Is Stalking a Felony? Aggravating Factors and Penalties by State (2026)

Stalking can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, and the answer depends almost entirely on the state and on aggravating factors. In most states, a first offense of simple stalking, with no prior conviction, no protective order in place, no weapon, and no minor victim, is charged as a misdemeanor. But a meaningful group of states, including Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin, treat even first-offense stalking as a felony. In those jurisdictions, any stalking course of conduct is a felony from the first incident.

Most states tier stalking into degrees or levels. Aggravated stalking, first-degree stalking, or stalking in the first degree is almost always a felony. Second-degree or simple stalking is usually a misdemeanor or a lower-level felony. The aggravating factors that elevate stalking to a felony are fairly consistent across states: a prior stalking or related conviction, committing the stalking in violation of a protective order, the victim being a minor, the use of a deadly weapon or a credible threat of death or serious bodily injury, stalking of a current or former intimate partner (domestic-stalking enhancement), cyberstalking or stalking through electronic communications, and crossing state lines (which brings the conduct under federal law).

Federal law makes interstate stalking a felony. Under 18 USC 2261A, a person who travels in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses any facility of interstate commerce (including the internet, mail, or any electronic communication service), with intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance another person, and who engages in a course of conduct that places that person or an immediate family member, spouse, or intimate partner in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes substantial emotional distress, is guilty of a federal felony. The base penalty is up to 5 years in prison; it climbs to 10 years if serious bodily injury results or a dangerous weapon is used, to 20 years for permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injury, and to life imprisonment if the victim dies. A protective-order violation carries a mandatory minimum of 1 year.

If you are charged with stalking, talk to a criminal defense lawyer. If you are being stalked, contact a victim advocate or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. This page is informational only, not legal advice.

Stalking is not a single act. It is a course of conduct, meaning two or more acts over time directed at a specific person. The conduct must place the victim in reasonable fear of death, serious bodily injury, sexual assault, kidnapping, or substantial emotional distress. Most state statutes define course of conduct to include following, surveilling, harassing, threatening, communicating (in person, by phone, by mail, by computer, by text, or by social media), approaching or confronting, placing objects on the property of the victim, appearing at the home or workplace of the victim, and using GPS or other tracking devices.

The reasonable-fear standard is objective. The prosecution must show that the conduct would cause a reasonable person to fear death, serious bodily injury, or substantial emotional distress, and that the victim actually experienced such fear or distress. Some statutes add that the stalker knew or should have known that the conduct would cause this fear.

Most statutes carve out constitutionally protected activity, such as lawful picketing, labor demonstrations, public assemblies, and the exercise of free speech in a public forum. But courts have repeatedly held that stalking statutes are constitutional and do not infringe on protected speech when the conduct is targeted at a specific person and places that person in reasonable fear.

Stalking is closely related to harassment, menacing, terrorizing, and domestic violence. Many states have parallel statutes for harassment (broader, often a single act), menacing or terrorizing (threat-based), and domestic violence (intimate-partner context). Stalking is the course-of-conduct offense with the reasonable-fear element.

Stalking, harassment, and cyberstalking overlap but are distinct legal categories.

Harassment is typically the broadest term and often the lowest-level offense. It can include a single unwanted act, a series of annoying or alarming communications, or unwanted contact that serves no legitimate purpose. Harassment statutes often do not require a reasonable fear of serious bodily injury. In many states, harassment is a misdemeanor and does not require repeated conduct.

Stalking requires a course of conduct (two or more acts) directed at a specific person that places that person in reasonable fear of death, serious bodily injury, sexual assault, or substantial emotional distress. Stalking is graded more seriously than harassment and frequently reaches felony grading with aggravating factors.

Cyberstalking is stalking carried out through electronic means, including email, text messages, social media, GPS tracking, spyware, or any other electronic communication service. Some states have a dedicated cyberstalking statute (for example, Florida § 784.048, Illinois 720 ILCS 5/12-7.5, North Carolina § 14-196.3, Louisiana § 14:40.3). In other states, cyberstalking is simply stalking prosecuted under the general stalking statute because the definition of course of conduct includes electronic communications and tracking devices. At the federal level, 47 USC 223 criminalizes harassing or obscene interstate communications (up to 2 years, or 3 years if a minor is involved), and 18 USC 875 criminalizes interstate threats to kidnap or injure (up to 5 years under subsection (c)).

