Felony vs Misdemeanor in D.C.: Sentences, Fines and Probation

The District of Columbia does not sort crimes into felony or misdemeanor classes: each offense statute sets its own maximum term and fine, and the felony sentencing statute applies to "any felony" without defining the word (D.C. Code 24-403.01(a)). In practice the line is one year. The D.C. Sentencing Commission's 2026 Guidelines Manual treats an offense as a felony if the Code specifies it as one or, if not, if it is punishable by more than one year, and the Code's fine table and supervised-release lengths are keyed to the same line (D.C. Code 22-3571.01(b), 24-403.01(b)(2)-(3)).

Information last verified on 2026-10-17. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers the District of Columbia's general sentencing framework: the fine table (D.C. Code 22-3571.01), the felony sentencing statute (24-403.01), the residual penalty (22-1807), the repeat-offender and firearm statutes (22-1804a, 22-4502, 22-4503), probation and revocation (16-710, 24-304), civil infractions (2-1801.02) and the Sentencing Commission's voluntary guidelines. It does not list the penalty for every offense (see the D.C. theft laws and D.C. assault and battery laws pages), time limits for prosecution, record sealing, D.C. municipal regulations or federal offenses. For every state side by side, see felony and misdemeanor classes by state.

Felony vs misdemeanor in D.C.

The D.C. Code has no lettered or numbered crime classes. Each offense section states its own penalty, and the Code's general sentencing sections key their rules to the maximum term that penalty allows. The felony sentencing statute opens:

"(a) For any felony committed on or after August 5, 2000, the court shall impose a sentence that: ..." (D.C. Code 24-403.01(a))

That section uses the word felony without defining it. The D.C. Sentencing Commission's guidelines manual gives its own working definition:

"10.16 Felony Offense. A felony offense is any offense specified by the applicable code as a felony or, if undefined, an offense that is punishable by a term of imprisonment that exceeds one year." (2026 D.C. Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines Manual, sec. 10.16)

Its companion definition (sec. 10.27) describes a misdemeanor as "an offense that is punishable by a term of imprisonment that is one year or less and is not specified by the D.C. Code as a felony."

The Code itself draws the same one-year line in several places:

• Fines. The fine table in D.C. Code 22-3571.01(b) tops out at $2,500 for offenses punishable by "one year or less but more than 180 days" and starts at $12,500 for offenses punishable by "5 years or less but more than one year."
• Supervised release. A prison sentence under the felony sentencing statute is always followed by supervised release, and its length is fixed at 3 or 5 years when the sentence is more than one year, keyed to whether the offense's maximum is more than one year or 25 years or more (24-403.01(b)(1)-(2)).
• Who prosecutes. Violations of "penal statutes in the nature of police or municipal regulations, where the maximum punishment is a fine only, or imprisonment not exceeding one year," are prosecuted "in the name of the District of Columbia by the Corporation Counsel," an office the Code now reads as the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, and "all other criminal prosecutions shall be conducted in the name of the United States by the United States attorney for the District of Columbia" (23-101(a), (c)). Most D.C. felonies are therefore prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney.

A label in an offense's name does not always track the term. Misdemeanor sexual abuse, for example, carries up to 3 years for a person with 3 or more prior convictions for that offense, under a 2024 amendment described below.

D.C. penalty tiers: prison terms and maximum fines

Because the District has no classes, the table below follows the tiers the fine statute uses. The prison term in each row is whatever maximum the offense statute sets; the fine is the ceiling D.C. Code 22-3571.01(b) attaches to that maximum. For felonies, 24-403.01(b-1) reduces the prison term a court may impose below a term-of-years maximum by the supervised-release revocation term, described below.

These are the ceilings for the offense itself. D.C. Code 22-1804a, 22-4502, 22-4503, 24-403.01(e)-(f) and 48-904.08 set higher or mandatory terms for some repeat or armed convictions, described below. The fine statute lets a court fine "not more than the greatest of" the listed amounts, and some offense statutes set their own fines outside the table: the DUI statute provides that "the fines set forth in this section shall not be limited by § 22-3571.01" (50-2206.13(e)). A court may instead fine up to twice the gross gain or loss from the offense if that gain or loss is alleged in the indictment or information and proven beyond a reasonable doubt (22-3571.02(b)), and an organization convicted of an offense punishable by 6 months or more may be fined up to twice the applicable amounts (22-3571.01(c)). The table applies to offenses committed on or after June 11, 2013. The "misdemeanor range" label in the table describes the one-year line; an offense statute can still give its crime a name of its own.

Examples of D.C. offense penalties

The terms in this table are statutory maximums; for a felony with a term-of-years maximum, 24-403.01(b-1) limits the prison term a court imposes, as described below.

The D.C. theft laws page explains how theft is graded by value, and the D.C. assault and battery laws page covers the assault offenses.

