What Is Burglary in Florida?

Completely rewritten and updated September 1, 2026. Originally published February 22, 2026

I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I spent years in the Major Crimes Unit of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office and have taken more than 150 jury trials to verdict — and burglary is the charge where our attorneys most often turn a scary-sounding felony into something the State cannot actually prove.

How Does Florida Define Burglary?

Under section 810.02, Florida Statutes, burglary is entering a dwelling, a structure, or a conveyance with the intent to commit an offense inside — unless the premises were open to the public or you were licensed or invited to enter.

Every word carries weight. A “dwelling” includes its attached curtilage — the enclosed yard around a home — so stepping over a fence can put you “inside” a dwelling in the eyes of the law. A “conveyance” includes cars, so reaching into an unlocked vehicle can be burglary. And an invitation is not always a defense: the statute separately criminalizes remaining inside after being invited — surreptitiously, after permission has been withdrawn, or in order to commit a forcible felony. That “remaining in” theory is how house guests, exes with keys, and party attendees end up charged with burglary in situations that started out lawful.

What Are the Degrees and Penalties for Burglary in Florida?

Three details in that table change cases. First, a dwelling is second-degree even when empty — the State does not have to prove anyone was home. Second, the leap to a life felony can happen mid-event: a burglary becomes first-degree if the person “is or becomes armed” inside — even by picking up something in the house — or commits any assault or battery while inside. Third, Florida adds a riot and state-of-emergency enhancement: a burglary committed in a county under a declared state of emergency, facilitated by conditions arising from the emergency, is reclassified one full degree — hurricane-season looting allegations are charged hard in Florida, and defendants arrested under this provision cannot be released before first appearance.

The Element the State Struggles With: Intent at the Moment of Entry

Burglary is not trespass plus bad results — it requires proof of what was in your head at one specific instant.

That 2025 decision is C.G., a Juvenile v. State, No. 3D2024-1813 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug. 27, 2025). C.G. entered someone’s yard and a physical altercation followed — a battery, which he admitted. But the appellate court threw out the burglary finding, because the State presented no evidence that he intended to commit any offense at the time he entered the yard. The case went back down as a simple battery. The difference between those two outcomes is enormous — and it turned entirely on timing of intent.

The State does have one statutory shortcut: under section 810.07, proof of a stealthy entry without consent is prima facie evidence of intent to commit an offense. That presumption is exactly where the defense goes to work: an entry through an open door in daylight is not stealthy, a presumption can be rebutted, and intoxication, confusion, mistaken address, and innocent explanations all undercut the inference. Our attorneys build burglary defenses around that single moment of entry, because it is the one element the State almost never has direct evidence of.

Does a Fenced Yard Count? Curtilage, Porches, and Boats

Yes — and this is where burglary law surprises people. Under the definitions in section 810.011, Florida Statutes, a “dwelling” is any building or conveyance with a roof that is designed for people to sleep in at night — together with its curtilage, and including any attached porch. A “structure” is any roofed building plus its curtilage. That means the law can treat the enclosed yard around a house as part of the house: Florida courts require some form of enclosure — a fence — before land qualifies as curtilage, which is why the fence line, its gaps, and its gates become genuine evidence in these cases. A “conveyance” sweeps in cars, boats, vessels, trailers, and aircraft, and even taking apart part of a vehicle counts as entering it.

One more definition with Tampa Bay relevance: during a Governor-declared state of emergency, the definitions expand — a storm-damaged building counts as a structure or dwelling even with its walls or roof gone. Combined with the emergency reclassification discussed above, post-hurricane arrests can turn what looks like walking through debris into a serious felony charge. Whether the site actually qualifies, and whether the emergency actually facilitated anything, are questions our attorneys litigate rather than concede.

What Is the Difference Between Burglary, Trespass, and Robbery?

Burglary is unlawful entry plus intent to commit an offense inside. Trespass is the unlawful entry alone — usually a misdemeanor — and it is the natural reduction target in a burglary case where the intent evidence is thin. Robbery is taking property from a person by force or fear; it does not require entering anything. Prosecutors charge the most serious theory the facts might support; our job is to make the evidence fit the offense that actually happened, which is often a degree or two below the arrest charge.

What Happens When Burglary and Theft Are Charged Together?