The practical takeaway: if the conduct is repeated, targeted at a specific person, and causes reasonable fear or substantial emotional distress, the state will charge it under the stalking statute (with cyberstalking enhancements where applicable) rather than under a simple harassment statute, because stalking carries higher penalties and triggers protective-order remedies.

Stalking is a felony when an aggravating factor is present. The aggravating factors are remarkably consistent across states, even though the grading and the name of the offense vary.

1. Prior stalking or related conviction. Nearly every state elevates stalking to a felony when the offender has a prior stalking conviction, a prior conviction for a crime against the same victim, or a prior conviction for a related offense (assault, terrorizing, menacing, harassment, domestic violence) against the same victim. The look-back window ranges from 5 years (Virginia, Indiana) to 7 years (Alabama, Oregon, Wisconsin) to 10 years (Oklahoma, New York, South Dakota, Minnesota).

2. Violation of a protective, restraining, or no-contact order. Committing stalking while subject to a protective order, restraining order, injunction, no-contact order, or condition of probation, parole, bail, or release is the single most common aggravating factor. It elevates stalking to a felony in nearly every state, including Alabama (aggravated stalking), Alaska (first degree), Arizona (Class 3), Arkansas (second degree), California (felony), Colorado (Class 4), Connecticut (first degree), Delaware (Class F), Florida (aggravated, mandatory 21-month minimum), Georgia (aggravated, 1 to 10 years), Illinois (aggravated), Indiana (Level 5), Iowa (Class D), Massachusetts (mandatory 1-year minimum), Michigan (aggravated), Minnesota (felony), Nevada (aggravated, Class B), New Jersey (third degree), Oregon (Class C), South Carolina (aggravated, up to 10 years), Utah (third degree), Washington (Class C), West Virginia (felony), Wisconsin (Class H), and Wyoming (felony).

3. Minor victim. When the victim is under a certain age (often 14, 16, or 18, depending on the state), stalking is a felony. Examples: Alaska (under 16), Connecticut (offender 21+ with victim under 16), Delaware (offender 21+ with victim under 14), Iowa (under 18), Kansas (under 14), Louisiana (offender over 13 with victim 12 or under), Michigan (minor with offender 5+ years older), Minnesota (under 18 with offender 36+ months older), New York (offender 21+ with victim under 14), South Dakota (12 or under), Utah (elevated), Washington (elevated), Wisconsin (Class H).

4. Credible threat of death or serious bodily injury, or use of a deadly weapon. A credible threat or a weapon elevates stalking to a felony in nearly every state. Examples: Alabama (first degree), Arizona (Class 3), Arkansas (first degree, Class B), Delaware (Class C, up to 15 years with 30-month mandatory minimum), Indiana (Level 4, 2 to 12 years), Kansas (Level 5), Kentucky (first degree), Massachusetts (mandatory minimums), Michigan (aggravated), Minnesota (felony), Nevada (aggravated, Class B, 2 to 15 years), New York (second degree and first degree), Utah (second degree), Wisconsin (Class F, up to 12.5 years), Wyoming (felony, up to 10 years).

5. Domestic or intimate-partner stalking. When the victim is a current or former spouse, dating partner, cohabitant, or household member, many states apply a domestic-violence enhancement that elevates stalking to a felony or increases the penalty. Examples: California (felony wobbler with a DV order), Illinois (aggravated), Massachusetts (enhanced), Oregon (Class C with a DV order violation), South Carolina (aggravated if an act of violence), Washington (Class C), West Virginia (felony with a DV protective order violation), Wisconsin (Class H or F).

6. Cyberstalking or electronic tracking. In states with a dedicated cyberstalking statute, the electronic element can elevate the grading (for example, Florida cyberstalking is explicitly included in § 784.048, Illinois has a separate cyberstalking statute under 5/12-7.5 with the same felony tiers as stalking, and Wisconsin treats electronic surveillance as an aggravating factor for Class H grading). Even where there is no separate cyberstalking statute, the general stalking statute typically includes electronic communications and tracking devices in the definition of course of conduct, so the stalking grading applies.

