Florida Criminal Laws: Felony and Misdemeanor Classes, Theft, Self-Defense and Bail
Florida criminal law basics: felony and misdemeanor classes and penalties, the felony theft amount, stand your ground and castle doctrine, statutes of limitations, bail and public defenders, from state statutes.
Quick answers for Florida
- How much theft is a felony
- Grand theft (a felony) begins at property valued at $750 or more. Third degree grand theft: $750 or more but less than $5,000; $5,000 or more but less than $10,000; $10,000 or more but less than $20,000. Fla. Stat. § 812.014(2)-(3)
- Stand your ground / duty to retreat
- Florida is a stand-your-ground state. A person is justified in using or threatening deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, herself or another, or the imminent commission of a forcible felony; Fla. Stat. §§ 776.012(2), 776.032
- Criminal statutes of limitations
- A prosecution for a capital felony, a life felony, or a felony that resulted in a death may be commenced at any time. First degree felony: within 4 years after it is committed. Any other felony: within 3 years. Fla. Stat. § 775.15
- Marijuana possession
- Adult-use (recreational) marijuana is not legal under the statutes read. Possession of a controlled substance without authorization is a third-degree felony, but 'If the offense is the possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis,' it is a first-degree misdemeanor (§ 893.13(6)). Fla. Stat. §§ 893.13(6), 381.986
Last verified: 2026-10-27
Felonies, misdemeanors and theft
| Felony classes and maximum sentences | Felonies are classified as capital felony, life felony, and felonies of the first, second and third degree; a felony with no degree specified is of the third degree (§ 775.081). Terms (§ 775.082): capital felony — death, otherwise life imprisonment without parole; life felony (committed on or after July 1, 1995) — imprisonment for life or a term of years not exceeding life; first degree — not exceeding 30 years (or, when specifically provided by statute, a term of years not exceeding life); second degree — not exceeding 15 years; third degree — not exceeding 5 years. Fines (§ 775.083): life felony — $15,000; first or second degree — $10,000; third degree — $5,000. |
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| Misdemeanor classes and maximum penalties | Misdemeanors are of the first or second degree; a misdemeanor with no degree specified is of the second degree (§ 775.081(2)). First degree — a definite term not exceeding 1 year and a fine of $1,000; second degree — a definite term not exceeding 60 days and a fine of $500. A noncriminal violation carries a fine of $500 (§ 775.083(1)(e)). |
| How much theft is a felony | Grand theft (a felony) begins at property valued at $750 or more. Third degree grand theft: $750 or more but less than $5,000; $5,000 or more but less than $10,000; $10,000 or more but less than $20,000. Second degree grand theft: $20,000 or more but less than $100,000. First degree grand theft: $100,000 or more. Petit theft of the first degree (first-degree misdemeanor): property valued at $100 or more but less than $750. Theft of any property not specified in subsection (2) is petit theft of the second degree (second-degree misdemeanor). Repeat-offender and certain property-type rules can raise the degree. Source: Fla. Stat. § 812.014(2)-(3) |
Self-defense
| Stand your ground / duty to retreat | Florida is a stand-your-ground state. A person is justified in using or threatening deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, herself or another, or the imminent commission of a forcible felony; a person who uses or threatens deadly force under this section 'does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground' if not engaged in criminal activity and in a place where he or she has a right to be. A person whose force is justified is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action (§ 776.032(1)); at a pretrial immunity hearing, once a prima facie claim of self-defense is raised, the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence is on the party seeking to overcome the immunity (§ 776.032(4)). |
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| Castle doctrine (defending your home) | A person in a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle has no duty to retreat and is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm when using defensive force against a person who was unlawfully and forcibly entering or had entered the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle, if the person knew or had reason to believe this was occurring. The presumption does not apply if, among other exceptions, the person against whom force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence or vehicle (absent an injunction or no-contact order), or the person using force is engaged in criminal activity or using the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle to further criminal activity. Justified force brings immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action, except against a law enforcement officer acting in official duties who was identified or should have been known as an officer. Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 776.013, 776.032 |
Charges, bail and your lawyer
| Criminal statutes of limitations | A prosecution for a capital felony, a life felony, or a felony that resulted in a death may be commenced at any time. First degree felony: within 4 years after it is committed. Any other felony: within 3 years. First degree misdemeanor: within 2 years. Second degree misdemeanor or noncriminal violation: within 1 year. For certain sex offenses against a victim under 18, the period generally does not begin until the victim turns 18 or the offense is reported, whichever is first; sexual battery against a victim under 18 (offenses on or after July 1, 2020) and certain other sexual battery offenses may be prosecuted at any time; first- or second-degree sexual battery against a victim 16 or older may be prosecuted at any time if reported within 72 hours, otherwise within 8 years. Source: Fla. Stat. § 775.15 |
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| Bail and pretrial release | 'The purpose of a bail determination in criminal proceedings is to ensure the appearance of the criminal defendant at subsequent proceedings and to protect the community against unreasonable danger from the criminal defendant.' The court considers factors including the nature and circumstances of the offense, the weight of the evidence, the defendant's family ties, residence, employment, finances and mental condition, past conduct and prior convictions or failures to appear, danger to the community, the source of bail funds, whether the defendant is already on pretrial release, probation or parole, and danger to victims (§ 903.046(2)). The Florida Supreme Court must adopt a uniform statewide bond schedule for offenses not described in § 903.011(6); local schedules generally may not set lower amounts, and the schedule 'shall not bind a judge in an individual case.' A person meeting § 903.011(6) criteria — including a current charge of a capital, life, first-degree or second-degree felony — may not be released before his or her first appearance hearing or bail determination. Bond schedule rule: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0903/Sections/0903.011.html Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 903.011, 903.046 |
| Right to a public defender | An applicant for a public defender applies to the clerk of the court for a determination of indigent status and 'shall pay a $50 application fee to the clerk for each application for court-appointed counsel filed,' within 7 days of applying; if unpaid at disposition, the court may assess it as part of the sentence. A person found indigent may not be refused counsel for failure to pay the fee. An applicant is indigent if income is equal to or below 200 percent of the then-current federal poverty guidelines, or if receiving TANF-Cash Assistance, poverty-related veterans' benefits or SSI. The clerk makes the determination; an applicant found not indigent may seek review by the court, which makes the final determination. Source: Fla. Stat. § 27.52 |
Other common questions
| Age of consent | Sexual activity with a person 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age is lewd or lascivious battery, a second-degree felony, and 'Neither the victim's lack of chastity nor the victim's consent is a defense' (§ 800.04(2), (4)). 'A person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age commits a felony of the second degree' (§ 794.05(1)). § 794.05: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0794/Sections/0794.05.html Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 794.05(1), 800.04 |
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| Marijuana possession | Adult-use (recreational) marijuana is not legal under the statutes read. Possession of a controlled substance without authorization is a third-degree felony, but 'If the offense is the possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis,' it is a first-degree misdemeanor (§ 893.13(6)). Medical marijuana: qualified patients (Florida residents with a qualifying condition such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or chronic nonmalignant pain, certified by a qualified physician) receive a Department of Health registry identification card renewed annually; patients and caregivers may not possess more than a 70-day supply, or the greater of 4 ounces of marijuana in a form for smoking or an amount approved by the department. Medical program: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0381/Sections/0381.986.html Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 893.13(6), 381.986 |
Assault, battery and domestic violence
| Assault | In Florida, assault is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to another person, with an apparent ability to carry it out, that creates a well-founded fear the violence is imminent; no touching is needed. Simple assault is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Aggravated assault, an assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill or with intent to commit a felony, is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Assault committed in furtherance of a riot is a first-degree misdemeanor. Aggravated assault: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.021.html . Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
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| Battery | Florida has a separate battery offense: actually and intentionally touching or striking someone against their will, or intentionally causing bodily harm. Battery is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. A second battery by someone with one prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery, felony battery or violently resisting an officer is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), and so is felony battery, a touching or striking that causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or permanent disfigurement. Aggravated battery, intentionally or knowingly causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement, using a deadly weapon, or battering a person the offender knew or should have known was pregnant, is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years and $10,000). Felony battery: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.041.html ; aggravated battery: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.045.html . A prior plea counts as a conviction for the repeat-battery rule even if adjudication was withheld (§ 784.03(2)). |
| Domestic violence | Florida has no separate domestic battery statute for ordinary cases; assault, battery, stalking and other crimes causing injury between family or household members (spouses and former spouses, relatives by blood or marriage, people who live or lived together as a family, and parents of a child in common) are 'domestic violence' and are charged under the regular statutes. A person adjudicated guilty of a domestic violence crime who intentionally caused bodily harm must serve a minimum of 10 days in county jail for a first offense, 15 days for a second and 20 days for a third or later offense (15, 20 and 30 days if it happened in front of a child under 16 who is a family or household member). Domestic battery by strangulation, impeding the breathing or blood circulation of a family or household member or dating partner by pressure on the throat or neck or blocking the nose or mouth so as to create a risk of or cause great bodily harm, is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). A second battery after a prior battery conviction is also a third-degree felony. Minimum jail: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0741/Sections/0741.283.html ; strangulation: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.041.html . Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
| Harassment and stalking | Stalking is willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following, harassing or cyberstalking another person; it is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). 'Harass' means a course of conduct causing substantial emotional distress with no legitimate purpose, and 'cyberstalk' covers repeated electronic communications or accessing someone's online accounts or connected home devices without permission. Stalking becomes aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), when the person makes a credible threat, violates a domestic violence or other protective injunction or court order, targets a child under 16, or stalks the victim of certain sex offenses after a no-contact order. The sentencing court may issue a no-contact order lasting up to 10 years. Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. Source: Fla. Stat. § 784.048 |
Shoplifting, burglary, vandalism and trespassing
| Shoplifting and petty theft | Shoplifting is called retail theft in Florida and is graded like other theft. Stealing property worth less than $100 is petit theft of the second degree, a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and a $500 fine); $100 to less than $750 is petit theft of the first degree, a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). Petit theft by someone previously convicted of any theft is a first-degree misdemeanor, and by someone with two or more prior theft convictions it is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Organized or repeated retail theft, such as thefts within a 120-day period that total $750 or more or three or more thefts of 10 or more items at different stores, is a third-degree felony. A store or other victim can sue for three times the actual damages, with minimum damages of $200, plus attorney's fees, after first making a written demand; paying the demand within 30 days ends civil liability. Retail theft: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0812/Sections/0812.015.html ; civil remedy: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0772/Sections/0772.11.html . Merchants with probable cause may detain a suspect for a reasonable time (§ 812.015(3)). Felony-value tiers are in data/criminal. Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
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| Burglary and robbery | Burglary is entering a dwelling, structure or conveyance with intent to commit an offense inside (unless open to the public or the person was invited), or remaining inside secretly or after permission is withdrawn with that intent. It is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) for an unoccupied structure or vehicle; a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) for any dwelling, occupied or not, or an occupied structure or vehicle; and a first-degree felony punishable by up to life if the burglar commits an assault or battery, is or becomes armed with explosives or a dangerous weapon, uses a vehicle to damage the building, or causes more than $1,000 in damage. Robbery is taking money or property from a person or their custody by force, violence, assault or putting in fear. Robbery without a weapon is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); carrying a weapon makes it a first-degree felony (up to 30 years), and carrying a firearm or other deadly weapon makes it a first-degree felony punishable by up to life. Robbery: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0812/Sections/0812.13.html . Burglary or theft committed during a riot or a declared state of emergency is raised one degree (§ 810.02(3)-(4)). Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
| Vandalism (property damage) | Vandalism is called criminal mischief in Florida: willfully and maliciously damaging another person's property, including by graffiti. Damage of $200 or less is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days); more than $200 but less than $1,000 is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year); and damage of $1,000 or more, or interrupting a business or public utility or service at a restoration cost of $1,000 or more, is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). A misdemeanor criminal mischief by someone with a prior criminal mischief conviction becomes a third-degree felony. Graffiti-related convictions carry an added mandatory fine of at least $250 for a first conviction, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third or later, plus at least 40 hours of community service. Damaging a place of worship, or a memorial or historic property, by more than $200 is a third-degree felony (§ 806.13(2)-(3)). Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. Source: Fla. Stat. § 806.13(1), (9) |
| Trespassing | Trespass in a structure or conveyance, willfully entering or remaining without permission, or refusing to leave after being warned by the owner, is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days); it is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year) if a person is inside, and a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) if the trespasser is armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon. Trespass on other property (land) is a first-degree misdemeanor when notice against entering was given by actual communication, posting, fencing or cultivation, or when the person enters the unenclosed yard of a home intending to commit an offense, or defies an order to leave; it is a third-degree felony if the trespasser is armed or the land is a properly posted construction site. Land: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0810/Sections/0810.09.html . Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 810.08, 810.09 |
Drugs and driving crimes
| Drug possession | Possessing any controlled substance without a valid prescription is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine; possessing more than 10 grams of certain Schedule I and II substances listed in § 893.03(1)(a), (1)(b) or (2)(b) is a first-degree felony. Possessing 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, and Schedule V substances a second-degree misdemeanor. Using or possessing drug paraphernalia is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). A person charged with a nonviolent felony who has a substance abuse problem and no more than two prior nonviolent felony convictions is eligible for a pretrial substance abuse education and treatment program, including drug court; the court shall dismiss the charges on a finding that the program was successfully completed. Paraphernalia: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0893/Sections/0893.147.html ; pretrial intervention: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0948/Sections/0948.08.html . The court may deny drug-court admission if the state proves the person was involved in dealing. Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