Each count stands or falls on its own elements — and the companion count is often the weaker one. The Second District’s fresh decision in Russell v. State, No. 2D2024-1373 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 28, 2026) makes the point: Russell was convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft from a dwelling. The appellate court left the burglary in place — but reversed the grand theft, because the State never proved the value of the stolen items under the four-factor market-value test of Negron v. State, 306 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 1974), and remanded for entry of a petit theft judgment instead. Felony theft became a misdemeanor because of a proof failure on one element. We wrote a full guide on exactly that battleground: how the State proves value in a Florida grand theft case. The takeaway for burglary defendants: never assume the charges rise and fall together. Attacking each element of each count separately is how a two-felony case becomes a one-misdemeanor case.

How Do We Defend Burglary Charges?

We start at the moment of entry, because that is where the State’s case is thinnest. Was there actual evidence of intent when our client crossed the threshold — or only an inference from what happened later? Was the entry stealthy at all, or is the section 810.07 presumption unavailable? Was the entry licensed or invited — and if permission was later withdrawn, can the State prove the precise moment and an intent formed after it? Was the property genuinely a “dwelling,” and was it “occupied,” or is the charge a degree too high? Is the identification solid — burglary cases lean heavily on fingerprints, DNA, and grainy video, all of which our attorneys test with experts. And where the State’s real case is possession of recently stolen property, we hold it to the limits of that inference. A burglary charge is a stack of assumptions; we take them apart one at a time.

What Should You Do If You Are Charged with Burglary?

Do not explain, do not consent to interviews, and get counsel involved before the formal charging decision. Burglary charging decisions are unusually elastic — the same facts can be filed as first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, trespass, or nothing, depending on how the intent and occupancy evidence reads in the first weeks. That is also when video gets preserved or lost, when witnesses’ memories of who was invited harden, and when a defense investigator can document the property — fences, signage, sightlines — before anything changes. Our attorneys use that window to fight the degree of the charge before it is filed, not just the verdict after.

Frequently Asked Questions About Burglary in Florida

Is breaking into a car burglary in Florida?

Entering a vehicle — even an unlocked one — with intent to commit an offense inside is burglary of a conveyance, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years if the vehicle was unoccupied. “Car hopping” cases charged against young people are still felonies, and our attorneys treat them with the same seriousness as any burglary — with the same intent-at-entry defenses.

Can burglary really carry a life sentence?

Yes. Burglary becomes a first-degree felony punishable by up to life if the person commits an assault or battery during it, is or becomes armed with a dangerous weapon, or causes qualifying damage. The “becomes armed” language is dangerously broad — picking up an item inside can qualify — which is why the facts of what happened inside deserve as much scrutiny as the entry itself.

What if I was invited in?

An invitation defeats the entry theory of burglary — but Florida also criminalizes remaining inside surreptitiously, staying after permission is withdrawn with intent to commit an offense, or remaining to commit a forcible felony. These “remaining in” cases turn on murky questions of when permission ended and what was intended afterward, and they are highly defensible. Tell your lawyer the full history between you and the property’s occupants.

What is the difference between burglary and trespass?

Intent. Both involve entering where you were not authorized, but burglary requires proof that you intended to commit an offense inside at the moment of entry; trespass does not, and it is generally a misdemeanor. When the intent evidence is weak, a burglary count is a trespass case wearing the wrong label — and our firm has made that argument to prosecutors and juries alike.

Does a burglary charge get worse during a hurricane or state of emergency?

Yes — a burglary committed in a county under a declared state of emergency, where the crime was facilitated by conditions arising from the emergency (evacuations, power outages, curfews), is reclassified one degree higher, and the arrested person must be held until first appearance. In a hurricane state, this enhancement matters, and whether the emergency actually “facilitated” the alleged crime is a litigable question.

Can a burglary charge be reduced or dismissed?

Regularly — burglary is among the most reducible felonies because its core element is invisible: intent at the moment of entry. Weak intent evidence drives reductions to trespass; occupancy and dwelling disputes drop degrees; and companion theft counts fall on value proof, as Russell v. State just showed. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. has defended burglary cases across Tampa Bay for decades — call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential review.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense Attorney page.

Related reading: What Is Trespass in Florida? · What Is Theft in Florida? · How Does the State Prove Value in a Florida Grand Theft Case? · What Is Robbery in Florida? · What Is Dealing in Stolen Property in Florida? · What to Do After Being Arrested in Tampa, Florida

The Charge Is Built on One Invisible Moment — Make the State Prove It

If you or someone you love has been arrested for burglary in Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco County, the degree of the charge — misdemeanor trespass, five-year felony, or life felony — is still being decided by a prosecutor reading one side of the file. Call the attorneys of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. — founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato — at (813) 727-7159 before the charging decision is made. Intent at the moment of entry is the State’s weakest element; make sure someone is attacking it from day one.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.