In Florida, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance is a third-degree felony that applies when a person enters or stays inside a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other mobile property without permission and with the intent to commit a crime inside, while no one else is in it. The maximum punishment is five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine, plus restitution for any damage or stolen property. First-time offenders often avoid prison under Florida’s sentencing scoresheet, but a conviction still produces a felony record with consequences that outlast the sentence itself.
What the Prosecution Has to Prove
The state must establish every element beyond a reasonable doubt. Florida’s burglary statute offers two paths to a conviction, and prosecutors only need one.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.02 – Burglary
The first is entry without permission. A person enters a conveyance they have no authorization to enter, and at the moment of entry they intend to commit some offense inside. Entry is read broadly under Florida law. Reaching an arm through an open window, using a tool to fish items out, or removing a panel to get at the interior all count. You don’t have to climb fully in.
The second path covers staying inside after permission runs out. Burglary applies when someone remains in a conveyance secretly with intent to commit an offense, after being told to leave, or to commit a forcible felony. A passenger who hides in a vehicle after the driver asks them to get out, planning to take something once they’re alone, fits this theory.
Either way, intent to commit a separate crime has to exist at the moment of entry or at the moment the person decides to stay. Timing matters. If someone climbs into a car to sleep and only later decides to take something, the intent element wobbles. Prosecutors usually build intent from circumstantial evidence: burglary tools, stolen items on the person, flight from the scene, or earlier statements about targeting cars.
For this specific charge, no one else can be inside the conveyance when the entry or unlawful remaining happens. If someone was in it, the charge jumps up a degree.
What Counts as a Conveyance
Florida defines “conveyance” to cover most mobile property: motor vehicles, ships, vessels, railroad vehicles or cars, trailers, aircraft, and sleeping cars.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.011 – Definitions The sedan in your driveway, a boat tied up at a marina, a private plane at an airfield, and a detached trailer in a parking lot all qualify. Whether the vehicle is running, parked, or sitting on blocks makes no difference.
The statute also treats taking apart any portion of the conveyance as entry.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.011 – Definitions Prying off a panel or removing a window to reach inside counts, even if the person never gets in.
Penalties on Paper
As a third-degree felony, this offense carries up to five years in a state correctional facility.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Certain Reoffenders Previously Released From Prison The court can impose a fine up to $5,000, which is separate from any restitution ordered to pay the owner back for damaged or stolen property.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
Probation is common and defaults to a term of up to two years for felony offenders unless the court sets a different period.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 948.04 – Period of Probation; Duty of Probationer Standard conditions include regular reporting, maintaining employment, and staying out of trouble. Violate any condition and the court can revoke probation and send you to serve the original sentence.
What Sentencing Usually Looks Like
The statutory maximum sets the ceiling, but the real driver of outcomes is Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code. Every felony has an offense severity level, and that level feeds a scoresheet that tells the judge what the lowest permissible sentence is.
Burglary of an unoccupied conveyance is ranked as a Level 4 offense.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 921.0022 – Criminal Punishment Code, Offense Severity Ranking Chart When the total score lands at or below 44 points, the lowest permissible sentence is a non-prison sanction: probation, community service, or county jail rather than state prison.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 921.0024 – Criminal Punishment Code, Worksheet Computations, Scoresheets A first-time offender with no other charges typically scores well under that threshold.
So for many first-time defendants, prison is not mandatory. The judge can still impose up to five years, but the scoresheet doesn’t require it. That’s where plea negotiations and defense work do the most practical good.
When the Charge Gets Worse
The baseline charge climbs quickly based on circumstances:
- Second-degree felony if another person was inside the conveyance when the entry happened, or if the intended offense inside was theft of a controlled substance.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.02 – Burglary
- First-degree felony if the person commits assault or battery during the burglary, or becomes armed with a dangerous weapon or explosive at any point in the offense.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.02 – Burglary
Florida also adds a degree bump for burglaries committed during a declared state of emergency or a riot when those conditions facilitated the crime.
Life With a Felony Record
The prison exposure is only part of what a conviction carries. A Florida felony strips several civil rights and creates long-running barriers:
- Convicted felons cannot own or possess firearms, ammunition, or electric weapons. Violating that ban is itself a second-degree felony.8The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.23 – Felons and Delinquents, Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Devices Unlawful
- Voting rights are lost until civil rights are restored.
- Jury service is cut off.
- Background checks can block government jobs, work with children or the elderly, and professional licenses.
- Private landlords and subsidized housing programs often screen out felony applicants, and an entire household can be evicted from public housing because of one member’s conviction.
For someone whose scoresheet points to probation instead of prison, these consequences often hit harder than the sentence itself.
Sealing vs. Expungement
Florida draws a hard line: a person adjudicated guilty of any criminal offense is not eligible to have the record expunged.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records Expungement is for cases that were dismissed, ended in acquittal, or never saw charges filed.
The practical path is a withhold of adjudication. If the judge withholds adjudication rather than formally convicting, the defendant is not “adjudicated guilty” and may later petition to seal the record. Sealing hides it from most background checks but doesn’t destroy it, and law enforcement and certain government agencies can still see it. That makes the outcome of plea negotiations critical. An adjudication of guilt permanently closes the door to both sealing and expungement.
How This Differs From Trespass
Trespass in a conveyance is the lesser charge for unauthorized entry when the state cannot prove the intent to commit a crime inside. Trespass in an unoccupied conveyance is a second-degree misdemeanor. If someone was inside, it becomes a first-degree misdemeanor. If the trespasser was armed with a firearm or dangerous weapon, it rises to a third-degree felony.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.08 – Trespass in Structure or Conveyance
The gap in exposure is enormous. A second-degree misdemeanor caps out at 60 days in jail rather than five years in state prison, and it doesn’t trigger the collateral consequences of a felony. Defense attorneys regularly negotiate burglary charges down to trespass when the evidence of intent is thin.
Defenses That Attack the Charge
Most defenses target one of the elements. Knock out any single element and the burglary charge fails.
Consent or reasonable belief of consent. If the owner gave permission, or the defendant reasonably believed they had it, the unauthorized-entry element falls apart. This comes up more than people expect: borrowed vehicles, shared-use arrangements, access that lingers after a relationship ends.
No intent to commit a crime inside. Entering a vehicle to find shelter, to grab your own belongings, or by mistake is not burglary. The intent to commit a separate offense has to exist when entry happens. Without it, the conduct might be trespass but not burglary. This defense gets traction when nothing was taken and no other crime was attempted.
Weak evidence of entry. If the only evidence is that the defendant was found near a vehicle with an open door, the state may not meet its burden. Inconsistent witnesses, missing fingerprints inside the vehicle, and no forensic trace at the entry point all cut against the prosecution.
Illegal search or seizure. Evidence from an unlawful traffic stop or warrantless search can be suppressed. If the key evidence is thrown out, the prosecution may not have a case left. This doesn’t speak to guilt or innocence, but it can end the matter just the same.