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| Hit and run | A driver in a crash must stop, remain at the scene and give information and help. Leaving the scene of a crash that damages only a vehicle or property is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500). Willfully leaving a crash involving injury is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years); with serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); and with a death, a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of 4 years in prison. A driver convicted of leaving an injury or fatal crash loses the license for at least 3 years and must complete a victim's impact panel or driver course before reinstatement. Property damage only: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.061.html . Restitution is ordered unless the court finds clear and compelling reasons not to (§ 316.027(2)(d)). Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
| Reckless driving | Reckless driving is driving any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property; fleeing a police officer in a vehicle is reckless driving per se. A first conviction is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of $25 to $500, or both; a second or later conviction by up to 6 months, a fine of $50 to $1,000, or both. Reckless driving that damages another person's property or injures someone is a first-degree misdemeanor, and reckless driving that causes serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). If alcohol or drugs contributed, the court must order a DUI substance abuse course and evaluation. Source: Fla. Stat. § 316.192 |
Arrests, court dates and probation
| Resisting arrest | Resisting, obstructing or opposing a law enforcement officer or other authorized official in the lawful execution of a legal duty without violence is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). Doing so by offering or doing violence to the officer is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Willfully refusing to stop a vehicle when ordered by police, or fleeing to elude an officer, is a third-degree felony; fleeing a marked patrol car with lights and siren at high speed or with wanton disregard for safety is a second-degree felony, and causing serious bodily injury or death while doing so is a first-degree felony with a 3-year mandatory minimum. Eluding convictions require a license revocation of 1 to 5 years, and adjudication cannot be withheld. With violence: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0843/Sections/0843.01.html ; fleeing: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.1935.html . Degree penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years (or life when a statute says so) and $10,000. |
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| Missing a court date | In Florida, a person released on bail or other pretrial release who willfully fails to appear in court forfeits any bail or security posted and also commits a crime. If the person was released on a felony charge (or while awaiting sentence or review after conviction of any offense), failure to appear is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. If released on a misdemeanor charge, it is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The court may also punish the failure as contempt. |
| Probation violation | In Florida, a judge decides probation violations. Police or a probation officer may arrest a probationer without a warrant when there are reasonable grounds to believe a material violation occurred, or the judge may issue a warrant or, in some cases, a notice to appear; filing a violation affidavit pauses (tolls) the probation period. If the person does not admit the violation, the court must give the person an opportunity to be fully heard in person or through a lawyer. After the hearing, the court may revoke, modify or continue probation or place the person on community control; if probation is revoked, the court may impose any sentence it could have originally imposed. For a first low-risk technical violation by a probationer who is not a violent felony offender of special concern, the court generally must modify or continue probation rather than revoke it, and probation officers may use an alternative sanctioning program for technical violations. § 948.06 does not state the standard of proof for a violation. Source: Fla. Stat. § 948.06(1), (2) |
| Obstruction of justice | Florida's main obstruction crimes are witness tampering and evidence tampering. Tampering with a witness, victim or informant (using intimidation, force, threats, misleading conduct or payment to make someone withhold or change testimony, destroy evidence, avoid a subpoena, or not report a crime) is graded by the seriousness of the case affected: a third-degree felony for a misdemeanor case, a second-degree felony for a third-degree felony case, and a first-degree felony for second- or first-degree felony cases. Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence when a criminal trial or investigation is pending or about to begin is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), or a second-degree felony if it relates to a capital felony. Evidence tampering: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0918/Sections/0918.13.html. Resisting an officer is covered in the group A record. Class penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000. |
| Perjury (lying under oath) | Making a false statement under oath about a material matter in an official proceeding, knowing it is not true, is perjury in an official proceeding, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years and $5,000); if the proceeding relates to the prosecution of a capital felony, it is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years). A false statement under oath outside an official proceeding is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). Not knowing the statement was material is not a defense. |
Public conduct crimes
| Public intoxication | Florida does not punish simply being drunk in public; the crime is disorderly intoxication. It applies when a person is intoxicated and endangers the safety of another person or property, or is intoxicated or drinks alcohol in a public place or on public transportation and causes a public disturbance. Disorderly intoxication is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. A person convicted three times in 12 months may be committed to treatment for up to 60 days, and an officer may take an intoxicated person home or to a health facility instead of jail. |
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| Disorderly conduct | Florida's breach of the peace and disorderly conduct law covers acts that corrupt public morals, outrage the sense of public decency, or disturb the peace and quiet of people who witness them, as well as brawling, fighting, or other conduct that amounts to a breach of the peace or disorderly conduct. It is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. |
| Indecent exposure | Florida's indecent exposure crime is called unlawful exposure of sexual organs: exposing one's sexual organs in public, or on or near another person's private property where they can be seen, in a vulgar or indecent manner, or being naked in public in a vulgar or indecent manner. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000); a second or later violation is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Breastfeeding and being naked at a place set apart for that purpose are not violations. |
| Prostitution and solicitation | Prostitution (giving or receiving the body for sexual activity for hire) is illegal in Florida, and the same statute covers buying sex ('to purchase the services of any person engaged in prostitution') and related acts. Most violations, including a person 18 or older offering or engaging in prostitution, are a second-degree misdemeanor for a first violation, a first-degree misdemeanor for a second, and a third-degree felony for a third or later violation. Soliciting, inducing or enticing another to commit prostitution is punished more harshly: a first-degree misdemeanor for a first violation, a third-degree felony for a second, and a second-degree felony for a third or later; it also requires 100 hours of community service, an educational program where available, a minimum of 10 days in jail for a second or later violation, and possible vehicle impoundment for up to 60 days. Florida has no legal exception for prostitution. A person charged with a third or later violation (other than soliciting) must be offered pretrial intervention or substance abuse treatment (§ 796.07(4)(b)). Class penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000. |
| Gambling | Playing any card game, keno, roulette, faro or other game of chance for money or anything of value is a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida (up to 60 days and $500), unless a specific law authorizes it. State law authorizes the Seminole Tribe, under a ratified gaming compact, to offer slot machines, banked card games such as blackjack and baccarat, and other games specified in the statute, including sports betting and fantasy sports contests under the newer compact (bettors must be 21 or older, and mobile wagers by players located in Florida are deemed to be conducted by the Tribe on its lands); games conducted under the compact do not violate state law, and it is not a crime for a person to take part in them at a tribal facility. Compact statute: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0200-0299/0285/Sections/0285.710.html |
Fraud, embezzlement and blackmail
| Embezzlement | Florida has no separate embezzlement crime; it is charged as theft. The theft law's definition of 'obtains or uses' expressly includes conduct previously known as embezzlement, misapplication, misappropriation and conversion. Theft is graded by value: petit theft below $750 is a misdemeanor, and grand theft starts at $750 (third-degree felony), rising to a second-degree felony at $20,000 and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more. Value tiers are detailed in the general theft record (data/criminal). Definitions: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0812/Sections/0812.012.html |
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| Fraud and identity theft | Florida calls identity theft criminal use of personal identification information. Willfully and fraudulently using another person's identifying information without consent (or possessing it with intent to do so) is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). It is a second-degree felony with a 3-year mandatory minimum if the amount involved is $5,000 or more or 10 to 19 victims are involved, and a first-degree felony if the amount is $50,000 or more or 20 to 29 victims are involved, with longer mandatory minimums. Fraudulent use of a credit card is a first-degree misdemeanor if used two or fewer times in 6 months and under $100, and a third-degree felony if used more than twice or for $100 or more in 6 months. Credit card fraud: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0817/Sections/0817.61.html. Class penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000. |
| Forgery | Forgery (falsely making, altering or counterfeiting a public record, deed, will, contract, check or promissory note, receipt, or similar document with intent to injure or defraud) is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 5 years and $5,000. Uttering a forged instrument (passing it as genuine, knowing it is forged) is also a third-degree felony. Writing a worthless check, knowing there are insufficient funds, is a first-degree misdemeanor, or a third-degree felony if the check is $150 or more and the recipient gave something of value for it. Worthless checks: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0832/Sections/0832.05.html |
| Blackmail (extortion) | Florida charges blackmail as extortion: maliciously threatening, verbally or in writing, to accuse someone of a crime, injure their person, property or reputation, expose them to disgrace, or reveal a secret, in order to get money or any advantage or to force someone to do or not do something. Extortion is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It is a first-degree felony if committed by a foreign agent intending to benefit a foreign country of concern. |
Murder, manslaughter and other serious crimes
| Murder (first vs second degree) | First-degree murder is a premeditated killing, a killing during certain serious felonies (such as robbery, burglary, sexual battery, kidnapping, arson, carjacking, aggravated child abuse or human trafficking), or a death caused when an adult distributes certain hard drugs such as fentanyl; it is a capital felony punished by death or life in prison without parole. Second-degree murder is a killing by an act imminently dangerous to others showing a depraved mind, without premeditation, or a death caused by someone other than the person committing one of those serious felonies; it is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life. Third-degree murder is an unintended killing during any other felony (and certain fentanyl distributions by a minor), a second-degree felony (up to 15 years). Offenders under 18 cannot receive death; a juvenile who actually killed gets life or at least 40 years. Sentencing: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0775/Sections/0775.082.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. Source: Fla. Stat. §§ 782.04, 775.082 |
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| Manslaughter (voluntary, involuntary, vehicular) | Manslaughter is a killing by an act, procurement or culpable negligence that is not justified, excusable or murder; it is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years and $10,000). Killing a child, an elderly or disabled adult, or an on-duty officer, firefighter, EMT or paramedic through culpable negligence is aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Vehicular homicide (killing someone by driving recklessly) is a second-degree felony, and a first-degree felony if the driver flees without giving aid or has a prior conviction. DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony, or a first-degree felony if the driver leaves the scene without rendering aid or has a prior conviction. Vehicular homicide: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0782/Sections/0782.071.html; DUI manslaughter: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.193.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Child endangerment | Florida's child endangerment crimes are child neglect and child abuse. A caregiver who willfully or by culpable negligence fails to provide a child with needed care, supervision, food, shelter or medical care commits neglect, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), or a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if it causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement. Letting a child do independent, unsupervised activities is not neglect unless it is willful and wanton conduct that endangers the child. Child abuse without great bodily harm is a third-degree felony, and aggravated child abuse (aggravated battery, torture, malicious punishment or caging, or abuse causing great harm) is a first-degree felony. Contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). Contributing: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0827/Sections/0827.04.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Arson | Arson in the first degree is willfully damaging by fire or explosion (or during any felony) a dwelling, occupied or not, a structure where people are normally present such as a hospital, jail, store, church or school during normal hours, or any structure the person knew or should have known was occupied; it is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Arson of any other structure, including your own, is second-degree arson, a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); 'structure' includes buildings, vehicles, boats and aircraft. An arson that causes bodily harm adds a first-degree misdemeanor, and one that causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement adds a second-degree felony. Injury: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0806/Sections/0806.031.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Human trafficking | Human trafficking (knowingly, or in reckless disregard, recruiting, transporting or obtaining a person, or benefiting from a trafficking venture) for labor using coercion, or for labor of a child, or for commercial sex with an adult using coercion, is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Trafficking a child, or a mentally incapacitated person, for commercial sexual activity is a life felony, and a parent or guardian who sells a child knowing the child will be trafficked also commits a life felony. An adult who organizes or directs sex trafficking of a child under 12 or a mentally incapacitated person commits a capital felony. Causing great bodily harm raises the grade one level. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Money laundering | Florida grades money laundering by the amount of financial transactions in any 12-month period: more than $300 but less than $20,000 is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years); $20,000 to less than $100,000 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). The court may also impose a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the value of the transactions (up to $500,000 or five times the value for a repeat offense), and the person is liable for a civil penalty of the transaction value or $25,000, whichever is greater. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
Online crimes and teens
