The penalty for solicitation depends almost entirely on the crime the person tried to get someone else to commit. Soliciting a low-level misdemeanor can mean a small fine; soliciting a federal violent felony can mean up to half the target crime’s prison term; soliciting murder-for-hire or a sexual offense against a minor can mean life. Under the main federal solicitation statute, 18 U.S.C. § 373, the maximum prison term is half the sentence for the underlying crime, capped at 20 years when the target offense carries life or the death penalty.
How Solicitation Charges Are Graded
Solicitation happens the moment a person asks, encourages, commands, or hires someone else to commit a crime with genuine intent that the crime be carried out. It does not matter whether the other person agrees, acts, or does anything at all. The charge grades up or down with the seriousness of the target offense. Soliciting a misdemeanor is generally a misdemeanor; soliciting a felony is a felony.1Legal Information Institute. Inchoate Offense
States vary on exactly how the grading works. Some match the solicitation charge to the target crime’s grade. Some drop it by one degree. A few handle it case by case. The jurisdiction where charges are filed controls.
Federal Penalty for Soliciting a Violent Crime
Section 373 covers solicitation of any federal felony involving physical force against a person or property. The formula is simple: the maximum prison term is half the maximum sentence for the target crime, and the maximum fine is half the target crime’s maximum fine.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 373 – Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence
A target offense with a 20-year maximum produces a 10-year ceiling for the solicitation charge. A 14-year target yields a 7-year ceiling. When the target crime is punishable by life imprisonment or death, the solicitation maximum is capped at 20 years.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 373 – Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence
One boundary matters here. Section 373 reaches only violent federal felonies. Solicitation of fraud, drug trafficking, and other non-violent federal crimes falls under separate, crime-specific statutes with their own penalties.
Murder-for-Hire
Soliciting murder has its own federal statute and much harsher penalties than the general formula. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1958, anyone who uses interstate commerce facilities with the intent that a murder be committed for payment faces up to 10 years in prison even if no one is harmed. If someone is injured, the maximum rises to 20 years. If the target is killed, the penalty is life imprisonment or death.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1958 – Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-for-Hire
The statute applies even when the “hitman” is actually an undercover officer. The crime is the solicitation itself.
Soliciting a Minor for Sexual Activity
Federal law treats this as one of the most serious solicitation offenses. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), using interstate communications to persuade, entice, or coerce a person under 18 to engage in sexual activity carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2422 – Coercion and Enticement
The mandatory minimum is what sets this charge apart. Judges have no discretion to go lower, whatever the circumstances.
A conviction also triggers mandatory sex offender registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The registration period depends on the offense tier:
- Tier I: 15 years of registration
- Tier II: 25 years of registration
- Tier III: lifetime registration
These periods exclude time spent in custody, so the clock starts after release.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 20915 – Duration of Registration Requirement Registered offenders must keep their information current in every jurisdiction where they live, work, or attend school and must give advance notice of any intended international travel.6Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Current Law
Solicitation of Prostitution
This is the most commonly charged form of criminal solicitation, and it is handled almost entirely under state law. A first offense is typically a misdemeanor with a short jail sentence and a fine ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the jurisdiction. Many states also require participation in educational programs, “john school” diversion courses, or STI testing.
Repeat offenses escalate. Second and third convictions frequently carry mandatory minimum jail time, higher fines, and in some states elevation to a felony. When the person solicited turns out to be a minor, the charge jumps sharply in severity and often triggers the sex offender registration requirements above.
Federal Fine Amounts
Federal fines follow the general schedule under 18 U.S.C. § 3571 unless the specific offense statute sets a different amount. The statutory maximums for individuals are:
- Felony: up to $250,000
- Misdemeanor resulting in death: up to $250,000
- Class A misdemeanor (no death): up to $100,000
- Class B or C misdemeanor (no death): up to $5,000
These are ceilings. Section 373 caps fines at half the target crime’s maximum fine, which may be lower than the § 3571 default. Courts apply whichever cap produces the greater amount.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine
When Solicitation Merges Into the Completed Crime
A person generally cannot be convicted of both solicitation and the completed target crime for the same conduct. This is the merger doctrine. If the person solicited actually carries out the crime, the solicitation charge merges into the completed offense, and punishment runs only on the more serious crime.1Legal Information Institute. Inchoate Offense
The same principle applies when solicitation escalates into conspiracy. If the person solicited agrees, the solicitor is typically charged with conspiracy instead, because the agreement creates the more serious offense. Conspiracy itself is the main exception to merger: a person can be convicted of both conspiracy and the completed crime.
The Renunciation Defense
Many jurisdictions recognize a defense called renunciation or withdrawal. A person who solicited a crime may avoid conviction by showing a complete and voluntary change of heart followed by concrete action to prevent the crime from happening. Simply deciding not to follow through is not enough. The person must actually persuade the other party not to go through with it or take other effective steps to stop it.
The renunciation also has to be genuine, not strategic. Backing out because law enforcement is closing in, because the plan became too hard, or because the person wants to postpone the crime does not qualify. The defense requires proof that the person abandoned the criminal purpose entirely and of their own free will.
Collateral Consequences
The sentence imposed in court is only part of the picture. A felony solicitation conviction creates consequences that can last for years or permanently.
Loss of Firearm Rights
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition. The ban keys on the maximum possible sentence, not the sentence actually served. A felony solicitation conviction with a potential sentence over one year triggers the prohibition regardless of whether the person spent any time in custody.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Immigration Consequences
Non-citizens face severe immigration exposure. Federal immigration law makes a non-citizen deportable if convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude within five years of admission when the offense carries a potential sentence of at least one year. Conviction of an aggravated felony triggers deportability at any time after admission. Multiple criminal convictions, even for lesser offenses, can independently make a non-citizen deportable.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
Professional Licensing and Employment
State licensing boards in law, medicine, nursing, teaching, and finance routinely review criminal convictions when deciding whether to grant, renew, or revoke a license. A felony solicitation conviction can mean suspension or permanent loss of credentials. Even in fields that do not require a license, a felony record creates significant barriers to employment because most employers run background checks.
Supervised Release Conditions
After a federal prison sentence, individuals typically face supervised release with strict conditions. Standard federal conditions include reporting to a probation officer within 72 hours of release, staying within the assigned judicial district without permission, submitting to visits from the probation officer, and answering the officer’s questions truthfully.10United States Courts. Appendix: Standard Condition Language (Probation and Supervised Release Conditions) Courts frequently add case-specific conditions such as drug testing, mental health treatment, and restrictions on internet use or contact with certain individuals.
Statute of Limitations
The federal government has five years from the date of the offense to bring solicitation charges for non-capital crimes.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3282 – Offenses Not Capital Specific offense statutes may set longer windows. State limitations periods vary widely, and some states toll the clock while a suspect is out of the jurisdiction. For capital offenses, there is no federal statute of limitations.