Is criminal mischief a felony in Texas?
It depends almost entirely on the pecuniary loss. Under Penal Code §28.03, damaging, destroying or tampering with someone else's property without their consent is a Class C misdemeanor under $100, a Class B from $100, a Class A from $750, a state jail felony from $2,500, a third degree from $30,000, a second degree from $150,000 and a first degree felony at $300,000 or more. A handful of circumstances carry a felony regardless of amount, and under §28.03(e) separate incidents under one scheme can be added together to reach a higher grade.
- Three ways to commit it: damaging or destroying property, tampering with it so as to cause loss or substantial inconvenience, or making markings on it, which is how graffiti is charged.
- The amount is an element, not a detail. It is what separates a ticket from a prison sentence, and it is proved with evidence that can be tested.
- Amounts can be aggregated under §28.03(e) where there is one scheme or continuing course of conduct, even across different owners.
- Damage to a habitation with a firearm or explosive is a state jail felony under $2,500. Impairing access to an ATM is a third degree felony at any amount.
- Damage to a place of worship, human burial site, public monument or community center between $750 and $30,000 is a state jail felony under §28.03(f).
- Charged after a domestic argument, the grade is often the least of it. A family violence finding is the part that lasts.
- Consent is in the definition. Property damaged with the owner's effective consent, or jointly owned property, raises a real question about whose property it was.
Criminal mischief covers a punched wall, a keyed car, a smashed phone, a tagged shopfront and a cut fence, and the statute treats them on the same ladder. Most people charged are surprised twice: first that property damage is a criminal offense at all when no one was hurt, and then that the number on the repair estimate decides whether they are facing a fine or a felony. Peter M. Barrett has defended these cases in Dallas County since 1994, across more than 150 jury trials, and the case review is free and confidential. This guide sets out the ladder and where it is contested.
What counts as criminal mischief
§28.03(a) requires that the act be done without the effective consent of the owner, and then covers three kinds of conduct:
- Damage or destruction. Intentionally or knowingly damaging or destroying the owner's tangible property.
- Tampering. Intentionally or knowingly tampering with the property so as to cause pecuniary loss or substantial inconvenience to the owner or a third person.
- Markings. Intentionally or knowingly making markings, including inscriptions, slogans, drawings or paintings, on the property. This is the graffiti route.
Note that recklessness is not enough. The statute requires intentional or knowing conduct, so genuine accidents, and damage caused in the course of something else without intent, are outside it.
The value ladder
| Pecuniary loss | Level | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $100, or substantial inconvenience | Class C misdemeanor | Fine up to $500 |
| $100 to less than $750 | Class B misdemeanor | Up to 180 days, $2,000 fine |
| $750 to less than $2,500 | Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year, $4,000 fine |
| $2,500 to less than $30,000 | State jail felony | 180 days to 2 years |
| $30,000 to less than $150,000 | 3rd degree felony | 2 to 10 years |
| $150,000 to less than $300,000 | 2nd degree felony | 2 to 20 years |
| $300,000 or more | 1st degree felony | 5 to 99 years or life |
The line between $2,499 and $2,500 is the line between a county jail case and a felony conviction. That is why a repair estimate is worth examining rather than accepting, and why the difference between repair cost, replacement cost and diminished value is a real argument rather than a technicality.
When the amount does not decide it
Several provisions attach a grade regardless of, or in spite of, the loss figure:
- A habitation damaged by a firearm or explosive weapon is a state jail felony even under $2,500. Shooting at a house is not a property-damage ticket.
- Impairing or interrupting access to an ATM is a third degree felony regardless of the amount.
- Impairing a public water supply, or diverting it, is a Class A misdemeanor regardless of the amount.
- Public services, including flood control property, a dam, public communications, transportation or gas supply, carry a state jail felony under $30,000 and a third degree felony up to $150,000.
- Fences used for livestock or game animals, and catalytic converter damage to a vehicle, carry a state jail felony below the usual threshold.
- Killing cattle, bison or horses by firearm or other means is a third degree felony.
- A place of worship, human burial site, public monument or community center providing medical, social or educational programs: a state jail felony where the loss is $750 to less than $30,000, under §28.03(f).
- A habitation damaged during a criminal trespass is a second degree felony where the loss is $1,000 or more.