| Revenge porn (sharing intimate images) | Yes. Florida calls it sexual cyberharassment: willfully and maliciously posting online or sending electronically a sexually explicit image of a person without consent, contrary to their reasonable expectation of privacy, with their identifying information included or posted alongside. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000), and a second offense is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Doing it for money or financial gain is a third-degree felony, and a repeat for-profit violation is a second-degree felony. Victims may sue for an injunction, the greater of $10,000 or actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Cyberbullying | Willfully, maliciously and repeatedly cyberstalking someone is stalking, a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year); doing so with a credible threat, in violation of an injunction, or against a child under 16 is aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). School bullying, defined to include cyberbullying, is handled through required school district policies. School policy law: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=1000-1099/1006/Sections/1006.147.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Sexting by minors | Florida has a specific sexting law for minors. A minor who knowingly sends another minor a nude photo or video that is harmful to minors, or possesses one sent by another minor, commits a noncriminal violation for a first offense: the minor can do 8 hours of community service, pay a $60 civil penalty, or take a cyber-safety course. A second offense is a first-degree misdemeanor and a third is a third-degree felony. A minor who did not ask for the image, reported it to a parent, school or police, and did not forward it does not violate the possession rule. Images showing sexual conduct can still be prosecuted under other child-pornography laws. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Underage drinking and fake IDs | A person under 21 who possesses alcohol commits a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500), and a later offense is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000); employees 18 and older serving alcohol at licensed businesses and culinary students tasting in class are exempt. An underage person who buys or tries to buy alcohol, or anyone who lies about age to get it, commits a second-degree misdemeanor, and the court may add up to 40 hours of community service if a state license or ID was misused. Possessing a fake, counterfeit or borrowed driver license or ID is generally a third-degree felony, but possessing one with only the birth date altered is a second-degree misdemeanor. A driver under 21 with a 0.02 or higher alcohol level faces a 6-month license suspension (1 year for a repeat). Purchase/misrepresentation: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0562/Sections/0562.11.html; fake ID: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0322/Sections/0322.212.html; under-21 0.02 rule: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0322/Sections/0322.2616.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Animal cruelty | Animal cruelty (unnecessarily tormenting, overloading, starving, mutilating or killing an animal, or carrying it cruelly) is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year and a fine of up to $5,000. Aggravated animal cruelty (an act or failure to act causing a cruel death or excessive or repeated unnecessary pain and suffering) is a third-degree felony, up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine; knowing torture brings a mandatory $2,500 fine and counseling, and a repeat conviction requires a $5,000 fine and at least 6 months in jail with no early release. An adult who commits aggravated cruelty in front of a minor or entices a minor to do it commits a separate third-degree felony. The court may bar a convicted person from owning or keeping animals for a period it sets. From January 1, 2027, FDLE must post a searchable public list of people convicted under § 828.12 (§ 828.12(9)). Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
Everyday laws: driving, drinking, knives and fireworks
| Driving on a suspended license | Driving while your license is suspended, revoked or canceled without knowing it is a noncriminal moving violation. Knowingly driving while suspended or revoked is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days) for a first conviction and a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year) for a second; a third or later conviction requires at least 10 days in jail, and it becomes a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) if the suspension was for DUI, refusing a breath test, a fatal or serious-injury crash, or fleeing police. Habitual traffic offenders who drive commit a third-degree felony, and an unlicensed or suspended driver who carelessly causes death or serious injury commits a third-degree felony. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Driving without a license | Driving without a valid driver license is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500) for a first conviction and a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000) for a second; a third or later conviction also requires at least 10 days in jail. The charge is dismissed if the person shows the court a license that was valid at the time of the stop. A licensed driver who simply fails to carry or show the license commits a noncriminal nonmoving traffic infraction. Carrying: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0322/Sections/0322.15.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Open container in a car | Florida bans possessing an open container of alcohol or drinking while driving or riding as a passenger, and while sitting in a vehicle parked or stopped in a road. An open container not held by a passenger and not in a locked glove box, trunk or other locked non-passenger area counts as the driver's. For the driver it is a noncriminal moving violation (a base fine of $60 under chapter 318); for a passenger it is a noncriminal nonmoving violation ($30 base fine). Passengers in buses, for-hire vehicles with properly licensed drivers, and motor homes over 21 feet are exempt, and counties and cities may adopt stricter rules. Fines: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0318/Sections/0318.18.html |
| Jaywalking | A pedestrian crossing outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield to vehicles; between adjacent intersections with working traffic signals, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk, and outside a crosswalk they must cross at right angles or by the shortest route. Pedestrians may not walk in the roadway where sidewalks are provided. These are noncriminal pedestrian infractions with a $15 fine plus $4 in court costs (other local costs may be added). Fines: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0318/Sections/0318.18.html |
| Knife laws | Florida's weapon laws cover dirks, knives and other deadly weapons, but exclude a common pocketknife, plastic knife or blunt table knife. Since 2023, a person who is licensed to carry concealed or who meets the licensing criteria may carry a concealed weapon such as a knife; someone who does not meet the criteria and carries a concealed weapon commits a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). Making, selling or possessing a ballistic self-propelled knife (one that shoots its blade) is a first-degree misdemeanor. Possessing a knife or other weapon (including a razor blade or box cutter) on school property, a school bus or at a school event is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), and displaying even a common pocketknife there in a threatening way is also prohibited. Definitions: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.001.html; ballistic knives: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.225.html; schools: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.115.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
| Fireworks | Selling, using or exploding fireworks (such as firecrackers, skyrockets and Roman candles) is generally illegal in Florida, but the law allows anyone to use fireworks solely on New Year's Day, the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve. State-approved sparklers (hand-held or ground-based, non-exploding, non-aerial, with no more than 100 grams of composition) and novelties such as snakes and toy caps may be sold and used year-round. Violations are first-degree misdemeanors (up to 1 year and $1,000). Public displays need a permit from the county or city and a competent operator. Definitions: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0791/Sections/0791.01.html; sales ban: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0791/Sections/0791.02.html; penalty: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0791/Sections/0791.06.html. Penalties (§§ 775.082, 775.083): capital felony - death or life without parole; life felony - up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony - up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony - up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony - up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor - up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor - up to 60 days and $500. |
Kidnapping, threats and sex crimes
| Kidnapping | Kidnapping (forcibly, secretly or by threat confining, abducting or imprisoning someone against their will to hold them for ransom or as a shield or hostage, to commit a felony, to harm or terrorize them, or to interfere with a government function) is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. Kidnapping a child under 13 while also committing aggravated child abuse, a sexual offense, exploitation or human trafficking against the child is a life felony. False imprisonment (confining or restraining someone against their will without legal authority) is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), or a first-degree felony (up to life) when committed against a child under 13 with one of those aggravating offenses. Confining a child under 13 without a parent's or guardian's consent counts as against the child's will. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Criminal threats (terroristic threats) | Sending, posting or transmitting a written or electronic threat (such as a text, social media post or email) to kill or seriously harm someone, or to carry out a mass shooting or act of terrorism, is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years, $10,000). Maliciously threatening someone's person, property or reputation (or threatening to accuse them of a crime or expose a secret) to extort money or force them to act is also a second-degree felony, raised to first degree if done as a foreign agent for a foreign country of concern. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Sexual assault and rape | Florida calls rape 'sexual battery' (oral, anal or vaginal penetration or union without consent). Sexual battery on an adult without force likely to cause serious injury is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years). It is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years) when the victim is physically helpless, is coerced by threats of serious violence or retaliation, or is drugged without consent, and a life felony when the offender uses or threatens a deadly weapon or uses force likely to cause serious injury. An adult who commits sexual battery on a child under 12 commits a capital felony (death or life). Sexual battery on a 12- to 17-year-old by an adult is at least a first-degree felony. Sex with a 16- or 17-year-old by someone 24 or older is covered on the age-of-consent page. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Child molestation (child sexual abuse) | Lewd or lascivious molestation (intentionally touching the intimate areas of a child under 16 in a lewd manner, or making the child touch the offender) by an adult against a child under 12 is a life felony, punished by life in prison or at least 25 years followed by lifetime probation, and life for a second offense. The same act by an adult against a child 12 to 15 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), or first degree with listed prior sex convictions. Lewd or lascivious battery (sexual activity with a child 12 to 15) is a second-degree felony, and lewd or lascivious conduct (lewd touching or soliciting a child under 16) by an adult is a second-degree felony. Sexual battery of a child under 12 by an adult is a capital felony. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Child pornography (child sexual abuse material) | Florida calls this child sexual abuse material. Knowingly possessing, controlling, intentionally viewing or soliciting it is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and each image (and each child in each image) is a separate offense. Possessing it with intent to promote (three or more copies is evidence of that intent) is also a second-degree felony. Using a child in a sexual performance is a first-degree felony with a 15-year mandatory minimum for adults, or a life felony with a 25-year minimum if the child is under 12; promoting a sexual performance by a child is a second-degree felony with a 5-year minimum for adults. A narrow exception covers some images made with the child's permission by someone no more than 4 years older. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Online solicitation of a minor | Using the internet, a phone or any other electronic device to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child, or a person believed to be a child (such as an undercover officer), to commit a sex crime is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), and a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if the offender lies about their age. Each separate use of a device is a separate offense. Traveling (or trying to travel) to meet the child for sex after such online contact is a second-degree felony. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Sex offender registration | Sexual offenders must report in person to the sheriff within 48 hours after moving to Florida, being released from custody or supervision, or (if not in custody) being convicted, then get a Florida driver license or ID card marked as a sex offender, and report changes of address, name, vehicles, jobs and internet identifiers. They re-register in person twice a year (four times a year for the most serious offenses). Registration lasts for life unless the person is pardoned, the conviction is set aside, or the person qualifies to petition for removal, generally after 25 years with no arrests since release. Failing to register or report is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years); if no prison sentence is imposed, the court must order mandatory community control with electronic monitoring (6 months, 1 year, then 2 years for repeat offenses). Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
Car theft, stolen property and drugs
| Car theft and joyriding | Stealing a motor vehicle is grand theft of the third degree, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000), regardless of the vehicle's value, unless the vehicle is worth $100,000 or more, which makes it first-degree grand theft (up to 30 years). Theft also becomes a first-degree felony if the thief uses a motor vehicle as a tool (not just a getaway car) and damages someone's real property, or causes more than $1,000 in property damage during the theft. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Receiving stolen property | Florida treats knowingly obtaining or using another person's property as theft, graded by value: under $100 is petit theft (second-degree misdemeanor, up to 60 days), $100 to under $750 is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year), $750 to under $20,000 is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), $20,000 to under $100,000 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Dealing in stolen property (selling or disposing of property, or buying, receiving or possessing it with intent to sell, when the person knows or should know it was stolen) is a second-degree felony, and organizing or directing a theft and then trafficking in the property is a first-degree felony. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Organized retail theft | Yes. Retail theft becomes a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) when the person coordinates others, conspires to resell stolen goods, steals from more than one location, or works with others to distract store staff, and the merchandise taken within a 120-day period totals $750 or more. It is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) when the total exceeds $3,000, when there are three or more thefts of 20 or more items at two or more stores within 120 days, or with a prior conviction for this offense, and a first-degree felony (up to 30 years) with two or more prior convictions or if the person has a firearm. Thefts in more than one judicial circuit within 120 days may be added together and are prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Drug trafficking and intent to distribute | Selling, making or delivering, or possessing with intent to sell, most hard drugs (such as cocaine, heroin, fentanyl or methamphetamine) is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and other controlled substances a third-degree felony. Trafficking is based on weight and carries mandatory minimum prison terms and fines: for cocaine, 28 to 200 grams brings 3 years and $50,000, 200 to 400 grams 7 years and $100,000, and 400 grams to 150 kilograms 15 years and $250,000; for heroin and other opiates, 4 to 14 grams brings 3 years, 14 to 28 grams 15 years, and 28 grams or more 25 years; for fentanyl, 4 to 14 grams brings 7 years and $50,000, 14 to 28 grams 20 years and $100,000, and 28 grams or more 25 years and $500,000; for methamphetamine, 14 to 28 grams brings 3 years, 28 to 200 grams 7 years, and 200 grams or more 15 years. All trafficking offenses are first-degree felonies, and some of the largest-quantity offenses can be capital felonies. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Prescription drug fraud | Obtaining or trying to obtain a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge, possessing an unsigned or incomplete prescription form, or 'doctor shopping' (not telling a practitioner that you received a similar controlled substance or prescription from another practitioner in the previous 30 days) is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000). Obtaining a medically unnecessary controlled substance or prescription from a practitioner by fraud or concealment, or a practitioner providing one that way, is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if the drug is in Schedule II, III or IV. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
Driving and boating
| Vehicular assault | Driving under the influence and causing serious bodily injury to another person is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000), and causing other injury or property damage while DUI is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). Reckless driving (willful or wanton disregard for safety) that causes serious bodily injury is also a third-degree felony, and reckless driving that causes property damage or injury is a first-degree misdemeanor. Reckless driving: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.192.html . Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Street racing | Driving in a street takeover, stunt driving, race, drag race or exhibition of speed on a highway, road or parking lot, or organizing, promoting, filming from a vehicle, blocking traffic for or riding as a passenger in one, is a first-degree misdemeanor with a $500 to $2,000 fine and a 1-year license revocation. A second violation within 1 year is a third-degree felony with a $2,500 to $4,000 fine and a 2-year revocation, and a third within 5 years is a second-degree felony with a $3,500 to $7,500 fine and a 4-year revocation; taking part in a coordinated takeover of 10 or more vehicles, or blocking an emergency vehicle, is a third-degree felony. Being a spectator is a $400 noncriminal infraction, and the court may order the vehicle impounded or immobilized. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Boating under the influence (BUI) | Boating under the influence means operating a vessel while impaired by alcohol or drugs, or with a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or more. A first conviction carries a $500 to $1,000 fine and up to 6 months in jail, and a second $1,000 to $2,000 and up to 9 months; a third conviction within 10 years of a prior one, or any fourth conviction, is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Higher fines and jail apply with an alcohol level of 0.15 or more or a minor on board. Causing serious bodily injury while BUI is a third-degree felony, and causing a death is BUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony with a 4-year mandatory minimum. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
Fraud, bribery and tax crimes