7. Interstate stalking. Crossing state lines, or using a facility of interstate commerce (including the internet), brings stalking under federal jurisdiction under 18 USC 2261A, which is always a felony.

Aggravated stalking is the term most states use for felony-grade stalking. Although the exact name varies (aggravated stalking, stalking in the first degree, stalking in the first degree with aggravating factors, menacing by stalking with aggravating factors, felony-level stalking), the concept is the same: stalking plus one or more aggravating factors equals a felony.

The most common aggravating factors are: (1) a prior stalking conviction against the same victim or any victim, usually within a 5-, 7-, or 10-year look-back window; (2) committing the stalking in violation of a protective order, restraining order, injunction, no-contact order, or condition of probation, parole, bail, or release; (3) the victim being a minor, with age thresholds ranging from 12 to 18; (4) the use or display of a deadly weapon, or a credible threat of death, serious bodily injury, or sexual assault; and (5) the victim being a current or former intimate partner or household member.

Some states add additional aggravating factors. Ohio (menacing by stalking) adds a history of violence, trespassing, a prior court risk determination, a sexual motivation, targeting a child protective service worker, and use of electronic or written communication. Connecticut adds targeting based on protected characteristics (race, religion, sexual orientation, and so on). Minnesota adds bias-motivated stalking and false impersonation. Indiana adds a prior unrelated conviction for an offense against the same victim. Utah adds two or more prior stalking or related felony convictions.

The penalty jump from simple stalking (misdemeanor) to aggravated stalking (felony) is often dramatic. For example, in Alabama, simple second-degree stalking is a Class B misdemeanor with up to 6 months, while aggravated first-degree stalking is a Class B felony with 2 to 20 years. In Massachusetts, simple stalking is up to 5 years, but a protective-order violation brings a mandatory 1-year minimum, and a repeat offense brings a mandatory 2-year minimum and up to 10 years. In Wisconsin, base stalking is a Class I felony with up to 3.5 years, but weapon-involved stalking is a Class F felony with up to 12.5 years. The lesson is that the aggravating factor, not the underlying course of conduct, drives the sentence.

Federal stalking law is built on three main statutes.

18 USC 2261A (interstate stalking) is the core federal stalking statute. It criminalizes two scenarios: (1) travel-based stalking, where a person travels in interstate or foreign commerce, or enters or leaves Indian country, with intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance another person, and engages in a course of conduct that places that person, an immediate family member, a spouse or intimate partner, or their pet or service animal in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes substantial emotional distress; and (2) commerce-based stalking, where a person uses the mail, any interactive computer service or electronic communication service, or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce to engage in the same kind of course of conduct. The commerce-based prong is what brings cyberstalking within federal jurisdiction, because using the internet or any electronic communication service is using a facility of interstate commerce.

Penalties are set in 18 USC 2261(b) and apply to both 2261 (interstate domestic violence) and 2261A (stalking). The tiers are: up to 5 years in any other case; up to 10 years if serious bodily injury results or a dangerous weapon is used; up to 20 years if permanent disfigurement or life-threatening bodily injury results; up to life imprisonment if death results; and as provided under chapter 109A (sexual offenses) if the offense would constitute an offense under that chapter. Under 2261(b)(6), stalking committed in violation of a temporary or permanent civil or criminal injunction, restraining order, no-contact order, or other order described in section 2266 carries a mandatory minimum of 1 year in prison.

18 USC 2262 separately criminalizes interstate violation of a protection order and carries similar penalty tiers.

18 USC 875 criminalizes interstate communications containing threats. Subsection (c) (threats to kidnap or injure, without extortion) carries up to 5 years. Subsection (b) (threats to kidnap or injure with intent to extort) carries up to 20 years.

47 USC 223 criminalizes harassing or obscene interstate communications, including through interactive computer services. Subsection (a) (harassing or obscene communications via a telecommunications device) carries up to 2 years. Subsection (d) (offensive material to minors via an interactive computer service) carries up to 2 years. Subsection (h) (nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, including digital forgeries) carries up to 2 years for adults and up to 3 years for minors.

