How much time you get for burglary runs from about one year at the low end to 25 years or more at the high end, with life possible for repeat offenders under some state three-strikes laws and up to 20 years for federal bank burglary. Where a specific case lands depends on the degree charged, whether a weapon was involved, whether anyone was inside the building, whether anyone was hurt, and the defendant’s prior record.
Sentences by Degree
Most states divide burglary into degrees, and the degree sets the sentencing range. The pattern is consistent across jurisdictions: the closer the crime gets to endangering people in their homes, the longer the time.
First-Degree Burglary
First-degree burglary is the most serious form and almost always involves a home or other dwelling. States generally elevate a burglary to the first degree when the burglar was armed, when someone was inside the building, or when physical harm occurred. Sentences commonly range from about 3 to 25 years in prison. In many jurisdictions, first-degree residential burglary is classified as a violent felony even when no one was physically hurt, because entering an occupied home is treated as inherently dangerous.
Second-Degree Burglary
Second-degree burglary typically covers cases without the aggravating factors above. That might mean breaking into an unoccupied residence or entering a commercial building with criminal intent. Sentences generally run from 1 to 15 years. The gap between first and second degree can be significant, which is why so much of a burglary defense turns on whether the building qualifies as a dwelling and whether anyone was present.
Third-Degree Burglary
Third-degree burglary, where it exists as a separate category, covers the least dangerous circumstances: commercial buildings, storage facilities, or vehicles. Sentences typically max out around 5 to 7 years. Some states treat lower-level commercial burglaries as wobbler offenses, meaning prosecutors can charge them as either felonies or misdemeanors based on the value of property involved and the defendant’s record.
What Pushes a Sentence Longer
The degree fixes the range. Several factors then push a sentence toward the top of that range or trigger enhanced penalties on their own.
- Weapons. Carrying a firearm or other weapon during a burglary is one of the fastest ways to escalate a sentence. Some states impose mandatory minimums when a weapon is involved, adding years a judge cannot waive.
- Occupied buildings. Entering a structure while people are inside signals a much higher risk of violence. Many states treat burglary of an occupied dwelling as first-degree automatically, and some make those defendants ineligible for early parole.
- Injury to victims. If someone is hurt during the burglary, sentences increase substantially. Assault or battery committed during a burglary often converts the charge to the highest degree available.
- Prior record. Prior felony convictions, and especially prior burglaries, can double or triple the sentencing range under habitual-offender statutes.
- Value of property. Higher-value thefts can bump the offense into a more serious grade in states that tie burglary classification to dollar amount.
One factor that catches people off guard: accomplices face the same charges as the person who entered the building. The lookout in the car or the friend who helped plan the job can be convicted of burglary and sentenced within the same range as the person who walked through the door.
Federal Burglary Sentences
Burglary is overwhelmingly a state crime, but federal charges apply in specific situations. Bank burglary is the most common. Anyone who enters a bank, credit union, or savings institution with intent to commit a felony or theft faces up to 20 years in federal prison.1U.S. Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 1349 – Bank Robbery General Overview Federal jurisdiction also covers burglaries on federal property, military installations, post offices, and controlled-substance facilities.
Federal sentences tend to run longer than state sentences for comparable conduct because the federal system has no parole. A federal defendant can earn up to 54 days of good-time credit per year of the sentence imposed, which works out to roughly 15% off the total.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3624 – Release of a Prisoner Someone sentenced to 10 years in federal court will serve about 8.5 years at minimum.
How Much Time You Actually Serve
The sentence announced in court is rarely the exact time spent behind bars. Several mechanisms reduce actual time served, though the specifics depend on the jurisdiction and offense.
Good-time or earned-time credits are the most common reduction. State programs vary widely, with some allowing credits that cut sentences by a third or more. These credits are not automatic; they require clean disciplinary records and, increasingly, participation in educational or vocational programs.
Parole eligibility is another factor. In states that still have parole, defendants may become eligible after serving a percentage of the sentence, sometimes as low as 25% for lower-level felonies. But many states carve out exceptions for serious burglaries. Burglary of an occupied dwelling makes a defendant ineligible for parole in some jurisdictions.
Working the other direction are truth-in-sentencing laws, which many states adopted starting in the 1990s. These typically require violent offenders to serve 85% of their sentence before any release. Since residential burglary is a violent felony in many states, defendants convicted of home break-ins often serve the vast majority of their sentence. Habitual offenders may be required to serve day-for-day with no credits at all.
Mandatory Minimums and Three-Strikes Life Sentences
Some circumstances remove judicial discretion entirely. Armed burglary triggers mandatory minimums in many states, with laws requiring 10 or 20 years when a firearm is used, running in addition to whatever other time the judge imposes.
Repeat offenders face the most severe consequences. Under the federal three-strikes provision, a person convicted of a “serious violent felony” who has two or more prior serious violent felony convictions must be sentenced to life in prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses Burglary itself is not on the federal list of serious violent felonies, but many state three-strikes laws include residential burglary as a qualifying strike. A person with two prior residential burglary convictions who picks up a third can face 25 years to life in states with these laws.
This is where people who think of burglary as a property crime get caught out. A series of home break-ins with no violence and no weapons can still produce a life sentence under the right combination of prior convictions and state law.
Beyond Prison Time
Prison is the headline number, but a burglary conviction carries consequences that outlast the sentence. Some of them are more life-altering than the incarceration itself.
Fines and Restitution
Courts routinely impose fines alongside prison time, from a few hundred dollars for lower-degree offenses to tens of thousands for serious burglaries. Restitution is separate from fines and requires the defendant to repay victims for stolen or damaged property. Restitution goes directly to the people harmed, most states charge interest on unpaid balances, and the obligation survives prison, probation, and in many cases bankruptcy.
Probation
Probation may replace prison for less serious convictions or follow a prison term. A typical probation period runs two to five years with conditions: meetings with a probation officer, drug testing, curfews, employment requirements, and no contact with victims or co-defendants. Violating any condition can send a defendant back to prison to serve the original sentence.
Felony Record and Employment
Because burglary is almost always a felony, a conviction creates a permanent criminal record. Employers in finance, healthcare, education, and government routinely disqualify applicants with felony records. Professional licensing boards in many states deny or revoke licenses for nursing, teaching, law, real estate, and other regulated professions after a burglary conviction.
Firearms Ban
Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Nearly every burglary conviction meets that threshold, so the conviction alone means a lifetime federal gun ban regardless of whether a weapon was involved in the offense.
Immigration Consequences
For non-citizens, a burglary conviction can be devastating. Federal immigration law classifies a burglary offense as an “aggravated felony” when the sentence imposed is at least one year, even if that sentence is suspended.5Legal Information Institute. 8 U.S. Code 1101(a)(43) – Aggravated Felony Definition An aggravated felony triggers mandatory deportation and bars most forms of relief from removal, including asylum. A plea deal that avoids actual prison can still qualify if the suspended sentence is a year or longer.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Prosecutors do not have unlimited time to bring burglary charges. Some states allow as few as four years to file, others set the limit at five or six years for standard felony burglary, and a handful impose no time limit at all. For federal burglary offenses, the general rule is five years from the date of the crime.
The clock can pause. If the suspect flees the state or conceals evidence, most jurisdictions toll the limitations period until the suspect resurfaces or the evidence is discovered. DNA evidence has extended prosecution timelines in some states, allowing charges within a year of a DNA match even after the original deadline has passed.