Vandalism Bail Amounts in California: PC 594, Graffiti & Property Damage

Vandalism is one of the most common charges we get calls about, and one of the most misunderstood. A broken window, a keyed car, a tag on a wall — the conduct sounds minor, but California’s vandalism statute reaches from an infraction all the way to a felony, and the dividing line is a dollar amount most people have never heard of. This guide explains how bail actually gets set on a Penal Code 594 charge in 2026.

The short version: the damage threshold that turns misdemeanor vandalism into a felony is $400. Bail varies enormously by county — Los Angeles County now releases most vandalism arrests without money bail before arraignment, while Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino still attach real dollar figures. Estimate your cost with our California bail cost calculator.

What Penal Code 594 actually covers

PC 594 makes it a crime to maliciously deface with graffiti, damage, or destroy property that is not your own. Three points that surprise people:

“Graffiti” does not require paint. The statute covers any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, mark or design that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn or painted. A key or a rock counts.
“Maliciously” is an element. Accidental damage is not vandalism. A genuine dispute about who owns the property, or permission to alter it, goes to the heart of the charge.
Community property still counts. Damaging property you jointly own with a spouse can be charged, which is why vandalism frequently appears alongside a domestic violence arrest.

The thresholds and penalties

Damage under $400 — misdemeanor. Up to one year in county jail, or a fine up to $1,000, or both. With a prior vandalism conviction the fine ceiling rises to $5,000.
Damage of $400 or more — a “wobbler,” chargeable as either a misdemeanor or a felony. As a felony, the term is 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail, with a fine up to $10,000.
Damage of $10,000 or more — the fine ceiling rises to $50,000. Note this is a fine tier, not a new custody tier and not a separate crime. Plenty of online guides get this wrong.

Because $400 controls everything, the alleged repair cost is often the single most contested fact in a vandalism case. A defense attorney challenging that estimate can move the charge from felony to misdemeanor. For the general distinction, see felony vs. misdemeanor bail.

Typical vandalism bail amounts by county

This is where 2026 differs sharply from what most bail sites still say.

Los Angeles County: $0 pre-arraignment. LA’s 2026 felony and misdemeanor bail schedules operate a Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol in which offenses are designated Cite and Release, Book and Release, or Magistrate Review rather than assigned a dollar figure. Every subdivision of PC 594 currently falls into a zero-dollar category. If you have read that felony vandalism in LA County carries $10,000 bail, that figure comes from a pre-2023 schedule.

Other Southern California counties still use dollar bail. None of them lists PC 594 by name; each sets bail for unlisted offenses according to the top term of the potential sentence, which for felony vandalism is three years:

Orange County — felony vandalism resolves to roughly $20,000 under the 2026 Uniform Bail Schedule.
Riverside County — roughly $10,000 for a felony, $5,000 for a misdemeanor.
San Bernardino County — roughly $30,000 for a felony. Misdemeanors generally require no bail unless specifically listed, and vandalism is not listed.

Because the same charge can mean $0 in one county and $30,000 in the next, the only reliable number is the one on the actual booking record. We can pull it 24/7 — start with our California inmate locator.

Graffiti: three overlapping statutes

Whether a tag is an infraction or a felony depends on the target and the cleanup cost, not on the word “graffiti.”

PC 640.5 — graffiti on government or public transit property where cleanup is under $250. An infraction on a first offense: a fine up to $1,000 plus a minimum 48 hours of community service. A second offense becomes a misdemeanor with a mandatory 96-hour minimum.
PC 640.6 — the same escalating structure for graffiti on any other property under $250.
PC 594.3 — vandalism of a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, other place of worship, or a cemetery. This section has no dollar threshold at all: a $50 tag on a church is a wobbler. If it is charged as a hate crime committed to deter people from exercising their religious beliefs, it becomes a straight felony.

Both 640.5 and 640.6 expressly say they do not preclude charging under PC 594 — so the prosecutor chooses. The same sub-$250 tag can be filed as an infraction or as a misdemeanor.

What pushes vandalism bail higher

A gang allegation. This is the big one. In Los Angeles County, a felony committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang under PC 186.22(b) carries $40,000 bail — turning a $0 vandalism arrest into a five-figure one. A gang allegation can also convert misdemeanor vandalism into a wobbler with a mandatory minimum.
Probation, parole or PRCS status. In LA County, being on an active grant flips a Cite-and-Release designation to Magistrate Review, meaning booking and a judicial decision rather than a field release.
Prior failures to appear. Three or more recent FTAs has the same effect.
Prior vandalism convictions. They raise the fine ceiling, and repeat graffiti convictions can expose someone to state prison under PC 594.7.
A place of worship or cemetery. PC 594.3, above.
Multiple counts. Bail is normally set on the highest single count, but counts against separate victims or on separate dates can be aggregated — and a spree of tags is exactly that.

The money that follows a vandalism case

Bail is not the only financial exposure, and families should plan for the rest:

Victim restitution is mandatory and enforceable as a civil judgment.
A separate restitution fine of $300–$10,000 on a felony, $150–$1,000 on a misdemeanor.
Cleanup orders. On a graffiti conviction the court must, where feasible, order the defendant to clean or repair the property — or to keep a specified property graffiti-free for up to a year. If the defendant is a minor, that order can extend to the parents.
Parental liability. If a minor cannot pay a vandalism fine, the parent is liable for it. Separately, California civil law makes parents jointly liable for a minor’s willful property damage up to a statutory cap, with attorney’s fees available in paint-defacement cases.

How a bail bond works on a vandalism charge

If bail is set and you cannot pay the full amount in cash, a licensed bondsman posts it in exchange for a premium of about 10%. On $20,000 bail, that is roughly $2,000, and we can usually arrange a payment plan. See $500 down bail bonds and how does bail work.

One timing detail worth knowing: California law lets a family member or attorney apply to a magistrate for release on lower bail or on own recognizance, and in Los Angeles County that application must be made within two hours of booking. Moving fast genuinely matters.

Step by step if someone was arrested for vandalism

Locate them with the inmate locator and get the booking number.
Confirm the county. It determines whether there is a bail amount at all.
Ask whether a gang allegation was added. It changes the number more than the damage figure does.
Call a licensed bondsman to confirm the real bail and start the paperwork — see our cosigner guide.
Get a defense attorney on the damage estimate. The $400 line decides felony or misdemeanor.

Facing a California vandalism charge? Let’s get the real bail number. Call 800.590.7321 or message 626.862.0627 any time.

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