Arson penalties depend almost entirely on three things: what burned, who got hurt, and whether federal jurisdiction attaches. A conviction for burning personal property or an empty structure can mean two to ten years in prison. Burning an occupied dwelling can bring ten years to life. If anyone dies in the fire, the defendant faces life imprisonment or the death penalty under federal law and the felony murder rule in most states. Fines commonly reach $50,000 to $100,000 per count, restitution can run into six or seven figures, and the debt survives bankruptcy.
How the Degree of the Charge Sets the Sentence
State arson statutes sort charges into degrees, and the degree is the single biggest driver of the prison term.
First-degree arson targets a dwelling or occupied structure. Under the Model Penal Code framework that most states copied, an “occupied structure” means any building, vehicle, or place adapted for overnight accommodation or for carrying on business, whether or not anyone happens to be inside at the time.1Internet Archive. Model Penal Code Section 220.1 – Arson and Related Offenses An apartment building at 3 a.m., a hospital, a school, an office tower: all occupied for purposes of the statute. First-degree convictions typically carry ten years to life.
Second-degree arson covers buildings and structures that are neither dwellings nor occupied. Abandoned warehouses, empty storage facilities, detached commercial buildings. The risk to human life is lower, and sentences generally run between two and ten years, though the range moves with damage totals and any aggravators.
Third-degree arson addresses the destruction of personal property, vehicles, equipment, and lower-value assets. Some states use dollar thresholds to draw the line between third-degree and more serious charges. Sentences here also tend to fall in the two-to-ten-year band.
The Model Penal Code creates a separate category called “reckless burning,” which applies when someone purposely starts a fire and then recklessly places another person in danger or puts someone else’s building at risk of damage.1Internet Archive. Model Penal Code Section 220.1 – Arson and Related Offenses It fills the space between intentional arson and a true accident, and penalties are lower than for a degree charge.
Federal Arson Penalties
Two federal statutes carry most arson prosecutions in federal court.
The first applies to fires set within special federal territory such as military bases, national parks, or federal buildings. It reaches anyone who willfully and maliciously sets fire to any building, structure, vessel, or military supplies within federal jurisdiction. The baseline maximum is 25 years. If the building is a dwelling or anyone’s life is endangered, the sentence can extend to any term of years or life.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 81 – Arson Within Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
The second, more commonly charged, applies when the targeted property is used in or affects interstate or foreign commerce. Its reach is broad: rental properties, businesses that receive out-of-state shipments, buildings with federally backed mortgages, and vehicles used in cross-border transport all qualify. The baseline penalty is five to 20 years. If personal injury results, the range jumps to seven to 40 years and the mandatory minimum climbs from five years to seven. If someone dies, the defendant faces any term of years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 844 – Penalties
Federal and state charges can run at the same time. A single fire can produce a state first-degree arson charge, a federal commerce-related arson charge, and separate federal fraud counts if insurance was involved, each carrying up to 20 years per count. The sentences can stack.
What Pushes Penalties Higher
Several factors reliably drive sentences above the baseline.
Chemical accelerants like gasoline or kerosene demonstrate premeditation and increase both the destructive potential of the fire and the likely sentence. Insurance-fraud motive adds federal mail-fraud or wire-fraud counts, each with its own 20-year exposure per count.
Injury to any person, including firefighters and paramedics who respond to the scene, is a hard escalator. Under the federal commerce-related statute, personal injury raises the mandatory minimum from five to seven years and the maximum from 20 to 40.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 844 – Penalties
The steepest escalation runs through the felony murder rule. In most states, arson is a predicate felony, meaning that if anyone dies as a result of a fire set during an arson, every participant can be charged with murder even if no one intended to kill. A defendant who set what they believed was an empty building on fire faces a murder charge if a homeless person was sleeping inside. Felony murder convictions often carry life sentences and, in some jurisdictions, the death penalty.
At sentencing, judges also weigh criminal history, the level of planning, the number of structures or victims affected, and whether injuries occurred. Multiple structures or victims can lead to consecutive rather than concurrent sentences. A handful of states also maintain arsonist registries, requiring convicted arsonists to register their address, employment, and other identifying information with law enforcement for periods ranging from 10 years to life.
Fines, Restitution, and Why the Money Follows You
Fines in arson cases can reach $50,000 to $100,000 or more per count in many jurisdictions. Restitution is usually the larger number. Judges routinely order defendants to pay the full replacement value of the destroyed property, and in many states they can also order reimbursement of firefighting and emergency response costs: overtime pay for fire crews, consumed medical supplies, and equipment damage. A single-structure fire can generate six figures in response costs alone.
Restitution for willful and malicious destruction is not something a defendant can walk away from. Federal law explicitly excludes debts arising from “willful and malicious injury” to another person or their property from discharge in bankruptcy proceedings.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge An arson restitution order follows you for life.
Civil Damages on Top of the Criminal Case
A criminal conviction does not end the financial exposure. Victims of arson can file civil lawsuits seeking damages for property loss, lost income, medical expenses, and emotional distress. The standard of proof in civil court is lower than in criminal court, so a defendant acquitted of the criminal charge can still lose a civil case built on the same fire.
Insurance companies that pay claims on fire-damaged property routinely pursue subrogation, stepping into the policyholder’s shoes to sue the person who set the fire and recover what the insurer paid out. Subrogation claims can target the arsonist for the full amount of the property damage settlement, the policyholder’s deductible, and related expenses. These claims are aggressive and well-funded because the insurer has a direct financial stake in recovering every dollar.
For defendants convicted of arson-for-profit, the exposure compounds. The insurance policy itself is void due to the fraud, any claim payments must be returned, and the defendant faces the criminal restitution order and civil subrogation claims at once. Combined with the non-dischargeable nature of arson-related debts in bankruptcy, the financial consequences can be permanent.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
How Long the Exposure Lasts
Federal arson has a 10-year statute of limitations for non-capital offenses, so federal prosecutors must secure an indictment within ten years of the fire.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3295 – Arson Offenses Capital offenses, where the fire caused a death, have no time limit at all. State statutes of limitations vary, but most allow between five and ten years for felony arson charges. The long windows exist because arson investigations often take years to complete: the fire tends to destroy the very evidence needed to identify who set it.
One Point Worth Naming
You can be charged with arson for burning your own property. The Model Penal Code specifically covers setting fire to your own property to collect insurance, and most state statutes follow suit.1Internet Archive. Model Penal Code Section 220.1 – Arson and Related Offenses You can also face charges for burning your own property if the fire endangered nearby buildings or put anyone else at risk of injury. Ownership of the thing that burned is not, on its own, a defense to any of the penalty ranges described above.