Anger Management Classes in California: What Courts Order and What to Check

In California, an anger management class usually shows up in one of four places:

• Misdemeanor diversion. Since 2021, judges can divert many misdemeanor cases under Penal Code 1001.95 for up to 24 months. The judge sets the terms, and some court diversion forms carry a ready-made line: complete an anger management course and submit proof. Finish the terms and the charge is dismissed.
• A condition of probation. When a judge grants probation, the court can add reasonable conditions. A class on anger is a common one after a fight, a threat, vandalism or a road-rage stop. Your county probation department, not a state office, tracks whether you did it.
• Family court. In custody and visitation cases, a judge or a Family Court Services mediator may recommend or order an anger management class before more parenting time.
• Outside court. Employers, HR departments, licensing boards and schools sometimes ask for a class too. They decide what they accept, not a court.

Your paperwork, often a minute order, a diversion order or a probation order, is the source of truth. It usually names the class type and how long it must be.

There is no statewide list for anger management. Some counties keep their own, and they work differently:

• Contra Costa County Probation keeps a roster of certified batterer's intervention and anger management providers. If you are on probation in Contra Costa, expect your officer to point you to that roster. Ask before you buy anything else, ours included.
• Riverside and Merced Superior Courts publish resource lists of anger management providers for family cases. Both say the list is for your information and that the court doesn't run the providers on it.
• Other county probation offices hand out referral sheets that change from year to year.

If your county or judge uses a list, that list wins. Good Standing Courses is not on any state or county provider list. If your order says "from the approved list," ask your officer whether an online class outside that list can still count before you buy.

If your case involves a partner or ex-partner and you get probation, California law requires a batterer's program that lasts at least a year, with weekly sessions of at least two hours. Counties run it as 52 weekly sessions, so everyone calls it "the 52-week program." Penal Code 1203.097 gives the county probation department sole authority to approve these programs. Some counties, San Bernardino among them, say on their lists that online classes don't count, and Sacramento says it doesn't take Zoom sessions for this program. A civil domestic violence restraining order can also require a 52-week program. Misdemeanor diversion under 1001.95 isn't open to domestic violence cases at all.

An anger management class does not replace a 52-week program. Good Standing Courses is not a Batterer Intervention Program. Don't buy our class for a 52-week order.

There is no fixed number in state law for anger management. What we see in California orders, court lists and provider listings:

• 10 or 12 weekly sessions is the most common way California providers and courts describe a standard anger management class.
• 8 to 12 hours when the order or diversion agreement names hours instead of weeks.
• 26 weeks for a longer class, seen on some county and court lists.
• 52 weeks only in domestic violence probation, which is a different program.

If your order says weeks rather than hours, ask your officer how many hours they want to see on the certificate. Hours are what our certificate shows, along with your start and finish dates.

Paperwork says "impulse control" or "decision making"? That's our Impulse Control & Decision Making class.

1. "Does my order allow an online, self-paced class, or does it need to be in person or live?"
2. "My order says weeks. How many hours do you need on the certificate?"
3. "Does the court or this county use a provider list for this class?"
4. "Is this a 52-week batterer's program condition, or an anger management condition?"
5. "Where do I send proof: to you, to the court clerk, or to my lawyer?"

Get the answer in writing if you can. An email is enough. Your officer can also read our page for probation officers and check any certificate at /verify.

If your court, judge or probation officer doesn't accept your certificate, we refund 100% of the course fee. Send the written rejection within 60 days of finishing; the class you bought must match the type and hours in your order. Read the refund terms.

We never ask for your case number, court or date of birth. If you need them on the certificate, you type them into your own copy of the PDF.

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