The difference between infractions, petty offenses, and misdemeanors comes down to how much jail time the law authorizes for the conduct, and that single variable drives almost everything else: whether a judge or jury hears your case, whether you get a court-appointed lawyer, whether anything ends up on a criminal record, and how large a fine you can be hit with. Infractions sit at the bottom and are treated like civil violations. Petty offenses are a federal middle category defined to keep certain low-level cases out of the jury system. Misdemeanors are genuine criminal offenses and are the only tier of the three that reliably creates a criminal record with lasting consequences.
What an Infraction Is
An infraction is the least serious category of legal violation. Running a red light, parking in a restricted zone, and littering are typical examples. Under federal classification, an infraction is any offense carrying a maximum of five days or less of confinement, or no authorized jail time at all.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses In practice, jail almost never enters the picture. The penalty is a fine, sometimes paired with administrative consequences like points on your license.
Most infractions operate under strict liability. The government doesn’t have to prove you intended to break the rule; the violation itself is enough. Because infractions are handled as civil or quasi-civil matters rather than full criminal prosecutions, the standard of proof is lower too. Instead of beyond a reasonable doubt, the government typically needs to show only that a violation more likely than not occurred. That’s why so many infractions can be resolved by mailing in a check or paying through an online portal without a court appearance.
The civil nature of infractions also means they generally do not create a criminal record. A parking ticket or basic traffic violation won’t appear on a standard criminal background check. The issuing agency still tracks the violation — your state motor vehicle department keeps traffic infractions on file — but it’s not the same as a criminal conviction.
What a Petty Offense Is
Federal law carves out a specific middle category. Under 18 U.S.C. § 19, a petty offense includes Class B misdemeanors, Class C misdemeanors, and infractions, as long as any fine stays within the statutory caps.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 19 – Petty Offense Defined Translated into jail time, that means the maximum authorized imprisonment for a petty offense is six months or less.
The classification exists mainly to control jury-trial access. In Baldwin v. New York, the Supreme Court held that no offense can be considered petty for jury-trial purposes when it carries more than six months of authorized imprisonment.3Library of Congress. Baldwin v. New York, 399 US 66 (1970) Flip the rule around and it reads the way most defendants experience it: if your offense carries six months or less, you have no constitutional right to a jury. A judge decides the case alone in a bench trial.
So the “petty offense” label isn’t really a separate crime category sitting between infractions and misdemeanors. It’s an overlay. A Class B misdemeanor is both a misdemeanor and a petty offense at the same time, and that overlapping status is what determines how the case is tried.
How Misdemeanors Are Classified
Misdemeanors sit at the top of the lower-tier hierarchy. They are genuine criminal offenses, not civil violations, but fall below felonies in severity. The federal system organizes them into three classes based on maximum authorized jail time:1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses
- Class A misdemeanor: up to one year but no more. This is the most serious misdemeanor category and covers offenses like simple assault or theft of moderate-value property.
- Class B misdemeanor: six months or less, but more than 30 days.
- Class C misdemeanor: 30 days or less, but more than five days. These overlap with the petty offense category and cover minor conduct that still crosses from civil violation into criminal territory.
Most states follow a similar tiered approach, though labels and thresholds vary. About half the states cap their highest misdemeanor at one year of incarceration; others set lower maximums. The shared principle is that a misdemeanor is any criminal offense punishable by incarceration in a local or county jail rather than a state or federal prison.
The line between a Class A misdemeanor and a felony is exactly one year. An offense carrying a maximum sentence of one year is a misdemeanor. An offense carrying more than one year is a felony.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses That bright-line distinction matters enormously for your rights, your record, and the consequences that follow a conviction.
Fines and Jail Time by Category
Federal law sets maximum fines for each level, and the amounts are higher than most people expect. For individuals, the caps are:4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine
- Infraction: up to $5,000
- Class B or C misdemeanor: up to $5,000
- Class A misdemeanor: up to $100,000
Those are federal maximums. Most infractions result in fines well under $500 in practice; a speeding ticket isn’t going to cost you five thousand dollars. But the statutory authority exists, and any misdemeanor resulting in death can carry fines up to $250,000.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine Courts also routinely add administrative surcharges, court costs, and assessment fees on top of the base fine, and those add-ons can rival the fine itself.
Misdemeanor jail sentences are served in local or county facilities, not state or federal prisons. Judges often have discretion to substitute or combine jail time with probation, community service, or treatment programs. A first offense with no aggravating factors frequently results in probation rather than time behind bars, but that outcome is never guaranteed.