| Insurance fraud | Insurance fraud (presenting or preparing a statement for an insurance claim or application knowing it contains false, incomplete or misleading material information, intending to defraud the insurer) is graded by the value involved: under $20,000 is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), $20,000 to under $100,000 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Fraud aimed at motor vehicle insurance proceeds also brings a civil penalty, up to $5,000 for a first offense. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Welfare and unemployment fraud | Public assistance fraud (lying about or failing to disclose facts or changes in circumstances to get food assistance, Medicaid, cash assistance or other state or federally funded aid, or misusing or trafficking food assistance or Medicaid cards and authorizations) is graded by the total value in any 12 months: under $200 is a first-degree misdemeanor; $200 to under $20,000 a third-degree felony; $20,000 to under $100,000 a second-degree felony; and $100,000 or more a first-degree felony. Repaying the benefits is not a defense. Unemployment fraud (knowingly making a false statement or hiding a material fact to get or increase benefits) is a third-degree felony for each false statement. Unemployment: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0443/0443.html . Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Bribery | Bribery (corruptly giving, offering or promising a public servant any benefit to influence an official act or vote, or a public servant corruptly asking for or accepting one) is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years, $10,000). Unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior is also a second-degree felony. Commercial bribery (giving a benefit to an employee, agent or fiduciary to get them to violate their duty) and commercial bribe receiving are third-degree felonies (up to 5 years). Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| State tax evasion | Under the sales and use tax law, willfully attempting to evade the tax is a third-degree felony plus a penalty of 100% of the tax, and knowingly failing to file six consecutive returns with intent to evade is a third-degree felony. Filing a false or fraudulent return, or failing to remit sales tax collected from customers (theft of state funds), is graded by amount: small amounts are misdemeanors for first and second offenses, then a third-degree felony up to $20,000, a second-degree felony from $20,000 to under $100,000, and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more. The lowest tiers: a false return under $300, or unremitted tax under $1,000, is a misdemeanor for a first offense (third-degree felony on a third). Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083): first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Computer hacking and cybercrime | Knowingly and without authorization accessing a computer, network or electronic device, disrupting service, damaging equipment, introducing a computer contaminant (such as malware or ransomware), or secretly using a device's camera or microphone for surveillance is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). It is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if damage is $5,000 or more, the purpose is fraud, or it disrupts government, public utilities or public transit systems, and a first-degree felony (up to 30 years) if it endangers human life or disrupts medical equipment. Modifying computer equipment without authorization is a first-degree misdemeanor. Victims may also sue, and devices used may be forfeited. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. Source: Fla. Stat. § 815.06 |
Guns, recording, courts and juveniles
| Felon in possession of a firearm | A person convicted of a felony in Florida, federally or (for crimes punishable by more than a year) in another state, or adjudicated delinquent for a felony-level act while under 24, may not own or possess a firearm, ammunition or electric weapon or carry a concealed weapon. Violation is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), or first degree for people who qualify for criminal gang enhancements. Actually possessing a firearm carries a 3-year mandatory minimum, or 10 years if the person possessed a firearm during a prior listed violent felony. The ban does not apply once civil rights and firearm authority have been restored or the record has been expunged. Minimum: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0775/0775.html . Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
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| Recording conversations (one-party consent) | Florida is an all-party consent state. Intercepting or recording a phone call, electronic communication or private in-person conversation is lawful only when all parties have given prior consent (with narrow exceptions, such as police investigations and emergency lines). Unlawful interception is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), with lesser penalties for some first-offense radio interceptions. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. Source: Fla. Stat. § 934.03(2)(d), (4) |
| Filing a false police report | Knowingly giving a law enforcement officer or other public safety agency a false report of a crime that did not happen is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). If the false report draws an emergency response that causes great bodily harm or permanent injury it is a third-degree felony, and if it causes a death a second-degree felony; the court must order restitution, including the agency's response costs. Calling 911 to make a false alarm or false report is also a first-degree misdemeanor, with felony grades if the response causes serious injury or death. 911 misuse: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0365/Sections/0365.172.html . Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Hate crimes | Florida raises the penalty one level when a crime evidences prejudice based on the victim's race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status or advanced age (over 65): a second-degree misdemeanor becomes first degree, a first-degree misdemeanor becomes a third-degree felony, and each felony moves up one degree (a first-degree felony becomes a life felony). The record must show the defendant knew or had reason to know the victim was in the protected group, and victims of bias intimidation can sue for triple damages. Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. Source: Fla. Stat. § 775.085 |
| Parole violation | Florida's parole law does not apply to anyone sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code, so parole remains only for some older sentences. Instead, certain repeat, habitual and violent offenders and sexual predators are released on conditional release supervision by the Florida Commission on Offender Review. If a commissioner believes a releasee broke the terms, a warrant may issue; the releasee gets a hearing within 45 days before a commissioner, with rights to counsel, witnesses and evidence. A panel of at least two commissioners then decides and may return the person to prison to serve the sentence, reinstate the release, or order up to 22 months in a local jail as a condition of supervision. Criminal Punishment Code: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0921/0921.html |
| Violating a restraining order | Willfully violating a domestic violence injunction (for example, refusing to leave a shared home, going within 500 feet of the protected person's home, school or job, contacting them, committing violence, or refusing to surrender firearms) is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year), and the court must generally order a batterers' intervention program. A violation against the same victim by someone with a prior conviction for domestic violence or for violating an injunction is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Violating a repeat-violence, sexual-violence or dating-violence injunction is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony after two prior injunction-violation convictions involving the same victim. § 784.047: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/0784.html . Penalties (Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083, from the existing state record): life felony up to life and $15,000; first-degree felony up to 30 years and $10,000; second-degree felony up to 15 years and $10,000; third-degree felony up to 5 years and $5,000; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year and $1,000; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days and $500. |
| Juveniles tried as adults | Florida uses several routes. Prosecutors may 'direct file' adult charges against a child 14 or 15 for listed serious offenses (such as murder, sexual battery, robbery, carjacking, aggravated battery, armed burglary and lewd offenses), and against a 16- or 17-year-old for any felony (and some misdemeanors with a prior record). A grand jury may indict a child of any age for a crime punishable by death or life, after which the child is tried as an adult. Prosecutors may also ask the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction for a child 14 or older, and must request waiver (or explain why not) for certain repeat violent offenders; the court weighs seriousness, violence, maturity, record and the prospects for rehabilitation. A child who is transferred and found guilty is treated as an adult for later offenses. |
Death penalty, three strikes and rights after a felony
| Death penalty | Florida has the death penalty. Capital felonies include first-degree murder, capital sexual battery of a child, capital drug trafficking and capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation, each with its own sentencing procedure; a person who was under 18 at the time cannot be sentenced to death. After a separate penalty hearing, the jury must unanimously find at least one aggravating factor; if at least eight jurors vote for death, the jury recommends death and the judge may impose death or life without parole, and if fewer than eight do, the recommendation is life. A death sentence is carried out by lethal injection unless the person elects electrocution, or by any method not deemed unconstitutional. Method: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0922/0922.html ; § 775.082: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0775/0775.html . Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
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| Three strikes and habitual offender laws | Florida has several repeat-offender categories. A habitual felony offender (two or more prior felonies, with the new felony committed while under sentence or within 5 years) may get up to life for a first-degree felony, 30 years for second degree and 10 years for third degree. A habitual violent felony offender (a prior listed violent felony) gets the same maximums with no release for 15, 10 or 5 years. A three-time violent felony offender (two or more prior listed violent felonies) must receive mandatory minimums of life (life felony), 30 years (first degree), 15 years (second degree) or 5 years (third degree), with no early release. A violent career criminal (three or more prior adult convictions for listed offenses such as forcible felonies, plus other statutory criteria) gets life for a first-degree felony, up to 40 years with a 30-year minimum for second degree, and up to 15 years with a 10-year minimum for third degree. Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). Source: Fla. Stat. § 775.084(1), (4) |
| Voting with a felony conviction | People convicted of a felony lose the right to vote until they complete all terms of their sentence, including prison, probation, community control, parole or other supervision, and full payment of court-ordered restitution, fines and fees that were part of the sentence. Once all terms are completed, voting rights are restored automatically under the state constitution. Financial obligations count as completed if paid, terminated by the court with the payee's consent, or converted to and completed as community service. People convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense do not regain the right to vote unless the Clemency Board restores their civil rights. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
| Restoring rights after a felony | Clemency (pardons, restoration of civil rights, commutations) is granted by the Governor with the approval of two members of the Cabinet (the Board of Executive Clemency); applications go through the Florida Commission on Offender Review. Voting returns automatically after all terms of the sentence are completed, except for murder and felony sexual offenses (§ 98.0751). Jury service: anyone convicted of a felony is disqualified 'unless restored to civil rights.' Firearms: the felon firearm ban does not apply once the person's civil rights and firearm authority have been restored or the record expunged. Jury: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0040/0040.html ; voting: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0098/0098.html ; firearms (existing record): http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0790/0790.html . Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
Is it legal? Delta-8, mushrooms, kratom, CBD and vaping
| Delta-8 and hemp THC products | Hemp-derived THC products such as delta-8 are legal in Florida if they qualify as hemp: 'hemp' includes all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids and isomers of the plant with no more than 0.3% total delta-9 THC (dry weight; wet weight for hemp extract), and hemp is excluded from the controlled-substance definition of cannabis. Hemp extract may be sold only with an independent lab certificate of analysis, a QR code or barcode linked to it, batch number, expiration date and milligrams of each cannabinoid per serving, in child-resistant packaging that is not attractive to children (no human, cartoon or animal shapes, candy look-alikes or color additives). Hemp extract products for ingestion or inhalation may not be sold to anyone under 21; a violation is a second-degree misdemeanor, first-degree for a repeat within 1 year. Cannabis definition: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0893/0893.html . Last amended by ch. 2023-299 (2023) per the section history. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. |
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| Magic mushrooms (psilocybin) | Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I hallucinogens in Florida. Possessing any controlled substance without a prescription is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), except for the separate small-amount cannabis rule. Florida law has no legal psilocybin program in the sections read. Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
| Kratom | Kratom is legal for adults in Florida under the Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act (2023). It is unlawful to sell, deliver or give any kratom product (food, supplement or beverage containing Mitragyna speciosa leaf or its extracts or alkaloids) to anyone under 21; a violation is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days). Kratom and its alkaloids are not listed in the statutory controlled-substance schedules. Enacted by ch. 2023-182. Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). Source: Fla. Stat. § 500.92; § 893.03 |
| CBD | Hemp CBD is legal in Florida as 'hemp extract' when it contains no more than 0.3% total delta-9 THC and no controlled substances; synthetic CBD is excluded from the definition. CBD products for ingestion or inhalation may be sold only with an independent lab certificate of analysis, QR code or barcode, batch number, expiration date and milligrams of each cannabinoid per serving, in packaging that is child-resistant and not attractive to children, and only to buyers 21 or older. Hemp extract is also subject to the state food laws (chapters 500, 502 and 580), and mislabeled or child-attractive products face immediate stop-sale orders. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
| Smoking and vaping age | The minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine (vaping) products in Florida is 21. Selling or giving them to someone under 21 is a second-degree misdemeanor, a first-degree misdemeanor for a second violation within 1 year, and for nicotine products a third-degree felony for a third violation. People under 21 who possess tobacco or nicotine products, or lie about their age to buy them, commit a noncriminal violation: 16 hours of community service or a $25 fine plus an anti-tobacco program for a first violation, and a $25 fine for a repeat within 12 weeks. Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
Elder abuse, voyeurism and assaulting an officer
| Elder abuse | Florida protects an 'elderly person' (60 or older whose ability to care for or protect themselves is impaired by aging) and a 'disabled adult.' Abuse is a third-degree felony; aggravated abuse (aggravated battery, torture or caging, or abuse causing great bodily harm or permanent disability) is a first-degree felony. Neglect by a caregiver is a third-degree felony, or second degree if it causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement. Financial exploitation is graded by value: $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony, $10,000 to under $50,000 second degree, and under $10,000 third degree. Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
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| Voyeurism (peeping tom) | Secretly watching someone with lewd intent where they expect privacy (voyeurism) is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony after two prior convictions. Digital voyeurism, secretly viewing, recording or broadcasting someone undressing or exposed where they expect privacy, or recording under or through their clothing, is a third-degree felony for offenders 19 or older (first-degree misdemeanor if under 19); sharing or selling such recordings is also a third-degree felony. Repeat offenses are second-degree felonies, offenses by a family member or person in a position of trust are bumped up a degree, and digital voyeurism against a child under 16 by certain adults is a second-degree felony that requires sex offender registration. Registration list: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0943/0943.html . Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). |
| Assaulting a police officer | Knowingly assaulting or battering a law enforcement officer (or a firefighter, emergency medical provider, hospital worker, public transit employee, licensed uniformed security officer, utility worker on critical infrastructure and other listed workers) on duty raises the charge one level: assault from a second- to a first-degree misdemeanor, battery from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, aggravated assault from a third- to a second-degree felony (3-year minimum for an officer), and aggravated battery from a second- to a first-degree felony (5-year minimum for an officer). Battery on an officer while possessing a firearm or destructive device carries a 3-year minimum, and battery on an officer during a riot carries a 6-month minimum. Degree penalties (Fla. Stat. § 775.082, from the existing state record): first-degree felony up to 30 years; second-degree felony up to 15 years; third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year; second-degree misdemeanor up to 60 days. Read in The 2026 Florida Statutes (Online Sunshine). Source: Fla. Stat. § 784.07(1)-(3) |
Criminal Law FAQ
What are the felony classes and maximum sentences in Florida?