Offenses with no stated penalty

D.C. Code 22-1807 supplies a default penalty:

"Whoever shall be convicted of any criminal offense not covered by the provisions of any section of this Code, or of any general law of the United States not locally inapplicable in the District of Columbia, shall be punished by a fine not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both."

A 5-year maximum puts these offenses above the one-year line.

Attempts have a similar default. An attempt not otherwise made punishable carries up to 180 days, a fine under 22-3571.01, or both, but an attempt to commit a crime of violence as defined in 23-1331 carries up to 5 years, a fine under 22-3571.01, or both (22-1803).

How a D.C. sentence is set

Definite terms. A felony prison sentence "shall be for a definite term, which shall not exceed the maximum term allowed by law or be less than any minimum term required by law" (24-403.01(c)(1)). For felonies committed on or after August 5, 2000, the court sets one fixed term rather than a minimum-to-maximum range, subject to the prison term limit described below.

Supervised release. If the court imposes more than one year, it must add supervised release of 5 years when the offense's maximum is 25 years or more, or 3 years when the maximum is more than one year but less than 25 (24-403.01(b)(2)). If it imposes one year or less, the term is not more than 5 or 3 years on the same scale, and for an offense requiring sex-offender registration the court may impose up to 10 years, or up to life for a person required to register for life (24-403.01(b)(3)-(4)). If supervised release is revoked, the person may be imprisoned for up to 5 years (the offense's maximum is life, or the offense is specifically designated a Class A felony), 3 years (maximum of 25 years or more but less than life), 2 years (maximum of 5 years or more but less than 25) or 1 year (maximum under 5 years) (24-403.01(b)(7)). The phrase "Class A felony" in that rule is a label for revocation purposes, not part of a lettered class system.

Prison term limit. For an offense whose maximum is a term of years, the prison term the court imposes may not exceed the statutory maximum minus the revocation term in 24-403.01(b)(7); an offense with a 5-year maximum, for example, allows an initial prison term of up to 3 years. The deduction does not apply when the maximum is life or the offense is specifically designated a Class A felony (24-403.01(b-1)).

Sentencing guidelines. The D.C. Sentencing Commission publishes voluntary guidelines. For felonies, the Manual's Drug Grid (felony drug convictions) and Main Grid (all other felonies) cross the offense of conviction with the person's criminal history score to give a recommended sentence type and range, and the Manual states that "judges have discretion to impose any sentence they choose, provided that it is lawful under the D.C. Code." The Commission states that "the 2026 D.C. Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines go into effect for all pleas and verdicts entered on or after January 1, 2026," and the Manual says the guidelines "apply to all felony convictions where verdicts and pleas are entered on or after June 14, 2004" (sec. 1.1.3). Because the guidelines are voluntary, the statutory limits, including 24-403.01(b-1), are the outer bound rather than a typical sentence.

Young offenders. For a person who committed the offense while under 18, the court "may issue a sentence less than the minimum term otherwise required by law" and "shall not impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release" (24-403.01(c)(2)). The first-degree murder statute repeats the life-without-release bar for anyone under 18 (22-2104(a)). Separately, the Youth Rehabilitation Act lets a court sentence a "youth offender," a person 24 or younger at the time of a crime other than murder and certain sexual-abuse offenses, under that subchapter "up to the maximum penalty of imprisonment otherwise provided by law," and the conviction is set aside automatically on an early unconditional discharge (24-901(6), 24-903(b)(1), 24-906(a)). The Act does not apply to a person sentenced for a repeat armed offense under 22-4502(a)(2) (22-4502(e)(1)).

First-degree murder. The penalty is "not less than 30 years nor more than life imprisonment without release," a sentence over 60 years requires the procedure in 22-2104.01 or 24-403.01(b-2), and the prosecution must give written notice at least 30 days before trial if it seeks life without release (22-2104(a)). A person convicted "shall not be released from prison prior to the expiration of 30 years from the date of the commencement of the sentence" (22-2104(b)).

Repeat-offender and armed-offense rules

Third felony or third crime of violence (22-1804a). The statute has two tiers:

• "If a person is convicted in the District of Columbia of a felony, having previously been convicted of 2 prior felonies not committed on the same occasion, the court may, in lieu of any sentence authorized, impose such greater term of imprisonment as it deems necessary, up to, and including, 30 years" (22-1804a(a)(1)).
• For a crime of violence as defined by 22-4501, after 2 prior crimes of violence not committed on the same occasion, "the court, in lieu of the term of imprisonment authorized, shall impose a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and may impose such greater term of imprisonment as it deems necessary up to, and including, life without possibility of release" (22-1804a(a)(2)).