Procedural Rights Scale With Severity
The protections you get during the process depend on what you’re charged with. The most important right to understand is the right to an attorney, and the rule is not as simple as “you always get a lawyer.”
In Scott v. Illinois, the Supreme Court held that the right to a court-appointed attorney depends on whether the court actually imposes a jail sentence, not just whether jail is theoretically possible under the statute.5Constitution Annotated. Modern Doctrine on Right to Have Counsel Appointed If a judge plans to send you to jail, even for one day, you are entitled to appointed counsel if you can’t afford one. If the judge intends to impose only a fine, the constitutional right doesn’t apply. For infractions, where jail is rarely on the table, most defendants handle the matter without a lawyer.
The right to a jury trial follows a similar sliding scale. Under Baldwin, offenses carrying more than six months of authorized imprisonment trigger the constitutional right to a jury.3Library of Congress. Baldwin v. New York, 399 US 66 (1970) Class A misdemeanors qualify. Petty offenses and infractions do not.
The standard of proof also differs by category. All three classes of misdemeanor require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest standard in the legal system. Infractions treated as civil matters require only a preponderance of the evidence. That distinction affects both how aggressively you should defend yourself and how realistic it is to win at a contested hearing.
One more procedural point worth knowing: the government cannot wait indefinitely to bring charges. Under federal law, prosecutors must file charges for any non-capital offense within five years of the date it was committed.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3282 – Offenses Not Capital State deadlines vary and are often shorter for misdemeanors, with many states setting windows of one to three years.
Why a Misdemeanor Hits Harder Than It Looks
This is where the real gap between an infraction and a misdemeanor shows up. The fine and any jail time are the formal punishment, but the conviction itself creates consequences that can last years or even permanently. People regularly underestimate this, and the miscalculation is often worse than the sentence.
A misdemeanor goes on your criminal record. Unlike an infraction, it will appear on standard background checks and can affect hiring decisions. The EEOC advises employers to weigh the seriousness of the offense, how long ago it happened, and how closely it relates to the job, but that guidance doesn’t stop employers from considering your record.7U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Criminal Records Housing applications and professional licensing boards may also scrutinize criminal history.
For noncitizens, the stakes are higher still. A single conviction for a “crime involving moral turpitude” committed within five years of your admission to the U.S. makes you deportable if the offense carries a potential sentence of one year or more.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens A Class A misdemeanor conviction for theft or fraud in the first five years of lawful residency can trigger removal proceedings. A narrow “petty offense exception” on the admissibility side applies when the maximum possible sentence was one year or less and the actual sentence was under six months.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration attorney before pleading guilty to anything.
One specific misdemeanor category carries a federal consequence that surprises many defendants: a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence permanently prohibits you from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law, regardless of how the state classified the offense.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Violating that prohibition is itself a federal felony.
Infractions, by contrast, carry none of this baggage. That’s the practical reason the classification matters so much. The gap between an infraction and even the lowest-level misdemeanor isn’t just the size of the fine; it’s whether the incident becomes part of your identity for years afterward.
Avoiding or Clearing a Misdemeanor Conviction
If you’re charged with a misdemeanor, avoiding a conviction entirely is almost always the best outcome. Two common mechanisms make that possible: pretrial diversion and deferred adjudication.
Pretrial diversion lets prosecutors suspend criminal proceedings while you complete conditions like community service, counseling, or drug testing. At the federal level, each U.S. Attorney’s Office sets its own criteria, and prosecutors tend to prioritize younger offenders, veterans, and people with substance abuse or mental health challenges. Certain categories are automatically excluded, including offenses involving firearms, serious injury, child exploitation, or violations of public trust.11U.S. Department of Justice. Pretrial Diversion Program
Deferred adjudication works differently. You plead guilty or no contest, the court holds off on entering judgment, and you complete conditions set by the judge. Finish them and the charges are dismissed. Fail and the court enters a conviction based on your original plea, leaving you worse off than if you’d gone to trial. Both options can prevent a conviction from ever appearing on your record, but eligibility and availability vary by jurisdiction. Ask your attorney about diversion before doing anything else.
If you already have a misdemeanor on your record, expungement or record sealing may be available depending on your state. Expungement destroys the record; sealing keeps the file but shields it from public access. Common requirements include finishing your sentence, paying all fines and restitution, and staying conviction-free during a waiting period that typically runs from one to seven years. Violent offenses, sex crimes, and DUIs are frequently excluded. Federal convictions can’t be expunged.12United States Probation and Pretrial Services – Southern District of Mississippi. How Do I Have My Conviction Expunged The only federal remedy is a presidential pardon, which requires a five-year waiting period after release from confinement and is granted at the president’s discretion.