California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 273.6 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a)Any intentional and knowing violation of a protective order, as defined in Section 6218 of the Family Code, or of an order issued pursuant to Section 527.6, 527.8, or 527.85 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b)In the event of a violation of subdivision (a) that results in physical injury, the person shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. However, if the person is imprisoned in a county jail for at least 48 hours, the court may, in the interest of justice and for reasons stated on the record, reduce or eliminate the 30-day minimum imprisonment required by this subdivision. In determining whether to reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider the seriousness of the facts before the court, whether there are additional allegations of a violation of the order during the pendency of the case before the court, the probability of future violations, the safety of the victim, and whether the defendant has successfully completed or is making progress with counseling.

(c)Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall apply to the following court orders:

(1)Any order issued pursuant to Section 6320 or 6389 of the Family Code.

(2)An order excluding one party from the family dwelling or from the dwelling of the other.

(3)An order enjoining a party from specified behavior that the court determined was necessary to effectuate the order described in subdivision (a).

(4)Any order issued by another state that is recognized under Part 5 (commencing with Section 6400) of Division 10 of the Family Code.

(d)A subsequent conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a), occurring within seven years of a prior conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a) and involving an act of violence or “a credible threat” of violence, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 139, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.

(e)In the event of a subsequent conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a) for an act occurring within one year of a prior conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a) that results in physical injury to a victim, the person shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than six months nor more than one year, by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. However, if the person is imprisoned in a county jail for at least 30 days, the court may, in the interest of justice and for reasons stated in the record, reduce or eliminate the six-month minimum imprisonment required by this subdivision. In determining whether to reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider the seriousness of the facts before the court, whether there are additional allegations of a violation of the order during the pendency of the case before the court, the probability of future violations, the safety of the victim, and whether the defendant has successfully completed or is making progress with counseling.

(f)The prosecuting agency of each county shall have the primary responsibility for the enforcement of orders described in subdivisions (a), (b), (d), and (e).

(g)(1)Every person who owns, possesses, purchases, or receives a firearm knowing they are prohibited from doing so by the provisions of a protective order as defined in Section 136.2 of this code, Section 6218 of the Family Code, or Section 527.6, 527.8, or 527.85 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall be punished under Section 29825.

(2)Every person subject to a protective order described in paragraph (1) shall not be prosecuted under this section for owning, possessing, purchasing, or receiving a firearm to the extent that firearm is granted an exemption pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or subdivision (h) of Section 6389 of the Family Code.

(h)If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e), the court shall impose probation consistent with Section 1203.097, and the conditions of probation may include, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:

(1)That the defendant make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program or to a shelter for abused elder persons or dependent adults, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), pursuant to Section 1203.097.

(2)That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.

(i)For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under subdivision (e), the court shall make a determination of the defendant’s ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support. Where the injury to a married person is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of their spouse in violation of this section, the community property may not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for restitution to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse is exhausted.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 64 cases (21 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Alanis-Alvarado v. Holder, 558 F.3d 833 (9th Cir. 2009).

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Alanis-Alvarado v. Holder, 558 F.3d 833 (9th Cir. 2009). · cites it 7× “We must decide whether a conviction under California Penal Code section 273.6, for violating a protective order issued pursuant to California Family Code section 6320, categorically qualifies as violation of a "protection order" under 8 U.”

People v. Ogle, 185 Cal. App. 4th 1138 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “Code, § 422), disobeying a domestic relations order (Pen. Code, § 273.6, subd. (d)) and stalking (Pen.”

State Ex Rel. Williams v. Marsh, 626 S.W.2d 223 (Mo. 1982). · cites it 2× “, Cal.Penal Code § 273.6 (West Cum.Supp.1981).”

Alanis-Alvarado v. Mukasey, 541 F.3d 966 (9th Cir. 2008). · cites it 6× “OPINION GRABER, Circuit Judge: We must decide whether a conviction under California Penal Code section 273.6, for violating a protective order issued pursuant to California Family Code section 6320, cate- gorically qualifies as violation of a “protection order” under 8 U.”

People v. Megown, 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 911 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2018). “A jury convicted Megown of violating a domestic violence restraining order ( Pen. Code, § 273.6, subd. (a) ), possessing an assault weapon ( *160 Pen.”

City of Palo Alto v. Serv. Employees Int'l Union, 2000 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 28 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 2× “(j); Pen. Code, § 273.6.) The City terminated Camm effective April 25, 1997.”

People v. Marchand, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4937 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002). “(a) & (b)) and seven misdemeanor counts of disobeying a court order (Pen. Code, § 273.6). After defendant waived his right to a jury trial, the matter was tried to the court, which found him guilty of both felony counts and six of the seven misdemeanor counts.”

The People v. Weber, 217 Cal. App. 4th 1041 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). “(Pen. Code, §§ 273.6, 422.) The trial court sentenced defendant to prison for three years, and defendant timely filed his notice of appeal.”

United States v. Villavicencio-Burruel, 608 F.3d 556 (9th Cir. 2010). “§ 1227 (a)(2)(E)(i); and (2) a 2004 conviction for violating a court protection order under California Penal Code section 273.6(a) was a conviction for violating a protection order that involved threats of violence, making him removable under 8 U.”

Orange Cnty. Soc. Servs. Agency v. Alfred A., 68 Cal. Rptr. 3d 106 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). “(a)), and violation of a protective order with physical injury (Pen. Code, § 273.6, subd. (b)). In its August 9, 2006 juvenile dependency petition, SSA alleged that V.”

Neumann v. Melgar, 2004 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6872 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004). “” In June 1999, Hector began serving his jail sentence for violating the restraining order (Pen. Code, § 273.6); he remained in custody for 12 weeks.”

Szalai v. Holder, 572 F.3d 975 (9th Cir. 2009). “However, later it was observed that "[e]xamining the `full range of conduct' proscribed by section 273.6, Petitioner's conviction does not suffice under the categorical approach.”

Show all 64 citing cases →

— Cal. Penal Code § 273.6(a) — 1 case

— Cal. Penal Code § 273.6(d) — 1 case

United States v. Genaro Acevedo-De La Cruz (9th Cir. 2017).

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