the two the evidence actually supports.
Self-defence, and who was the primary aggressor
Officers responding to a domestic call are generally required to identify a primary aggressor and make an arrest, on limited information and quickly. Where both people have injuries or both have accounts, who was arrested at the scene is a poor guide to what happened.
A protective order may already be in place
One is frequently issued at the first appearance, before anything has been decided. It binds you regardless of what the protected person wants, and breaching it is a separate offence that turns a manageable case into a serious one. Read it before you do anything else.
How I defend a 273.5 case.
- The protective order first — it governs where you can be and what contact is permitted while everything else is pending.
- The recording and the footage — the call itself, the body camera, and the photographs, requested before retention periods run.
- Testing the elements — whether the act was wilful, whether the injury meets the definition of a traumatic condition, and whether the listed relationship is actually established.
- The wobbler question — arguing the misdemeanour filing, or the reduction, because that is where the firearm and programme consequences turn.
- Negotiation with the deputy district attorney assigned to your case, with the mandatory conditions treated as the thing that matters.
- Personal attention — you work with us directly.
Licensed in California since 1999, State Bar number 203402. I defend these cases across nine Northern California counties. For the wider picture see domestic violence defense; for the firearm consequence see weapons charges.
Where I handle 273.5 cases.
The court that hears your case is set by where the arrest happened, not by where you live.
Sacramento County Placer County Yolo County El Dorado County San Joaquin County Butte County Yuba County Solano County Sutter County
Questions I hear most.
Is Penal Code 273.5 a felony or a misdemeanour?
It is a wobbler, so it can be filed either way and the District Attorney decides. The felony form carries state prison exposure of two, three or four years, or up to a year in county jail. Whether it is filed or later reduced to a misdemeanour affects firearm rights, immigration and employment far more than the sentence usually does.
How serious does the injury have to be?
Less serious than people expect. The section requires a traumatic condition, which means a wound or bodily injury caused by physical force, and a bruise or a scratch can satisfy it. Where there is no injury at all, domestic battery under Penal Code 243(e)(1) is the section that fits, and it is a misdemeanour.
Can the other person drop the charges?
No. The decision to prosecute belongs to the District Attorney, and these cases are regularly pursued without the complainant's cooperation using the recorded call, the body camera footage and what was said at the scene. See domestic violence defense.
Will a 273.5 conviction cost me my firearm rights?
Yes. A felony conviction carries a lifetime prohibition, and a domestic violence misdemeanour carries a ten-year prohibition under California law plus a lifetime one under federal law. If your work requires a firearm, say so on the first call. See weapons charges.
What if we have reconciled?
It does not end the case, and if a protective order is in place, contact still breaches it regardless of who initiated it. If circumstances have genuinely changed, the order can be addressed in court, which is the only safe route.
What does defending a 273.5 case cost?
It depends on whether it is filed as a felony or a misdemeanour, whether a protective order is contested, and whether the case is likely to resolve or be tried. Call and I will tell you what representation in your situation would cost before you commit to anything. For the general picture see what a criminal defence lawyer costs in California.
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