Felonies are classified as capital felony, life felony, and felonies of the first, second and third degree; a felony with no degree specified is of the third degree (§ 775.081). Terms (§ 775.082): capital felony — death, otherwise life imprisonment without parole; life felony (committed on or after July 1, 1995) — imprisonment for life or a term of years not exceeding life; first degree — not exceeding 30 years (or, when specifically provided by statute, a term of years not exceeding life); second degree — not exceeding 15 years; third degree — not exceeding 5 years. Fines (§ 775.083): life felony — $15,000; first or second degree — $10,000; third degree — $5,000.
What are the misdemeanor classes and penalties in Florida?
Misdemeanors are of the first or second degree; a misdemeanor with no degree specified is of the second degree (§ 775.081(2)). First degree — a definite term not exceeding 1 year and a fine of $1,000; second degree — a definite term not exceeding 60 days and a fine of $500. A noncriminal violation carries a fine of $500 (§ 775.083(1)(e)).
How much do you have to steal for it to be a felony in Florida?
Grand theft (a felony) begins at property valued at $750 or more. Third degree grand theft: $750 or more but less than $5,000; $5,000 or more but less than $10,000; $10,000 or more but less than $20,000. Second degree grand theft: $20,000 or more but less than $100,000. First degree grand theft: $100,000 or more. Petit theft of the first degree (first-degree misdemeanor): property valued at $100 or more but less than $750. Theft of any property not specified in subsection (2) is petit theft of the second degree (second-degree misdemeanor). Repeat-offender and certain property-type rules can raise the degree.
Is Florida a stand your ground state?
Florida is a stand-your-ground state. A person is justified in using or threatening deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, herself or another, or the imminent commission of a forcible felony; a person who uses or threatens deadly force under this section 'does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground' if not engaged in criminal activity and in a place where he or she has a right to be. A person whose force is justified is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action (§ 776.032(1)); at a pretrial immunity hearing, once a prima facie claim of self-defense is raised, the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence is on the party seeking to overcome the immunity (§ 776.032(4)).
Does Florida have a castle doctrine?
A person in a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle has no duty to retreat and is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm when using defensive force against a person who was unlawfully and forcibly entering or had entered the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle, if the person knew or had reason to believe this was occurring. The presumption does not apply if, among other exceptions, the person against whom force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence or vehicle (absent an injunction or no-contact order), or the person using force is engaged in criminal activity or using the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle to further criminal activity. Justified force brings immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action, except against a law enforcement officer acting in official duties who was identified or should have been known as an officer.
What is the statute of limitations for crimes in Florida?
A prosecution for a capital felony, a life felony, or a felony that resulted in a death may be commenced at any time. First degree felony: within 4 years after it is committed. Any other felony: within 3 years. First degree misdemeanor: within 2 years. Second degree misdemeanor or noncriminal violation: within 1 year. For certain sex offenses against a victim under 18, the period generally does not begin until the victim turns 18 or the offense is reported, whichever is first; sexual battery against a victim under 18 (offenses on or after July 1, 2020) and certain other sexual battery offenses may be prosecuted at any time; first- or second-degree sexual battery against a victim 16 or older may be prosecuted at any time if reported within 72 hours, otherwise within 8 years.
How does bail work in Florida?
'The purpose of a bail determination in criminal proceedings is to ensure the appearance of the criminal defendant at subsequent proceedings and to protect the community against unreasonable danger from the criminal defendant.' The court considers factors including the nature and circumstances of the offense, the weight of the evidence, the defendant's family ties, residence, employment, finances and mental condition, past conduct and prior convictions or failures to appear, danger to the community, the source of bail funds, whether the defendant is already on pretrial release, probation or parole, and danger to victims (§ 903.046(2)). The Florida Supreme Court must adopt a uniform statewide bond schedule for offenses not described in § 903.011(6); local schedules generally may not set lower amounts, and the schedule 'shall not bind a judge in an individual case.' A person meeting § 903.011(6) criteria — including a current charge of a capital, life, first-degree or second-degree felony — may not be released before his or her first appearance hearing or bail determination.
How do you get a public defender in Florida?
An applicant for a public defender applies to the clerk of the court for a determination of indigent status and 'shall pay a $50 application fee to the clerk for each application for court-appointed counsel filed,' within 7 days of applying; if unpaid at disposition, the court may assess it as part of the sentence. A person found indigent may not be refused counsel for failure to pay the fee. An applicant is indigent if income is equal to or below 200 percent of the then-current federal poverty guidelines, or if receiving TANF-Cash Assistance, poverty-related veterans' benefits or SSI. The clerk makes the determination; an applicant found not indigent may seek review by the court, which makes the final determination.
What is the age of consent in Florida?
Sexual activity with a person 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age is lewd or lascivious battery, a second-degree felony, and 'Neither the victim's lack of chastity nor the victim's consent is a defense' (§ 800.04(2), (4)). 'A person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age commits a felony of the second degree' (§ 794.05(1)).
Is marijuana legal in Florida?
Adult-use (recreational) marijuana is not legal under the statutes read. Possession of a controlled substance without authorization is a third-degree felony, but 'If the offense is the possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis,' it is a first-degree misdemeanor (§ 893.13(6)). Medical marijuana: qualified patients (Florida residents with a qualifying condition such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or chronic nonmalignant pain, certified by a qualified physician) receive a Department of Health registry identification card renewed annually; patients and caregivers may not possess more than a 70-day supply, or the greater of 4 ounces of marijuana in a form for smoking or an amount approved by the department.
Is assault a felony in Florida?
In Florida, assault is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to another person, with an apparent ability to carry it out, that creates a well-founded fear the violence is imminent; no touching is needed. Simple assault is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Aggravated assault, an assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill or with intent to commit a felony, is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Assault committed in furtherance of a riot is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Is battery a felony in Florida?
Florida has a separate battery offense: actually and intentionally touching or striking someone against their will, or intentionally causing bodily harm. Battery is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. A second battery by someone with one prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery, felony battery or violently resisting an officer is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), and so is felony battery, a touching or striking that causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or permanent disfigurement. Aggravated battery, intentionally or knowingly causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement, using a deadly weapon, or battering a person the offender knew or should have known was pregnant, is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years and $10,000).
Is domestic violence a felony in Florida?
Florida has no separate domestic battery statute for ordinary cases; assault, battery, stalking and other crimes causing injury between family or household members (spouses and former spouses, relatives by blood or marriage, people who live or lived together as a family, and parents of a child in common) are 'domestic violence' and are charged under the regular statutes. A person adjudicated guilty of a domestic violence crime who intentionally caused bodily harm must serve a minimum of 10 days in county jail for a first offense, 15 days for a second and 20 days for a third or later offense (15, 20 and 30 days if it happened in front of a child under 16 who is a family or household member). Domestic battery by strangulation, impeding the breathing or blood circulation of a family or household member or dating partner by pressure on the throat or neck or blocking the nose or mouth so as to create a risk of or cause great bodily harm, is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). A second battery after a prior battery conviction is also a third-degree felony.
What is the penalty for shoplifting in Florida?
Shoplifting is called retail theft in Florida and is graded like other theft. Stealing property worth less than $100 is petit theft of the second degree, a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and a $500 fine); $100 to less than $750 is petit theft of the first degree, a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). Petit theft by someone previously convicted of any theft is a first-degree misdemeanor, and by someone with two or more prior theft convictions it is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Organized or repeated retail theft, such as thefts within a 120-day period that total $750 or more or three or more thefts of 10 or more items at different stores, is a third-degree felony. A store or other victim can sue for three times the actual damages, with minimum damages of $200, plus attorney's fees, after first making a written demand; paying the demand within 30 days ends civil liability.
What is the difference between burglary and robbery in Florida?
Burglary is entering a dwelling, structure or conveyance with intent to commit an offense inside (unless open to the public or the person was invited), or remaining inside secretly or after permission is withdrawn with that intent. It is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) for an unoccupied structure or vehicle; a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) for any dwelling, occupied or not, or an occupied structure or vehicle; and a first-degree felony punishable by up to life if the burglar commits an assault or battery, is or becomes armed with explosives or a dangerous weapon, uses a vehicle to damage the building, or causes more than $1,000 in damage. Robbery is taking money or property from a person or their custody by force, violence, assault or putting in fear. Robbery without a weapon is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); carrying a weapon makes it a first-degree felony (up to 30 years), and carrying a firearm or other deadly weapon makes it a first-degree felony punishable by up to life.
Is vandalism a felony in Florida?
Vandalism is called criminal mischief in Florida: willfully and maliciously damaging another person's property, including by graffiti. Damage of $200 or less is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days); more than $200 but less than $1,000 is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year); and damage of $1,000 or more, or interrupting a business or public utility or service at a restoration cost of $1,000 or more, is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). A misdemeanor criminal mischief by someone with a prior criminal mischief conviction becomes a third-degree felony. Graffiti-related convictions carry an added mandatory fine of at least $250 for a first conviction, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third or later, plus at least 40 hours of community service.
Is trespassing a crime in Florida?
Trespass in a structure or conveyance, willfully entering or remaining without permission, or refusing to leave after being warned by the owner, is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days); it is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year) if a person is inside, and a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) if the trespasser is armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon. Trespass on other property (land) is a first-degree misdemeanor when notice against entering was given by actual communication, posting, fencing or cultivation, or when the person enters the unenclosed yard of a home intending to commit an offense, or defies an order to leave; it is a third-degree felony if the trespasser is armed or the land is a properly posted construction site.
