North Carolina Assault and Battery Laws: Charges and Penalties (2026)

North Carolina has no statute that defines assault or battery. G.S. 14-33(a) punishes "a simple assault or a simple assault and battery" and participation in "a simple affray" together as a Class 2 misdemeanor, and the North Carolina Supreme Court has explained that "the crime of assault is governed by common law rules" (State v. Floyd, 369 N.C. 329 (2016)). An assault is punished more severely when 14-33 lists an aggravating fact (Class 1 or Class A1 misdemeanor) or when a separate felony section of Chapter 14 applies, for example serious bodily injury, strangulation, a deadly weapon, or an assault on a listed officer or worker. For other states, see our guide to assault and battery laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-13. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers North Carolina's assault offenses in Article 8 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes, the related assault sections 14-16.6, 14-86.7(b) and 14-288.9, the child abuse misdemeanor in 14-318.2(a), the hate-crime upgrade in 14-3(c), ethnic intimidation in 14-401.14, the misdemeanor and felony sentencing charts in G.S. 15A-1340.23 and 15A-1340.17, and the civil filing period in G.S. 1-52(19). It does not cover self-defense and justification (see North Carolina self-defense laws), domestic violence protective orders (see North Carolina restraining order laws), sexual offenses, felony child abuse, federal assault crimes (covered on the assault and battery hub) or local ordinances.

Assault vs. battery in North Carolina

North Carolina does not treat assault and battery as two separately defined crimes. G.S. 14-33 names three kinds of conduct, "assault, assault and battery, or affray," and punishes them in the same subsections at the same grades. The statute does not say what an assault or a battery is.

The courts supply the definitions. In State v. Floyd, 369 N.C. 329 (2016), the North Carolina Supreme Court quoted its earlier decision in State v. Roberts:

"[t]here is no statutory definition of assault in North Carolina, and the crime of assault is governed by common law rules."

Quoting Roberts, the court in Floyd described one of the two common-law rules this way: assault is "an overt act or attempt, or the unequivocal appearance of an attempt, with force and violence, to do some immediate physical injury to the person of another, which show of force or menace of violence must be sufficient to put a person of reasonable firmness in fear of immediate bodily harm." Floyd also held that "the offense of attempted assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury is recognized in North Carolina."

Battery is the touching itself. The North Carolina Court of Appeals stated in State v. Thompson, 27 N.C. App. 576 (1975): "While every battery includes an assault, every assault does not include a battery; A battery is the unlawful application of force to the person of another by the agressor himself or by some substance which he puts in motion."

In practice, then, a threatening act and an actual blow are punished under the same statute in North Carolina. What changes the grade is the injury, the weapon, the person assaulted, and the defendant's record.

North Carolina assault offenses and penalties

The table lists the main assault offenses in Article 8 of Chapter 14 and related sections, with the class each statute assigns. The range column applies the sentencing charts explained below the table. Rows are ordered from least to most serious.

These are the ranges for the offense itself; North Carolina's habitual felon and violent habitual felon laws can raise them for repeat felony convictions, described below.

How North Carolina sets the sentence

North Carolina does not attach a single maximum to each assault statute. The statute fixes the offense class, and the structured sentencing charts set the range by class and by the defendant's record.

• Misdemeanors (G.S. 15A-1340.23). The chart has three prior conviction levels. For a Class A1 misdemeanor the range is 1 to 60 days at level I, 1 to 75 days at level II and 1 to 150 days at level III; for Class 1 it is 1 to 45, 1 to 45 and 1 to 120 days; for Class 2 it is 1 to 30, 1 to 45 and 1 to 60 days. Unless otherwise provided for a specific offense, the maximum fine is $1,000 for a Class 2 misdemeanor; for Class 1 and Class A1 misdemeanors the amount "is in the discretion of the court."
• Felonies (G.S. 15A-1340.17). The felony chart sets a range of minimum terms for each class across six prior record levels. The table above gives the presumptive range at prior record level I, the lowest level. Each cell also has a mitigated and an aggravated range the court may use on findings under G.S. 15A-1340.16, and higher prior record levels raise all three. For example, the Class H presumptive minimum runs from 5-6 months at level I to 16-20 months at level VI, and at level I the Class H minimum is 4-5 months in the mitigated range and 6-8 months in the aggravated range; the Class I presumptive minimum runs from 4-6 months to 8-10 months.
• Maximum terms. For Class F through Class I felonies, G.S. 15A-1340.17(d) assigns a maximum term to each minimum: a 4-month minimum carries a 14-month maximum, 5 months carries 15, 6 months carries 17, 13 months carries 25 and 16 months carries 29.
• Type of punishment. The charts also say which kinds of punishment are allowed in each cell: community, intermediate or active. At prior record level I, a Class I felony calls for community punishment, Class H allows community, intermediate or active punishment, Classes F and E allow intermediate or active punishment, and Class D calls for an active sentence.