The aggregation rule
§28.03(e) provides that where more than one item of property, belonging to one or more owners, is damaged under one scheme or continuing course of conduct, the conduct may be treated as a single offense and the amounts added together to set the grade.
This is the provision that turns a series of small incidents into a felony. Several tagged walls, a run of damaged vehicles in one night, or repeated damage to the same property over weeks can be charged as one aggregated offense rather than several tickets. The defense questions are whether there really was one scheme or continuing course of conduct, and whether every item in the total belongs in it. Taking enough items out of the total can drop the grade. The same mechanism exists for theft under §31.09, which the theft guide explains.
Charged after a domestic argument
A great many criminal mischief charges come out of arguments between people who live together: a phone thrown, a door broken, a television damaged. Where the complainant is a family or household member, the court can enter a family violence finding under art. 42.013, using the definition in Fam. Code §71.004.
That finding, not the grade, is usually the serious part. It carries forward into any later case, it affects firearm rights, and under Gov't Code §411.074 an offense involving family violence can never receive an order of nondisclosure. A Class B criminal mischief that resolves quickly can therefore leave a permanent mark. The family violence guide covers that machinery, and it should be read before any plea.
Where these cases are defended
- The amount. It is an element the State must prove. An estimate is not a valuation, replacement is not repair, and pre-existing damage is not this defendant's. One credible figure can move the case a full level or two.
- Whose property it was. §28.03 requires the absence of the owner's effective consent. Jointly owned property, marital property and shared household items raise genuine questions about ownership and consent that do not arise with a stranger's car.
- Intentional or knowing, not accidental. Recklessness does not satisfy the statute. Damage during a fall, a struggle or an accident is outside it.
- The aggregation. Whether a single scheme existed, and which items belong in the total, is usually worth more than disputing any one incident.
- Identification. Graffiti and overnight damage cases often rest on circumstantial links rather than on anyone seeing anything.
- Restitution and the disposition. In property cases what the resolution is called matters as much as the sentence, particularly where a family violence finding is in play.
Common questions
How much damage makes criminal mischief a felony in Texas?
$2,500. Under Penal Code §28.03 a pecuniary loss of $2,500 to less than $30,000 is a state jail felony, rising to a third degree felony at $30,000, a second degree at $150,000 and a first degree at $300,000 or more. Below $2,500 it is a misdemeanor, unless one of the circumstance-based provisions applies, such as damage to a habitation caused by a firearm.
Is punching a wall or breaking a phone criminal mischief?
It can be, if the property belonged to someone else and was damaged without their effective consent. The grade follows the cost of the damage, so a broken phone is usually a Class B or Class A misdemeanor. Where the property was jointly owned, or the other person consented, there is a real question whether the offense is made out at all.
Can several small incidents be charged as one felony?
Yes. §28.03(e) allows the State to treat damage to several items, even belonging to different owners, as one offense and to add the amounts together where the conduct was under one scheme or continuing course of conduct. Whether a single scheme existed, and which items belong in the total, is one of the stronger defense issues in a multi-incident case.
Is graffiti criminal mischief in Texas?
Making markings, including inscriptions, slogans, drawings or paintings, on another person's property without consent is covered by §28.03(a)(3) and runs on the same value ladder. Texas also has a separate graffiti offense, so which section is charged, and what the removal cost is said to be, both matter.
What if the damage was an accident?
Then it is not this offense. §28.03 requires intentional or knowing conduct. Recklessness is not enough, which distinguishes it from several other Texas offenses. Damage caused during a fall, a struggle or genuine accident falls outside the statute, though the State may still dispute how it happened.
Can a criminal mischief charge be sealed?
Often yes, but not if a family violence finding is entered. Government Code §411.074 bars an order of nondisclosure for any offense involving family violence as defined by Family Code §71.004. In a case arising from a domestic argument, avoiding that finding usually matters more than the grade or the fine.
The other person says it cost more than it did. What can I do?
Challenge the figure, because it is an element rather than a formality. Get independent estimates, photograph everything before any repair, and keep receipts for anything you pay. Ask your lawyer to obtain the documentation behind the complainant's number early, since the difference between two estimates can be the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony. The consultation is free and confidential: (214) 526-0555, answered 24/7 for emergencies.
The law this article describes, at the source.
This page is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice about your case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, so confirm the current rule with a licensed Texas criminal defense attorney about your specific facts. Request a free, confidential case review.