What are the penalties for drug possession in Florida?
Possessing any controlled substance without a valid prescription is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine; possessing more than 10 grams of certain Schedule I and II substances listed in § 893.03(1)(a), (1)(b) or (2)(b) is a first-degree felony. Possessing 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, and Schedule V substances a second-degree misdemeanor. Using or possessing drug paraphernalia is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). A person charged with a nonviolent felony who has a substance abuse problem and no more than two prior nonviolent felony convictions is eligible for a pretrial substance abuse education and treatment program, including drug court; the court shall dismiss the charges on a finding that the program was successfully completed.
Is a hit and run a felony in Florida?
A driver in a crash must stop, remain at the scene and give information and help. Leaving the scene of a crash that damages only a vehicle or property is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500). Willfully leaving a crash involving injury is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years); with serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); and with a death, a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of 4 years in prison. A driver convicted of leaving an injury or fatal crash loses the license for at least 3 years and must complete a victim's impact panel or driver course before reinstatement.
Is reckless driving a crime in Florida?
Reckless driving is driving any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property; fleeing a police officer in a vehicle is reckless driving per se. A first conviction is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of $25 to $500, or both; a second or later conviction by up to 6 months, a fine of $50 to $1,000, or both. Reckless driving that damages another person's property or injures someone is a first-degree misdemeanor, and reckless driving that causes serious bodily injury is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). If alcohol or drugs contributed, the court must order a DUI substance abuse course and evaluation.
Is harassment a crime in Florida?
Stalking is willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following, harassing or cyberstalking another person; it is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). 'Harass' means a course of conduct causing substantial emotional distress with no legitimate purpose, and 'cyberstalk' covers repeated electronic communications or accessing someone's online accounts or connected home devices without permission. Stalking becomes aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), when the person makes a credible threat, violates a domestic violence or other protective injunction or court order, targets a child under 16, or stalks the victim of certain sex offenses after a no-contact order. The sentencing court may issue a no-contact order lasting up to 10 years.
Is resisting arrest a felony in Florida?
Resisting, obstructing or opposing a law enforcement officer or other authorized official in the lawful execution of a legal duty without violence is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). Doing so by offering or doing violence to the officer is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Willfully refusing to stop a vehicle when ordered by police, or fleeing to elude an officer, is a third-degree felony; fleeing a marked patrol car with lights and siren at high speed or with wanton disregard for safety is a second-degree felony, and causing serious bodily injury or death while doing so is a first-degree felony with a 3-year mandatory minimum. Eluding convictions require a license revocation of 1 to 5 years, and adjudication cannot be withheld.
What happens if you miss a court date in Florida?
In Florida, a person released on bail or other pretrial release who willfully fails to appear in court forfeits any bail or security posted and also commits a crime. If the person was released on a felony charge (or while awaiting sentence or review after conviction of any offense), failure to appear is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. If released on a misdemeanor charge, it is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The court may also punish the failure as contempt.
What happens if you violate probation in Florida?
In Florida, a judge decides probation violations. Police or a probation officer may arrest a probationer without a warrant when there are reasonable grounds to believe a material violation occurred, or the judge may issue a warrant or, in some cases, a notice to appear; filing a violation affidavit pauses (tolls) the probation period. If the person does not admit the violation, the court must give the person an opportunity to be fully heard in person or through a lawyer. After the hearing, the court may revoke, modify or continue probation or place the person on community control; if probation is revoked, the court may impose any sentence it could have originally imposed. For a first low-risk technical violation by a probationer who is not a violent felony offender of special concern, the court generally must modify or continue probation rather than revoke it, and probation officers may use an alternative sanctioning program for technical violations.
Is obstruction of justice a felony in Florida?
Florida's main obstruction crimes are witness tampering and evidence tampering. Tampering with a witness, victim or informant (using intimidation, force, threats, misleading conduct or payment to make someone withhold or change testimony, destroy evidence, avoid a subpoena, or not report a crime) is graded by the seriousness of the case affected: a third-degree felony for a misdemeanor case, a second-degree felony for a third-degree felony case, and a first-degree felony for second- or first-degree felony cases. Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence when a criminal trial or investigation is pending or about to begin is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), or a second-degree felony if it relates to a capital felony.
Is perjury a felony in Florida?
Making a false statement under oath about a material matter in an official proceeding, knowing it is not true, is perjury in an official proceeding, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years and $5,000); if the proceeding relates to the prosecution of a capital felony, it is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years). A false statement under oath outside an official proceeding is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000). Not knowing the statement was material is not a defense.
Is public intoxication a crime in Florida?
Florida does not punish simply being drunk in public; the crime is disorderly intoxication. It applies when a person is intoxicated and endangers the safety of another person or property, or is intoxicated or drinks alcohol in a public place or on public transportation and causes a public disturbance. Disorderly intoxication is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. A person convicted three times in 12 months may be committed to treatment for up to 60 days, and an officer may take an intoxicated person home or to a health facility instead of jail.
What is a disorderly conduct charge in Florida?
Florida's breach of the peace and disorderly conduct law covers acts that corrupt public morals, outrage the sense of public decency, or disturb the peace and quiet of people who witness them, as well as brawling, fighting, or other conduct that amounts to a breach of the peace or disorderly conduct. It is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
What is the penalty for indecent exposure in Florida?
Florida's indecent exposure crime is called unlawful exposure of sexual organs: exposing one's sexual organs in public, or on or near another person's private property where they can be seen, in a vulgar or indecent manner, or being naked in public in a vulgar or indecent manner. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000); a second or later violation is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Breastfeeding and being naked at a place set apart for that purpose are not violations.
Is prostitution illegal in Florida?
Prostitution (giving or receiving the body for sexual activity for hire) is illegal in Florida, and the same statute covers buying sex ('to purchase the services of any person engaged in prostitution') and related acts. Most violations, including a person 18 or older offering or engaging in prostitution, are a second-degree misdemeanor for a first violation, a first-degree misdemeanor for a second, and a third-degree felony for a third or later violation. Soliciting, inducing or enticing another to commit prostitution is punished more harshly: a first-degree misdemeanor for a first violation, a third-degree felony for a second, and a second-degree felony for a third or later; it also requires 100 hours of community service, an educational program where available, a minimum of 10 days in jail for a second or later violation, and possible vehicle impoundment for up to 60 days. Florida has no legal exception for prostitution.
Is gambling legal in Florida?
Playing any card game, keno, roulette, faro or other game of chance for money or anything of value is a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida (up to 60 days and $500), unless a specific law authorizes it. State law authorizes the Seminole Tribe, under a ratified gaming compact, to offer slot machines, banked card games such as blackjack and baccarat, and other games specified in the statute, including sports betting and fantasy sports contests under the newer compact (bettors must be 21 or older, and mobile wagers by players located in Florida are deemed to be conducted by the Tribe on its lands); games conducted under the compact do not violate state law, and it is not a crime for a person to take part in them at a tribal facility.
Is embezzlement a felony in Florida?
Florida has no separate embezzlement crime; it is charged as theft. The theft law's definition of 'obtains or uses' expressly includes conduct previously known as embezzlement, misapplication, misappropriation and conversion. Theft is graded by value: petit theft below $750 is a misdemeanor, and grand theft starts at $750 (third-degree felony), rising to a second-degree felony at $20,000 and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more.
Is identity theft a felony in Florida?
Florida calls identity theft criminal use of personal identification information. Willfully and fraudulently using another person's identifying information without consent (or possessing it with intent to do so) is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). It is a second-degree felony with a 3-year mandatory minimum if the amount involved is $5,000 or more or 10 to 19 victims are involved, and a first-degree felony if the amount is $50,000 or more or 20 to 29 victims are involved, with longer mandatory minimums. Fraudulent use of a credit card is a first-degree misdemeanor if used two or fewer times in 6 months and under $100, and a third-degree felony if used more than twice or for $100 or more in 6 months.
Is forgery a felony in Florida?
Forgery (falsely making, altering or counterfeiting a public record, deed, will, contract, check or promissory note, receipt, or similar document with intent to injure or defraud) is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 5 years and $5,000. Uttering a forged instrument (passing it as genuine, knowing it is forged) is also a third-degree felony. Writing a worthless check, knowing there are insufficient funds, is a first-degree misdemeanor, or a third-degree felony if the check is $150 or more and the recipient gave something of value for it.
Is blackmail illegal in Florida?
Florida charges blackmail as extortion: maliciously threatening, verbally or in writing, to accuse someone of a crime, injure their person, property or reputation, expose them to disgrace, or reveal a secret, in order to get money or any advantage or to force someone to do or not do something. Extortion is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It is a first-degree felony if committed by a foreign agent intending to benefit a foreign country of concern.
What is the difference between first and second degree murder in Florida?
First-degree murder is a premeditated killing, a killing during certain serious felonies (such as robbery, burglary, sexual battery, kidnapping, arson, carjacking, aggravated child abuse or human trafficking), or a death caused when an adult distributes certain hard drugs such as fentanyl; it is a capital felony punished by death or life in prison without parole. Second-degree murder is a killing by an act imminently dangerous to others showing a depraved mind, without premeditation, or a death caused by someone other than the person committing one of those serious felonies; it is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life. Third-degree murder is an unintended killing during any other felony (and certain fentanyl distributions by a minor), a second-degree felony (up to 15 years). Offenders under 18 cannot receive death; a juvenile who actually killed gets life or at least 40 years.
What is the sentence for manslaughter in Florida?
Manslaughter is a killing by an act, procurement or culpable negligence that is not justified, excusable or murder; it is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years and $10,000). Killing a child, an elderly or disabled adult, or an on-duty officer, firefighter, EMT or paramedic through culpable negligence is aggravated manslaughter, a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Vehicular homicide (killing someone by driving recklessly) is a second-degree felony, and a first-degree felony if the driver flees without giving aid or has a prior conviction. DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony, or a first-degree felony if the driver leaves the scene without rendering aid or has a prior conviction.
Is child endangerment a felony in Florida?
Florida's child endangerment crimes are child neglect and child abuse. A caregiver who willfully or by culpable negligence fails to provide a child with needed care, supervision, food, shelter or medical care commits neglect, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), or a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if it causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement. Letting a child do independent, unsupervised activities is not neglect unless it is willful and wanton conduct that endangers the child. Child abuse without great bodily harm is a third-degree felony, and aggravated child abuse (aggravated battery, torture, malicious punishment or caging, or abuse causing great harm) is a first-degree felony. Contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year).
Is arson a felony in Florida?
Arson in the first degree is willfully damaging by fire or explosion (or during any felony) a dwelling, occupied or not, a structure where people are normally present such as a hospital, jail, store, church or school during normal hours, or any structure the person knew or should have known was occupied; it is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Arson of any other structure, including your own, is second-degree arson, a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); 'structure' includes buildings, vehicles, boats and aircraft. An arson that causes bodily harm adds a first-degree misdemeanor, and one that causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement adds a second-degree felony.
Is animal cruelty a felony in Florida?
Animal cruelty (unnecessarily tormenting, overloading, starving, mutilating or killing an animal, or carrying it cruelly) is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year and a fine of up to $5,000. Aggravated animal cruelty (an act or failure to act causing a cruel death or excessive or repeated unnecessary pain and suffering) is a third-degree felony, up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine; knowing torture brings a mandatory $2,500 fine and counseling, and a repeat conviction requires a $5,000 fine and at least 6 months in jail with no early release. An adult who commits aggravated cruelty in front of a minor or entices a minor to do it commits a separate third-degree felony. The court may bar a convicted person from owning or keeping animals for a period it sets.
Is revenge porn illegal in Florida?
Yes. Florida calls it sexual cyberharassment: willfully and maliciously posting online or sending electronically a sexually explicit image of a person without consent, contrary to their reasonable expectation of privacy, with their identifying information included or posted alongside. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000), and a second offense is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Doing it for money or financial gain is a third-degree felony, and a repeat for-profit violation is a second-degree felony. Victims may sue for an injunction, the greater of $10,000 or actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
Is cyberbullying a crime in Florida?
Willfully, maliciously and repeatedly cyberstalking someone is stalking, a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year); doing so with a credible threat, in violation of an injunction, or against a child under 16 is aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). School bullying, defined to include cyberbullying, is handled through required school district policies.
What are the sexting laws for minors in Florida?