A person found to be an habitual felon is sentenced four classes higher than the felony of conviction, but not above Class C (G.S. 14-7.6), and a person convicted of a Class A through E felony who has two prior violent felony convictions, the second committed after the first conviction, must be sentenced to life without parole as a violent habitual felon (G.S. 14-7.7, 14-7.12).

The ranges in the table are what the charts authorize. They are not a prediction of the sentence in any particular case.

Definitions that decide the grade

Several of the grading words in Article 8 have a statutory meaning only in one section:

• Serious bodily injury. G.S. 14-32.4(a) defines it as "bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes serious permanent disfigurement, coma, a permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain, or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or that results in prolonged hospitalization." That definition appears in 14-32.4(a), the Class F offense.
• Serious injury. G.S. 14-33(c)(1) and 14-32 use the shorter phrase "serious injury," which neither section defines. It is a different term from "serious bodily injury."
• Physical injury. For the officer offenses in G.S. 14-34.7(c), "physical injury" "includes cuts, scrapes, bruises, or other physical injury which does not constitute serious injury."
• Deadly weapon. Neither 14-33 nor 14-32 defines "deadly weapon."
• Emergency worker. For G.S. 14-32 only, an "emergency worker" is "a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, or medical responder."

Assaults on police officers, health care workers, teachers and other protected people

North Carolina protects specific groups through several statutes, each with its own wording. The lists below follow the statutes; where a statute lists more people than are named here, the list says "including."

Class A1 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-33(c). Unless another law provides greater punishment, an assault is a Class A1 misdemeanor if the defendant, among the listed circumstances:

• "Assaults a female, he being a male person at least 18 years of age" (14-33(c)(2));
• "Assaults a pregnant woman" (14-33(c)(2a));
• "Assaults a child under the age of 12 years" (14-33(c)(3));
• assaults "an officer or employee of the State or any political subdivision of the State, when the officer or employee is discharging or attempting to discharge his official duties" (14-33(c)(4));
• assaults a school employee or school volunteer who is discharging duties, or because of the discharge of those duties (14-33(c)(6));
• assaults a public transit operator, including a public employee or private contractor employed as one, on duty (14-33(c)(7));
• assaults a certified company police officer or campus police officer in the performance of duties (14-33(c)(8)); or
• assaults a transportation network company (TNC) driver providing a TNC service (14-33(c)(9)).

Class 1 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-33(b). The listed factors include an assault and battery on a sports official while the official is discharging official duties at a sports event or immediately after it (14-33(b)(9)), and an assault on a utility or communications worker who is readily identifiable as a worker and discharging duties (14-33(b)(10)).

Felonies for health care workers and firefighters (G.S. 14-34.6). An assault or affray causing physical injury is a Class I felony when the person is discharging or attempting to discharge official duties and is, among others, an emergency medical technician or other emergency health care provider; a medical responder; a "hospital employee, medical practice employee, licensed health care provider, or individual under contract to provide services at a hospital or medical practice"; a firefighter; or hospital security personnel. Serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon other than a firearm raises it to Class F, and a firearm raises it to Class D.

Felonies for law enforcement. An assault on a law enforcement, probation or parole officer discharging official duties, a North Carolina National Guard member discharging official duties, or a State or local detention-facility employee performing duties is a Class H felony if it inflicts physical injury and a Class E felony if it inflicts serious bodily injury (G.S. 14-34.7). An assault with a firearm on such an officer, on a North Carolina National Guard member, or on a State or local detention-facility employee on duty is a Class D felony (G.S. 14-34.5). An assault with a deadly weapon on an emergency worker (defined to include law enforcement officers) is a Class D felony if it inflicts serious injury or is made with intent to kill (G.S. 14-32(d), (e)).

Public officers and employees. An assault with a deadly weapon on a State or local officer or employee, or a certified company or campus police officer, in the performance of an official duty is a Class E felony (G.S. 14-34.2). An assault on a legislative, executive, court or local elected officer, or on another person in retaliation for the officer's exercise of duties, is a Class H felony, Class E with a deadly weapon and Class D with serious bodily injury (G.S. 14-16.6).