A conviction or guilty plea for which the person has been pardoned is not counted (22-1804a(d)). For supervised-release revocation, these third offenses are Class A felonies (22-1804a(a)(3)), so the 24-403.01(b-1) deduction does not reduce the 30-year term. The probation statute states that it does not supersede 22-1804a (16-710(c)).

Committing a crime while armed (22-4502). For a first conviction of a crime of violence or a dangerous crime committed while armed, the court may add up to 30 years to the penalty for the underlying crime, except for first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree child sexual abuse while armed, which the statute treats separately (22-4502(a)(1)). If the person was armed with a pistol or firearm, the mandatory minimum is 5 years for a first conviction and 10 years for a sentence under 22-4502(a)(2), and the person "shall not be released, granted probation, or granted suspension of sentence, prior to serving such mandatory-minimum sentence" (22-4502(c)). A second or subsequent conviction of committing a crime of violence or dangerous crime while armed with any dangerous weapon carries an added term of at least 5 years and, except for the listed armed murder and sexual-abuse offenses, not more than 30 years (22-4502(a)(2)), and a term imposed under 22-4502(a)(2) or (a)(3) "may not be suspended and probation may not be granted" (22-4502(e)(2)).

Unlawful firearm possession (22-4503). A violation of 22-4503(a)(1) carries up to 10 years with a 1-year mandatory minimum, or up to 15 years with a 3-year mandatory minimum for a person with a prior conviction for a crime of violence other than conspiracy, and the mandatory minimum must be served before release, probation or suspension of sentence (22-4503(b)).

Other repeat minimums (24-403.01(e)-(f)). For a person over 18 at the time of the offense who has a prior conviction for a crime of violence, in D.C. or elsewhere, the sentence may not be less than 7 years for first- or second-degree sexual abuse or child sexual abuse (22-3002, 22-3003, 22-3008 to 22-3010), or less than 2 years for assault with intent to commit first- or second-degree sexual abuse or child sexual abuse (22-401) or armed robbery (24-403.01(e)). For a person over 18 at the time of the offense, the sentence may not be less than 1 year for a repeat conviction of assault with a dangerous weapon on a police officer (22-405) after a prior conviction under that section or a felony, a repeat illegal firearm possession conviction under 22-4503, or a repeat conviction for possession of implements of a crime (22-2501) after a prior conviction under that section or a felony.

Drug offenses (48-904.08). A person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under the controlled-substances chapter "may be imprisoned for a term up to twice the term otherwise authorized, fined an amount up to twice that otherwise authorized, or both." A prior conviction under that chapter or under any U.S. or state controlled-substance statute counts (48-904.08(b)).

Civil infractions

Below the criminal tiers, D.C. Code 2-1801.02(2) defines an infraction as "any act or failure to act for which a civil sanction may be imposed under the provisions of this chapter, and with respect to which either the Corporation Counsel or the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia is authorized to commence a criminal proceeding in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, or for which another civil sanction may be imposed under any District laws or regulations." An infraction handled under that chapter carries a civil sanction rather than a criminal sentence; the definition itself recognizes that some of the same acts can also be prosecuted as crimes.

Probation in D.C.

Length. A Superior Court judge may suspend the imposition of sentence, or impose sentence and suspend all or part of its execution, and place the person on probation (16-710(a)). "The period of probation referred to in subsection (a), together with any extension thereof, shall not exceed 5 years" (16-710(b)). The cap is the same for felonies and misdemeanors.

Custody as a condition. For "any defendant convicted of a felony," the court may require the person to "remain in custody or in a community correctional center during nights, weekends, or other intervals totaling not more than one year during the term of probation" (16-710(b-1)).

When probation is not available. Several statutes bar probation or a suspended sentence until a mandatory minimum is served, among them the firearm minimums in 22-4502(c) and 22-4503(b)(2); any term imposed under 22-4502(a)(2) or (a)(3) may not be suspended or replaced with probation at all (22-4502(e)(2)); and 16-710(c) leaves the 22-1804a repeat-offender terms in place. First-degree murder carries a 30-year minimum with no release before 30 years (22-2104(a)-(b)). Other offense statutes can carry their own mandatory terms.

Violations. Under D.C. Code 24-304(a), the court "may revoke the order of probation and cause the rearrest of the probationer and impose a sentence and require him to serve the sentence or pay the fine originally imposed, or both, as the case may be, or any lesser sentence. If imposition of sentence was suspended, the court may impose any sentence which might have been imposed. If probation is revoked, the time of probation shall not be taken into account to diminish the time for which he was originally sentenced." For a violation involving controlled-substance use or a failure to follow prescribed drug treatment, the court may also order temporary placement in custody, in addition to or instead of those sanctions, and a positive marijuana test is not a violation unless the court expressly prohibited marijuana (24-304(b)-(c)). Section 24-304 sets no per-violation jail limit. The separate caps in 24-403.01(b)(7) apply to supervised release after prison, not to probation.