Florida has a specific sexting law for minors. A minor who knowingly sends another minor a nude photo or video that is harmful to minors, or possesses one sent by another minor, commits a noncriminal violation for a first offense: the minor can do 8 hours of community service, pay a $60 civil penalty, or take a cyber-safety course. A second offense is a first-degree misdemeanor and a third is a third-degree felony. A minor who did not ask for the image, reported it to a parent, school or police, and did not forward it does not violate the possession rule. Images showing sexual conduct can still be prosecuted under other child-pornography laws.
Is money laundering a felony in Florida?
Florida grades money laundering by the amount of financial transactions in any 12-month period: more than $300 but less than $20,000 is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years); $20,000 to less than $100,000 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years); and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). The court may also impose a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the value of the transactions (up to $500,000 or five times the value for a repeat offense), and the person is liable for a civil penalty of the transaction value or $25,000, whichever is greater.
What are the human trafficking laws in Florida?
Human trafficking (knowingly, or in reckless disregard, recruiting, transporting or obtaining a person, or benefiting from a trafficking venture) for labor using coercion, or for labor of a child, or for commercial sex with an adult using coercion, is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Trafficking a child, or a mentally incapacitated person, for commercial sexual activity is a life felony, and a parent or guardian who sells a child knowing the child will be trafficked also commits a life felony. An adult who organizes or directs sex trafficking of a child under 12 or a mentally incapacitated person commits a capital felony. Causing great bodily harm raises the grade one level.
Is jaywalking illegal in Florida?
A pedestrian crossing outside a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield to vehicles; between adjacent intersections with working traffic signals, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk, and outside a crosswalk they must cross at right angles or by the shortest route. Pedestrians may not walk in the roadway where sidewalks are provided. These are noncriminal pedestrian infractions with a $15 fine plus $4 in court costs (other local costs may be added).
What is the open container law in Florida?
Florida bans possessing an open container of alcohol or drinking while driving or riding as a passenger, and while sitting in a vehicle parked or stopped in a road. An open container not held by a passenger and not in a locked glove box, trunk or other locked non-passenger area counts as the driver's. For the driver it is a noncriminal moving violation (a base fine of $60 under chapter 318); for a passenger it is a noncriminal nonmoving violation ($30 base fine). Passengers in buses, for-hire vehicles with properly licensed drivers, and motor homes over 21 feet are exempt, and counties and cities may adopt stricter rules.
What happens if you are caught drinking under 21 in Florida?
A person under 21 who possesses alcohol commits a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500), and a later offense is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000); employees 18 and older serving alcohol at licensed businesses and culinary students tasting in class are exempt. An underage person who buys or tries to buy alcohol, or anyone who lies about age to get it, commits a second-degree misdemeanor, and the court may add up to 40 hours of community service if a state license or ID was misused. Possessing a fake, counterfeit or borrowed driver license or ID is generally a third-degree felony, but possessing one with only the birth date altered is a second-degree misdemeanor. A driver under 21 with a 0.02 or higher alcohol level faces a 6-month license suspension (1 year for a repeat).
What happens if you drive on a suspended license in Florida?
Driving while your license is suspended, revoked or canceled without knowing it is a noncriminal moving violation. Knowingly driving while suspended or revoked is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days) for a first conviction and a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year) for a second; a third or later conviction requires at least 10 days in jail, and it becomes a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) if the suspension was for DUI, refusing a breath test, a fatal or serious-injury crash, or fleeing police. Habitual traffic offenders who drive commit a third-degree felony, and an unlicensed or suspended driver who carelessly causes death or serious injury commits a third-degree felony.
What is the penalty for driving without a license in Florida?
Driving without a valid driver license is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days and $500) for a first conviction and a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year and $1,000) for a second; a third or later conviction also requires at least 10 days in jail. The charge is dismissed if the person shows the court a license that was valid at the time of the stop. A licensed driver who simply fails to carry or show the license commits a noncriminal nonmoving traffic infraction.
What knives are legal to carry in Florida?
Florida's weapon laws cover dirks, knives and other deadly weapons, but exclude a common pocketknife, plastic knife or blunt table knife. Since 2023, a person who is licensed to carry concealed or who meets the licensing criteria may carry a concealed weapon such as a knife; someone who does not meet the criteria and carries a concealed weapon commits a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). Making, selling or possessing a ballistic self-propelled knife (one that shoots its blade) is a first-degree misdemeanor. Possessing a knife or other weapon (including a razor blade or box cutter) on school property, a school bus or at a school event is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), and displaying even a common pocketknife there in a threatening way is also prohibited.
Are fireworks legal in Florida?
Selling, using or exploding fireworks (such as firecrackers, skyrockets and Roman candles) is generally illegal in Florida, but the law allows anyone to use fireworks solely on New Year's Day, the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve. State-approved sparklers (hand-held or ground-based, non-exploding, non-aerial, with no more than 100 grams of composition) and novelties such as snakes and toy caps may be sold and used year-round. Violations are first-degree misdemeanors (up to 1 year and $1,000). Public displays need a permit from the county or city and a competent operator.
Is kidnapping a felony in Florida?
Kidnapping (forcibly, secretly or by threat confining, abducting or imprisoning someone against their will to hold them for ransom or as a shield or hostage, to commit a felony, to harm or terrorize them, or to interfere with a government function) is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. Kidnapping a child under 13 while also committing aggravated child abuse, a sexual offense, exploitation or human trafficking against the child is a life felony. False imprisonment (confining or restraining someone against their will without legal authority) is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), or a first-degree felony (up to life) when committed against a child under 13 with one of those aggravating offenses. Confining a child under 13 without a parent's or guardian's consent counts as against the child's will.
Is making a threat a crime in Florida?
Sending, posting or transmitting a written or electronic threat (such as a text, social media post or email) to kill or seriously harm someone, or to carry out a mass shooting or act of terrorism, is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years, $10,000). Maliciously threatening someone's person, property or reputation (or threatening to accuse them of a crime or expose a secret) to extort money or force them to act is also a second-degree felony, raised to first degree if done as a foreign agent for a foreign country of concern.
Is stealing a car a felony in Florida?
Stealing a motor vehicle is grand theft of the third degree, a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000), regardless of the vehicle's value, unless the vehicle is worth $100,000 or more, which makes it first-degree grand theft (up to 30 years). Theft also becomes a first-degree felony if the thief uses a motor vehicle as a tool (not just a getaway car) and damages someone's real property, or causes more than $1,000 in property damage during the theft.
Is receiving stolen property a felony in Florida?
Florida treats knowingly obtaining or using another person's property as theft, graded by value: under $100 is petit theft (second-degree misdemeanor, up to 60 days), $100 to under $750 is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year), $750 to under $20,000 is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), $20,000 to under $100,000 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Dealing in stolen property (selling or disposing of property, or buying, receiving or possessing it with intent to sell, when the person knows or should know it was stolen) is a second-degree felony, and organizing or directing a theft and then trafficking in the property is a first-degree felony.
What is organized retail theft in Florida?
Yes. Retail theft becomes a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) when the person coordinates others, conspires to resell stolen goods, steals from more than one location, or works with others to distract store staff, and the merchandise taken within a 120-day period totals $750 or more. It is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) when the total exceeds $3,000, when there are three or more thefts of 20 or more items at two or more stores within 120 days, or with a prior conviction for this offense, and a first-degree felony (up to 30 years) with two or more prior convictions or if the person has a firearm. Thefts in more than one judicial circuit within 120 days may be added together and are prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
What counts as drug trafficking in Florida?
Selling, making or delivering, or possessing with intent to sell, most hard drugs (such as cocaine, heroin, fentanyl or methamphetamine) is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and other controlled substances a third-degree felony. Trafficking is based on weight and carries mandatory minimum prison terms and fines: for cocaine, 28 to 200 grams brings 3 years and $50,000, 200 to 400 grams 7 years and $100,000, and 400 grams to 150 kilograms 15 years and $250,000; for heroin and other opiates, 4 to 14 grams brings 3 years, 14 to 28 grams 15 years, and 28 grams or more 25 years; for fentanyl, 4 to 14 grams brings 7 years and $50,000, 14 to 28 grams 20 years and $100,000, and 28 grams or more 25 years and $500,000; for methamphetamine, 14 to 28 grams brings 3 years, 28 to 200 grams 7 years, and 200 grams or more 15 years. All trafficking offenses are first-degree felonies, and some of the largest-quantity offenses can be capital felonies.
Is prescription fraud a felony in Florida?
Obtaining or trying to obtain a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge, possessing an unsigned or incomplete prescription form, or 'doctor shopping' (not telling a practitioner that you received a similar controlled substance or prescription from another practitioner in the previous 30 days) is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000). Obtaining a medically unnecessary controlled substance or prescription from a practitioner by fraud or concealment, or a practitioner providing one that way, is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if the drug is in Schedule II, III or IV.
What is vehicular assault in Florida?
Driving under the influence and causing serious bodily injury to another person is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years, $5,000), and causing other injury or property damage while DUI is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). Reckless driving (willful or wanton disregard for safety) that causes serious bodily injury is also a third-degree felony, and reckless driving that causes property damage or injury is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Is street racing a crime in Florida?
Driving in a street takeover, stunt driving, race, drag race or exhibition of speed on a highway, road or parking lot, or organizing, promoting, filming from a vehicle, blocking traffic for or riding as a passenger in one, is a first-degree misdemeanor with a $500 to $2,000 fine and a 1-year license revocation. A second violation within 1 year is a third-degree felony with a $2,500 to $4,000 fine and a 2-year revocation, and a third within 5 years is a second-degree felony with a $3,500 to $7,500 fine and a 4-year revocation; taking part in a coordinated takeover of 10 or more vehicles, or blocking an emergency vehicle, is a third-degree felony. Being a spectator is a $400 noncriminal infraction, and the court may order the vehicle impounded or immobilized.
What is the penalty for boating under the influence in Florida?
Boating under the influence means operating a vessel while impaired by alcohol or drugs, or with a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or more. A first conviction carries a $500 to $1,000 fine and up to 6 months in jail, and a second $1,000 to $2,000 and up to 9 months; a third conviction within 10 years of a prior one, or any fourth conviction, is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Higher fines and jail apply with an alcohol level of 0.15 or more or a minor on board. Causing serious bodily injury while BUI is a third-degree felony, and causing a death is BUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony with a 4-year mandatory minimum.
Is insurance fraud a felony in Florida?
Insurance fraud (presenting or preparing a statement for an insurance claim or application knowing it contains false, incomplete or misleading material information, intending to defraud the insurer) is graded by the value involved: under $20,000 is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), $20,000 to under $100,000 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Fraud aimed at motor vehicle insurance proceeds also brings a civil penalty, up to $5,000 for a first offense.
What happens if you commit welfare or unemployment fraud in Florida?
Public assistance fraud (lying about or failing to disclose facts or changes in circumstances to get food assistance, Medicaid, cash assistance or other state or federally funded aid, or misusing or trafficking food assistance or Medicaid cards and authorizations) is graded by the total value in any 12 months: under $200 is a first-degree misdemeanor; $200 to under $20,000 a third-degree felony; $20,000 to under $100,000 a second-degree felony; and $100,000 or more a first-degree felony. Repaying the benefits is not a defense. Unemployment fraud (knowingly making a false statement or hiding a material fact to get or increase benefits) is a third-degree felony for each false statement.
Is bribery a felony in Florida?
Bribery (corruptly giving, offering or promising a public servant any benefit to influence an official act or vote, or a public servant corruptly asking for or accepting one) is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years, $10,000). Unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior is also a second-degree felony. Commercial bribery (giving a benefit to an employee, agent or fiduciary to get them to violate their duty) and commercial bribe receiving are third-degree felonies (up to 5 years).
What are the penalties for tax evasion in Florida?
Under the sales and use tax law, willfully attempting to evade the tax is a third-degree felony plus a penalty of 100% of the tax, and knowingly failing to file six consecutive returns with intent to evade is a third-degree felony. Filing a false or fraudulent return, or failing to remit sales tax collected from customers (theft of state funds), is graded by amount: small amounts are misdemeanors for first and second offenses, then a third-degree felony up to $20,000, a second-degree felony from $20,000 to under $100,000, and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more.
What are the penalties for sexual assault in Florida?
Florida calls rape 'sexual battery' (oral, anal or vaginal penetration or union without consent). Sexual battery on an adult without force likely to cause serious injury is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years). It is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years) when the victim is physically helpless, is coerced by threats of serious violence or retaliation, or is drugged without consent, and a life felony when the offender uses or threatens a deadly weapon or uses force likely to cause serious injury. An adult who commits sexual battery on a child under 12 commits a capital felony (death or life). Sexual battery on a 12- to 17-year-old by an adult is at least a first-degree felony. Sex with a 16- or 17-year-old by someone 24 or older is covered on the age-of-consent page.