The practical point: federal prosecutors can charge cyberstalking under 2261A (commerce-based prong, up to 5 years base, up to life if death results) and can stack threat charges under 875(c) (up to 5 years) and harassment charges under 47 USC 223 (up to 2 years). Federal stalking is always a felony.

A stalking conviction, whether a misdemeanor or a felony, carries collateral consequences beyond the criminal sentence.

Restraining and protective orders. A stalking conviction typically triggers or acts as an application for a permanent restraining or protective order. In states like New Jersey, Utah, and California, the conviction itself operates as an application for a permanent order. In other states, the court issues a no-contact order as part of the sentence. Violating that order in the future is a separate crime and an aggravating factor that elevates any future stalking charge to a felony.

Firearm rights. Under federal law (18 USC 922(g)(8)), a person subject to an active protective order that meets certain requirements may not possess a firearm. Under 18 USC 922(g)(9), a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence may not possess a firearm. Stalking convictions that are graded as felonies trigger federal firearm prohibitions under 18 USC 922(g)(1). Some states add their own firearm prohibitions; for example, Minnesota can bar firearm possession for 3 years to life when a firearm was used in the stalking, and South Dakota can bar firearm possession as part of a stalking protective order.

Sex offender registry. Stalking alone usually does not require sex offender registration. But when the stalking is sexually motivated (some statutes, like Ohio menacing by stalking, list sexual motivation as an aggravating factor) or is charged alongside a sex offense, registration may be required under the state sex offender registration statute.

Immigration consequences. Stalking is an offense that can have immigration consequences for noncitizens. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, stalking is specifically listed as a removable offense, and an aggravated-stalking felony can be treated as an aggravated felony for immigration purposes, which can carry particularly severe consequences including ineligibility for relief and mandatory detention. Any noncitizen charged with stalking should consult an immigration lawyer immediately.

DNA sampling. Many states require DNA sampling on a felony stalking conviction, and some require it on a misdemeanor stalking conviction. The DNA is entered into state and federal databases.

Probation conditions. Probation for stalking typically includes no-contact conditions, GPS monitoring in some cases, mandatory counseling or treatment, restrictions on internet or social media use, and stay-away orders covering the home, workplace, school, and family of the victim.

Professional licensing. A stalking conviction can affect professional licenses (teaching, healthcare, security, and others), especially when the conviction is a felony or is tied to domestic violence.

If you are charged with stalking, take it seriously even if the charge is a misdemeanor, because a conviction can be enhanced to a felony on a future offense and can trigger firearm, immigration, and licensing consequences. Do not contact the alleged victim, directly or through third parties, and do not use social media, GPS, or any electronic means to monitor them; any such contact will be used as evidence of a continuing course of conduct and will likely result in additional charges or a bail violation. Gather and preserve any communications, messages, location data, or witness statements that bear on intent, consent, or the absence of a threat. Tell your lawyer about any prior stalking conviction, any protective order, any weapon, any minor-victim allegation, and any interstate or electronic element, because each of these can elevate the grading. If a protective order is in place, comply with every term. A criminal defense lawyer can evaluate whether the conduct meets the course-of-conduct and reasonable-fear elements, whether constitutional defenses (protected speech, labor activity) apply, and whether diversion, deferred disposition, or a plea to a lesser offense like harassment is available.

If you are being stalked, document everything. Keep a log of every incident with dates, times, locations, witnesses, and a description of the conduct. Preserve all emails, texts, voicemails, direct messages, social media posts, and call logs; take screenshots and back them up. Do not delete anything, and do not respond to or engage with the stalker. Report the conduct to local police and ask for a report number, even if you are not yet ready to seek an arrest; a paper trail is important. Apply for a protective or restraining order through your local court or through a domestic violence agency; most states allow stalking victims to obtain a civil protective order even without a criminal conviction. If the stalker crosses state lines or uses the internet to stalk you across state lines, federal charges under 18 USC 2261A may be available; report this to the FBI or to local police who can coordinate with federal prosecutors. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) and the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC) at stalkingawareness.org can connect you with local advocates and resources.

This page is informational only, not legal advice. Stalking law is dense and changes often, so talk to a lawyer or a victim advocate before relying on anything here.