Other groups. Other sections punish assaults on individuals with a disability (G.S. 14-32.1), abuse of a disabled or elder adult by a caretaker (G.S. 14-32.3), and assaults on emergency personnel during a declared state of emergency or riot (G.S. 14-288.9).

Bias motive. Under G.S. 14-3(c), if a Class 2 or Class 3 misdemeanor "is committed because of the victim's race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin," the offender is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, and a Class A1 or Class 1 misdemeanor committed for that reason becomes a Class H felony. Separately, G.S. 14-401.14(a) makes it the Class 1 misdemeanor of ethnic intimidation to assault another person, or threaten to, because of race, color, religion, nationality or country of origin.

Is assault a felony in North Carolina?

A simple assault is not a felony; it is a Class 2 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-33(a). Most aggravated assaults under 14-33 are still misdemeanors, Class 1 or Class A1.

An assault becomes a felony only when a separate statute makes it one. The lowest felony grade in the table is the Class I felony in G.S. 14-34.6(a), an assault causing physical injury to an on-duty health care worker, emergency medical technician, medical responder, firefighter or hospital security personnel. For an assault on anyone, the lowest felony grades are Class H: strangulation inflicting physical injury (G.S. 14-32.4(b)), habitual misdemeanor assault (G.S. 14-33.2) and, for offenses since December 1, 2025, a first conviction of habitual domestic violence (G.S. 14-32.6).

Habitual misdemeanor assault applies to a person who commits a 14-33 assault that causes physical injury, a 14-32.5 domestic violence offense, or a 14-34 gun-pointing offense, and "has two or more prior convictions for misdemeanor assault, felony assault, or a violation of G.S. 14-32.5, with the earlier of the two prior convictions occurring no more than 15 years prior to the date of the current violation."

Domestic violence assault in North Carolina

North Carolina has a separate offense, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, in G.S. 14-32.5. A person is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor if the person "uses or attempts to use physical force, or threatens the use of a deadly weapon, against another person" and is:

1. a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim;
2. a person with whom the victim shares a child in common;
3. a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian;
4. a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim; or
5. a person who has a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim.

Three other rules connect domestic assaults to the general statute:

• Since December 1, 2025, "An offense under this section shall not be considered a lesser included offense of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under G.S. 14-32.5" (G.S. 14-33(e), added by S.L. 2025-70).
• G.S. 14-33(d) makes a serious injury or deadly weapon assault on "a person with whom the person has a personal relationship, and in the presence of a minor" a Class A1 misdemeanor, and a second or later violation carries an active punishment of no less than 30 days in addition to any other punishment.
• Prior 14-32.5 convictions count toward habitual misdemeanor assault under G.S. 14-33.2.

Since December 1, 2025, G.S. 14-32.6 (added by S.L. 2025-70) makes it habitual domestic violence, a Class H felony for the first offense, when a person commits a 14-32.5 offense or an assault on someone in one of the 14-32.5 relationships and has two or more qualifying prior domestic violence convictions, the earlier within 15 years. Each later conviction is punished one class higher than the last, up to Class C. A conviction under 14-32.6 cannot be used as a prior conviction for any other habitual offense statute.

Physical injury to a child under 16 by a parent or caregiver is also charged under a separate statute, the Class A1 misdemeanor of child abuse in G.S. 14-318.2(a).

Protective orders are a separate civil process; see North Carolina restraining order laws. Federal law adds a firearm consequence: 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) makes it unlawful for a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33), to possess a firearm or ammunition in or affecting commerce. The assault and battery hub covers the federal layer.

Recent changes to North Carolina assault law

Three 2025 session laws changed the assault statutes, all effective December 1, 2025, for offenses committed on or after that date:

• S.L. 2025-71 added G.S. 14-33(b)(10), which makes an assault on a utility or communications worker who is readily identifiable as a worker and discharging duties a Class 1 misdemeanor.
• S.L. 2025-70 added G.S. 14-33(e), the rule that a 14-33 offense is not a lesser included offense of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, amended the habitual misdemeanor assault statute, G.S. 14-33.2, and created the felony of habitual domestic violence in G.S. 14-32.6.
• S.L. 2025-81 raised the G.S. 14-16.6 assault on legislative, executive and court officers from Class I to Class H (Class E with a deadly weapon and Class D with serious bodily injury, up from F and E) and extended it to local elected officers.