What are the penalties for child molestation in Florida?
Lewd or lascivious molestation (intentionally touching the intimate areas of a child under 16 in a lewd manner, or making the child touch the offender) by an adult against a child under 12 is a life felony, punished by life in prison or at least 25 years followed by lifetime probation, and life for a second offense. The same act by an adult against a child 12 to 15 is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), or first degree with listed prior sex convictions. Lewd or lascivious battery (sexual activity with a child 12 to 15) is a second-degree felony, and lewd or lascivious conduct (lewd touching or soliciting a child under 16) by an adult is a second-degree felony. Sexual battery of a child under 12 by an adult is a capital felony.
What are the child pornography laws in Florida?
Florida calls this child sexual abuse material. Knowingly possessing, controlling, intentionally viewing or soliciting it is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), and each image (and each child in each image) is a separate offense. Possessing it with intent to promote (three or more copies is evidence of that intent) is also a second-degree felony. Using a child in a sexual performance is a first-degree felony with a 15-year mandatory minimum for adults, or a life felony with a 25-year minimum if the child is under 12; promoting a sexual performance by a child is a second-degree felony with a 5-year minimum for adults. A narrow exception covers some images made with the child's permission by someone no more than 4 years older.
Is online solicitation of a minor a felony in Florida?
Using the internet, a phone or any other electronic device to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child, or a person believed to be a child (such as an undercover officer), to commit a sex crime is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), and a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if the offender lies about their age. Each separate use of a device is a separate offense. Traveling (or trying to travel) to meet the child for sex after such online contact is a second-degree felony.
What happens if you fail to register as a sex offender in Florida?
Sexual offenders must report in person to the sheriff within 48 hours after moving to Florida, being released from custody or supervision, or (if not in custody) being convicted, then get a Florida driver license or ID card marked as a sex offender, and report changes of address, name, vehicles, jobs and internet identifiers. They re-register in person twice a year (four times a year for the most serious offenses). Registration lasts for life unless the person is pardoned, the conviction is set aside, or the person qualifies to petition for removal, generally after 25 years with no arrests since release. Failing to register or report is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years); if no prison sentence is imposed, the court must order mandatory community control with electronic monitoring (6 months, 1 year, then 2 years for repeat offenses).
Can a felon own a gun in Florida?
A person convicted of a felony in Florida, federally or (for crimes punishable by more than a year) in another state, or adjudicated delinquent for a felony-level act while under 24, may not own or possess a firearm, ammunition or electric weapon or carry a concealed weapon. Violation is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years), or first degree for people who qualify for criminal gang enhancements. Actually possessing a firearm carries a 3-year mandatory minimum, or 10 years if the person possessed a firearm during a prior listed violent felony. The ban does not apply once civil rights and firearm authority have been restored or the record has been expunged.
Is hacking a crime in Florida?
Knowingly and without authorization accessing a computer, network or electronic device, disrupting service, damaging equipment, introducing a computer contaminant (such as malware or ransomware), or secretly using a device's camera or microphone for surveillance is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). It is a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) if damage is $5,000 or more, the purpose is fraud, or it disrupts government, public utilities or public transit systems, and a first-degree felony (up to 30 years) if it endangers human life or disrupts medical equipment. Modifying computer equipment without authorization is a first-degree misdemeanor. Victims may also sue, and devices used may be forfeited.
Is Florida a one-party consent state?
Florida is an all-party consent state. Intercepting or recording a phone call, electronic communication or private in-person conversation is lawful only when all parties have given prior consent (with narrow exceptions, such as police investigations and emergency lines). Unlawful interception is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), with lesser penalties for some first-offense radio interceptions.
Is filing a false police report a crime in Florida?
Knowingly giving a law enforcement officer or other public safety agency a false report of a crime that did not happen is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year). If the false report draws an emergency response that causes great bodily harm or permanent injury it is a third-degree felony, and if it causes a death a second-degree felony; the court must order restitution, including the agency's response costs. Calling 911 to make a false alarm or false report is also a first-degree misdemeanor, with felony grades if the response causes serious injury or death.
Does Florida have a hate crime law?
Florida raises the penalty one level when a crime evidences prejudice based on the victim's race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status or advanced age (over 65): a second-degree misdemeanor becomes first degree, a first-degree misdemeanor becomes a third-degree felony, and each felony moves up one degree (a first-degree felony becomes a life felony). The record must show the defendant knew or had reason to know the victim was in the protected group, and victims of bias intimidation can sue for triple damages.
What happens if you violate parole in Florida?
Florida's parole law does not apply to anyone sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code, so parole remains only for some older sentences. Instead, certain repeat, habitual and violent offenders and sexual predators are released on conditional release supervision by the Florida Commission on Offender Review. If a commissioner believes a releasee broke the terms, a warrant may issue; the releasee gets a hearing within 45 days before a commissioner, with rights to counsel, witnesses and evidence. A panel of at least two commissioners then decides and may return the person to prison to serve the sentence, reinstate the release, or order up to 22 months in a local jail as a condition of supervision.
What happens if you violate a restraining order in Florida?
Willfully violating a domestic violence injunction (for example, refusing to leave a shared home, going within 500 feet of the protected person's home, school or job, contacting them, committing violence, or refusing to surrender firearms) is a first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year), and the court must generally order a batterers' intervention program. A violation against the same victim by someone with a prior conviction for domestic violence or for violating an injunction is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years). Violating a repeat-violence, sexual-violence or dating-violence injunction is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony after two prior injunction-violation convictions involving the same victim.
When can a juvenile be tried as an adult in Florida?
Florida uses several routes. Prosecutors may 'direct file' adult charges against a child 14 or 15 for listed serious offenses (such as murder, sexual battery, robbery, carjacking, aggravated battery, armed burglary and lewd offenses), and against a 16- or 17-year-old for any felony (and some misdemeanors with a prior record). A grand jury may indict a child of any age for a crime punishable by death or life, after which the child is tried as an adult. Prosecutors may also ask the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction for a child 14 or older, and must request waiver (or explain why not) for certain repeat violent offenders; the court weighs seriousness, violence, maturity, record and the prospects for rehabilitation. A child who is transferred and found guilty is treated as an adult for later offenses.
Does Florida have the death penalty?
Florida has the death penalty. Capital felonies include first-degree murder, capital sexual battery of a child, capital drug trafficking and capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation, each with its own sentencing procedure; a person who was under 18 at the time cannot be sentenced to death. After a separate penalty hearing, the jury must unanimously find at least one aggravating factor; if at least eight jurors vote for death, the jury recommends death and the judge may impose death or life without parole, and if fewer than eight do, the recommendation is life. A death sentence is carried out by lethal injection unless the person elects electrocution, or by any method not deemed unconstitutional.
Can felons vote in Florida?
People convicted of a felony lose the right to vote until they complete all terms of their sentence, including prison, probation, community control, parole or other supervision, and full payment of court-ordered restitution, fines and fees that were part of the sentence. Once all terms are completed, voting rights are restored automatically under the state constitution. Financial obligations count as completed if paid, terminated by the court with the payee's consent, or converted to and completed as community service. People convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense do not regain the right to vote unless the Clemency Board restores their civil rights.
How do you restore your rights after a felony in Florida?
Clemency (pardons, restoration of civil rights, commutations) is granted by the Governor with the approval of two members of the Cabinet (the Board of Executive Clemency); applications go through the Florida Commission on Offender Review. Voting returns automatically after all terms of the sentence are completed, except for murder and felony sexual offenses (§ 98.0751). Jury service: anyone convicted of a felony is disqualified 'unless restored to civil rights.' Firearms: the felon firearm ban does not apply once the person's civil rights and firearm authority have been restored or the record expunged.
Does Florida have a three strikes law?
Florida has several repeat-offender categories. A habitual felony offender (two or more prior felonies, with the new felony committed while under sentence or within 5 years) may get up to life for a first-degree felony, 30 years for second degree and 10 years for third degree. A habitual violent felony offender (a prior listed violent felony) gets the same maximums with no release for 15, 10 or 5 years. A three-time violent felony offender (two or more prior listed violent felonies) must receive mandatory minimums of life (life felony), 30 years (first degree), 15 years (second degree) or 5 years (third degree), with no early release. A violent career criminal (three or more prior adult convictions for listed offenses such as forcible felonies, plus other statutory criteria) gets life for a first-degree felony, up to 40 years with a 30-year minimum for second degree, and up to 15 years with a 10-year minimum for third degree.
Is delta-8 legal in Florida?
Hemp-derived THC products such as delta-8 are legal in Florida if they qualify as hemp: 'hemp' includes all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids and isomers of the plant with no more than 0.3% total delta-9 THC (dry weight; wet weight for hemp extract), and hemp is excluded from the controlled-substance definition of cannabis. Hemp extract may be sold only with an independent lab certificate of analysis, a QR code or barcode linked to it, batch number, expiration date and milligrams of each cannabinoid per serving, in child-resistant packaging that is not attractive to children (no human, cartoon or animal shapes, candy look-alikes or color additives). Hemp extract products for ingestion or inhalation may not be sold to anyone under 21; a violation is a second-degree misdemeanor, first-degree for a repeat within 1 year.
Are magic mushrooms legal in Florida?
Psilocybin and psilocyn are Schedule I hallucinogens in Florida. Possessing any controlled substance without a prescription is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years), except for the separate small-amount cannabis rule. Florida law has no legal psilocybin program in the sections read.
Is kratom legal in Florida?
Kratom is legal for adults in Florida under the Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act (2023). It is unlawful to sell, deliver or give any kratom product (food, supplement or beverage containing Mitragyna speciosa leaf or its extracts or alkaloids) to anyone under 21; a violation is a second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days). Kratom and its alkaloids are not listed in the statutory controlled-substance schedules.
Is CBD legal in Florida?
Hemp CBD is legal in Florida as 'hemp extract' when it contains no more than 0.3% total delta-9 THC and no controlled substances; synthetic CBD is excluded from the definition. CBD products for ingestion or inhalation may be sold only with an independent lab certificate of analysis, QR code or barcode, batch number, expiration date and milligrams of each cannabinoid per serving, in packaging that is child-resistant and not attractive to children, and only to buyers 21 or older. Hemp extract is also subject to the state food laws (chapters 500, 502 and 580), and mislabeled or child-attractive products face immediate stop-sale orders.
What is the smoking and vaping age in Florida?
The minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine (vaping) products in Florida is 21. Selling or giving them to someone under 21 is a second-degree misdemeanor, a first-degree misdemeanor for a second violation within 1 year, and for nicotine products a third-degree felony for a third violation. People under 21 who possess tobacco or nicotine products, or lie about their age to buy them, commit a noncriminal violation: 16 hours of community service or a $25 fine plus an anti-tobacco program for a first violation, and a $25 fine for a repeat within 12 weeks.
Is elder abuse a felony in Florida?
Florida protects an 'elderly person' (60 or older whose ability to care for or protect themselves is impaired by aging) and a 'disabled adult.' Abuse is a third-degree felony; aggravated abuse (aggravated battery, torture or caging, or abuse causing great bodily harm or permanent disability) is a first-degree felony. Neglect by a caregiver is a third-degree felony, or second degree if it causes great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement. Financial exploitation is graded by value: $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony, $10,000 to under $50,000 second degree, and under $10,000 third degree.
Is voyeurism a felony in Florida?
Secretly watching someone with lewd intent where they expect privacy (voyeurism) is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony after two prior convictions. Digital voyeurism, secretly viewing, recording or broadcasting someone undressing or exposed where they expect privacy, or recording under or through their clothing, is a third-degree felony for offenders 19 or older (first-degree misdemeanor if under 19); sharing or selling such recordings is also a third-degree felony. Repeat offenses are second-degree felonies, offenses by a family member or person in a position of trust are bumped up a degree, and digital voyeurism against a child under 16 by certain adults is a second-degree felony that requires sex offender registration.
Is assaulting a police officer a felony in Florida?
Knowingly assaulting or battering a law enforcement officer (or a firefighter, emergency medical provider, hospital worker, public transit employee, licensed uniformed security officer, utility worker on critical infrastructure and other listed workers) on duty raises the charge one level: assault from a second- to a first-degree misdemeanor, battery from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, aggravated assault from a third- to a second-degree felony (3-year minimum for an officer), and aggravated battery from a second- to a first-degree felony (5-year minimum for an officer). Battery on an officer while possessing a firearm or destructive device carries a 3-year minimum, and battery on an officer during a riot carries a 6-month minimum.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.