What is the word for something that is punishable by law, but is not a crime?

Solution 1:

The definition of infraction seems to fit: the violation of an administrative regulation, an ordinance, a municipal code, and, in some jurisdictions, a state or local traffic rule.

Solution 2:

So, to be clear, this isn't so much a question about English as it is about legal jargon. English is spoken in a wide variety of places with varying legal systems and the exact terms vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, as do the details of how they're different. Now that I've established that, commonly, there are 3 rough "levels" of law violations.

1. Felonies - These constitute crimes of 'high seriousness'. In the US federal system and many (most?) states, they result in a prison sentence of at least a year and at least temporary revocation of many rights (vote, serve on a jury, firearm possession, etc.)

2. Misdemeanors - These constitute crimes of 'lower seriousness'. They can still result in jail time, but are usually considered less serious and don't result in the loss of many rights in most jurisdictions.

3. This final category is what I think you're looking for, but unfortunately, I've run across many names (varying by jurisdiction) for it. In general, these are things like traffic offenses and such which cannot result in jail time (unless you don't pay the fine, but that's another story). I've heard them called non-criminal offenses, civil offenses, violations and ordinance offenses.

Solution 3:

In the U.S., the distinction is made between civil and criminal offenses or infractions.

An explanation can be found here, and states

The differences between a civil offense and a criminal offense are usually defined by the nature of the offense and the punishment assessed.
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Civil offenses involve violations of administrative matters.
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Criminal offenses, on the other hand, arise from the violation of local ordinances or state or federal statutes prohibiting certain conduct. A criminal offense can involve a fine, an arrest, or confinement in jail or prison.
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Whether the offense is civil or criminal in nature, it will be defined by a local, state, or federal statute.

So basically civil offenses are generally lesser violations than criminal offenses, but the exact deifinition of which actions constitute which types of violations, as well as how they are handled, vary greatly from place to place.