Civil lawsuits for assault and battery

A criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit are separate. The State brings the criminal case; the injured person can bring a civil claim for damages whether or not there is a criminal charge or conviction.

Under G.S. 1-52(19), an action "For assault, battery, or false imprisonment" must be brought within three years, "except as provided by G.S. 1-17(d) and (e)." Under G.S. 1-17(a), the period does not run while the injured person is under 18 or legally incompetent; it starts when that disability ends. G.S. 1-17(d) allows claims for sexual abuse suffered under 18 until the plaintiff turns 28, and G.S. 1-17(e) allows them within two years of a criminal conviction for a related felony sexual offense. For other filing deadlines, see North Carolina statute of limitations.

Related legal issues

• Self-defense. Whether force was legally justified is a separate question governed by its own rules; see North Carolina self-defense laws.
• Protective orders. Domestic violence protective orders are covered on North Carolina restraining order laws.
• Clearing a record. Whether an assault conviction or a dismissed charge can be expunged is covered on North Carolina expungement laws.

Related articles

• Assault and battery laws by state
• North Carolina self-defense laws
• North Carolina restraining order laws
• North Carolina expungement laws
• North Carolina statute of limitations
• South Carolina assault and battery laws

This article provides general legal information about North Carolina assault and battery statutes as of 2026-10-13. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in North Carolina.

Last updated: 2026-10-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between assault and battery in North Carolina?

North Carolina has no statute defining either. G.S. 14-33 punishes assault, assault and battery and affray together, and under the common law a battery is the unlawful application of force to another person, while an assault can be an attempt or show of force that puts a person in fear of immediate bodily harm (State v. Floyd, 2016; State v. Thompson, 1975).

Is simple assault a felony in North Carolina?

No. Simple assault, simple assault and battery and simple affray are a Class 2 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-33(a), with a range of 1 to 30 days at prior conviction level I, up to 1 to 60 days at level III, and a fine of up to $1,000.

What is assault on a female in North Carolina?

Under G.S. 14-33(c)(2), an assault on a female by a male person at least 18 years old is a Class A1 misdemeanor, punishable by 1 to 60 days at prior conviction level I and up to 1 to 150 days at level III, unless another law provides greater punishment.

What happens if you assault a police officer in North Carolina?

Assaulting an on-duty law enforcement, probation or parole officer and inflicting physical injury is a Class H felony, and inflicting serious bodily injury is a Class E felony (G.S. 14-34.7). An assault on such an officer with a firearm is a Class D felony (G.S. 14-34.5), and other sections also apply, including G.S. 14-32(d) and (e), which make an assault on an emergency worker with a deadly weapon a Class D felony when it inflicts serious injury or is made with intent to kill.

Is assaulting a hospital worker or health care provider a felony in North Carolina?

An assault or affray causing physical injury while the worker is discharging official duties is a Class I felony under G.S. 14-34.6(a) for hospital and medical-practice employees, licensed health care providers, EMTs, medical responders, firefighters and hospital security personnel. Serious bodily injury or a non-firearm deadly weapon makes it Class F, and a firearm makes it Class D.

Is assaulting a teacher a crime in North Carolina?

An assault on a school employee or school volunteer who is discharging duties, or because of those duties, is a Class A1 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-33(c)(6), unless another law provides greater punishment.

Is strangulation a felony in North Carolina?

Yes. Assaulting another person and inflicting physical injury by strangulation is a Class H felony under G.S. 14-32.4(b), with a presumptive minimum of 5 to 6 months at prior record level I.

What is habitual misdemeanor assault in North Carolina?

It is a Class H felony under G.S. 14-33.2 for a person who commits a 14-33 assault causing physical injury, a 14-32.5 domestic violence offense or a 14-34 gun-pointing offense and has two or more prior assault or domestic violence convictions, the earlier within 15 years. A separate felony, habitual domestic violence under G.S. 14-32.6, applies since December 1, 2025 to domestic assaults by someone with two or more qualifying prior domestic violence convictions.

How long do you have to sue for assault in North Carolina?

G.S. 1-52(19) sets a three-year period for civil actions for assault, battery or false imprisonment, except as provided by G.S. 1-17(d) and (e). The period is paused while the injured person is under 18 or incompetent (G.S. 1-17(a)), and G.S. 1-17(d) and (e) allow longer periods for claims of sexual abuse suffered as a minor.