Recent changes

• Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022. The D.C. Council enacted the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-789) on January 17, 2023. Congress disapproved it by joint resolution, Pub. L. 118-1, approved March 20, 2023, so it never took effect, and the sections on this page are the existing D.C. Code.
• Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Law 25-175). Effective June 8, 2024, it created a strangulation offense with a penalty of up to 5 years (22-404.04), made directing organized retail theft a felony punishable by up to 15 years (22-3211.01), set up to 3 years for misdemeanor sexual abuse after 3 or more prior convictions for it (22-3006(b)), and amended the firearm-possession statute, 22-4503.
• 2026 sentencing guidelines. The 2026 D.C. Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines Manual applies to pleas and verdicts entered on or after January 1, 2026.

Related legal issues

• Record sealing after a conviction or arrest is covered on the District of Columbia expungement and record sealing page.
• Time limits for bringing felony and misdemeanor charges are on the District of Columbia statute of limitations page.

Related

• Felony and misdemeanor classes by state
• District of Columbia theft laws
• District of Columbia assault and battery laws
• District of Columbia expungement laws
• District of Columbia statute of limitations
• Maryland felony and misdemeanor penalties
• Virginia felony and misdemeanor classes

This article provides general legal information about District of Columbia sentencing law as of 2026-10-17. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in the District of Columbia.

Last updated: 2026-10-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in D.C.?

The D.C. Code does not sort crimes into classes, and the felony sentencing statute (D.C. Code 24-403.01) uses the word felony without defining it. The D.C. Sentencing Commission's 2026 Guidelines Manual (sec. 10.16) treats an offense as a felony if the Code specifies it as one or, if not, if it is punishable by more than one year.

Does D.C. have Class A, B or C felonies?

No lettered class system governs D.C. sentences; each offense statute sets its own maximum. The phrase “Class A felony” appears in D.C. Code 24-403.01(b)(7), which sets how long a person can be returned to prison when supervised release is revoked.

What is the maximum fine for a misdemeanor in D.C.?

Under D.C. Code 22-3571.01(b), the fine ceiling depends on the maximum jail term: $100 (10 days or less), $250 (30 days or less), $500 (90 days or less), $1,000 (180 days or less) and $2,500 (more than 180 days up to one year). Some statutes set their own fines; the DUI statute says its fines are not limited by 22-3571.01 (50-2206.13(e)). A court may also fine up to twice the gain or loss from the offense if it is charged and proven (22-3571.02(b)).

What is the maximum fine for a felony in D.C.?

D.C. Code 22-3571.01(b) ties the ceiling to the maximum prison term: $12,500 (more than one year up to 5), $25,000 (up to 10), $37,500 (up to 15), $50,000 (up to 20), $75,000 (up to 30), $125,000 (more than 30 years) and $250,000 if the offense resulted in death. These ceilings can be exceeded where an offense statute sets its own fine, where twice the gain or loss is charged and proven (22-3571.02(b)), or for an organization (22-3571.01(c)).

What is D.C.'s three-strikes law?

Under D.C. Code 22-1804a(a)(1), a person convicted of a felony after two prior felonies not committed on the same occasion may be sentenced to up to 30 years instead of the usual term. Under 22-1804a(a)(2), a third crime of violence after two prior crimes of violence requires at least 15 years and allows up to life without possibility of release; pardoned convictions do not count (22-1804a(d)). Other statutes add repeat-offense minimums, including 22-4502(a)(2) for repeat armed offenses and 24-403.01(e)-(f).

How long can probation last in D.C.?

Probation, together with any extension, may not exceed 5 years in a Superior Court criminal case (D.C. Code 16-710(b)), for felonies and misdemeanors alike. For a felony, the court may also require custody during nights, weekends or other intervals totaling not more than one year during probation (16-710(b-1)).

What happens if you violate probation in D.C.?

Under D.C. Code 24-304(a), the court may revoke probation, have the person rearrested and impose the sentence or fine originally imposed or any lesser sentence; if imposition of sentence was suspended, it may impose any sentence that might have been imposed. Time on probation is not credited against the original sentence. For drug use or a failure to follow drug treatment, the court may also order temporary custody, and a positive marijuana test is not a violation unless marijuana was expressly prohibited (24-304(b)-(c)).

Is a civil infraction a crime in D.C.?

D.C. Code 2-1801.02(2) defines an infraction as an act for which a civil sanction may be imposed. The definition also covers acts that the Corporation Counsel or the U.S. Attorney is authorized to charge criminally, so the same conduct can carry either a civil sanction or a criminal case depending on the law involved.

Did D.C. adopt a new criminal code with felony classes?

The Council passed the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-789), but Congress disapproved it in Pub. L. 118-1, approved March 20, 2023, so it did not take effect. The penalties described here come from the existing D.C. Code.