Third-degree burglary is the lowest-tier felony burglary charge in states that grade the offense by degree. It generally covers entering a building that isn’t someone’s home — a warehouse, storage unit, detached garage, closed office, fenced commercial yard — without permission and with the intent to commit a crime inside, usually theft. The penalties are lighter than first- or second-degree burglary because no one lives in the building and the risk of a violent encounter is lower, but a conviction is still a felony, with prison time on the table and consequences that follow you long after the sentence ends.
How It Differs From First- and Second-Degree Burglary
States break burglary into degrees based on how much danger the entry posed to people. First-degree burglary almost always involves a dwelling, and most states also require an aggravating factor: being armed, injuring someone, or committing the act at night. Second-degree usually covers entry into a dwelling without those aggravators, or entry into an occupied non-residential building. Third-degree sits below both, reserved for buildings that aren’t dwellings or, in some states, unoccupied structures of any kind.
The buildings covered tend to be commercial or utilitarian. Some states extend the definition to mobile structures like trailers or boats used for business. What ties the category together is that the space isn’t someone’s home and nobody is expected to be inside.
What Prosecutors Have to Prove
Burglary is a specific-intent crime, which raises the bar for conviction. The prosecution has to establish three things beyond a reasonable doubt.
The first is entry. You either went into the building without permission or stayed after your right to be there expired. Walking into a store during business hours is lawful; hiding in a back room until closing is remaining unlawfully. The entry doesn’t need to be forceful. An unlocked door counts.
The second is knowledge. You knew you weren’t authorized to be there, or knew your permission had ended. A genuine belief that you were allowed in weakens this element.
The third is where most burglary cases are won or lost: intent to commit a crime inside. You had to plan on committing some offense at the moment you entered or while unlawfully inside. Prosecutors rarely have a confession about what someone was thinking, so they build the case circumstantially — tools associated with break-ins, an empty bag with no legitimate purpose, goods moved toward an exit. If the evidence only shows you were somewhere you shouldn’t have been, without connecting you to an intended crime, the burglary charge may not hold.
Penalties for a First Conviction
Third-degree burglary is a felony in every state that uses the three-degree framework. The specific class varies — Class D in some states, Class 4 in others — and the labels don’t translate neatly across state lines. The sentencing range matters more than the label, and it generally falls between one and seven years in prison for a first-time offender. Judges often lean toward the lower end when there was no violence, no weapon, and minimal property damage.
Fines typically range from a few thousand dollars up to $10,000 or more depending on the jurisdiction, plus mandatory fees and surcharges that can add several hundred dollars on top. Those are separate from restitution.
Victims have a right to be made financially whole, and courts order defendants to pay for the actual costs of the crime: repairing a broken door, replacing stolen inventory, fixing a security system. Restitution goes to the victim, not the government, and federal law requires it in federal property-crime cases, with every state having similar provisions.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes The amount is based on documented losses — repair estimates, receipts, insurance records — and the probation office usually gathers that information before sentencing.2U.S. Department of Justice. Restitution Process The order doesn’t end when a prison sentence does. It remains enforceable as a financial judgment, and nonpayment can trigger a probation violation.
Prior convictions change the picture significantly. Repeat-offender laws in most states enhance sentences for anyone with previous felonies. A second felony conviction can double the minimum prison term, and a third can push the maximum well beyond the standard range. Some states impose mandatory minimums for habitual offenders that strip away much of the judge’s discretion. A defendant with two prior felonies is looking at a fundamentally different outcome than a first-timer.
Defenses That Work
Because burglary requires specific intent, the strongest defenses target the mental state rather than denying that you were in the building.
- No intent to commit a crime. If you entered for a legitimate reason or had no plan to commit any offense, the charge lacks its core element. Someone who ducked into a warehouse to escape a storm isn’t a burglar. The challenge is persuading a jury when the circumstances look bad.
- Permission to enter. Express or implied consent from the owner or someone with authority makes the entry lawful. This comes up in workplace disputes, landlord-tenant situations, and cases involving a prior relationship with the property owner.
- Intoxication. Because burglary requires specific intent, voluntary intoxication can be a defense if you were too impaired to form the intent to commit a crime inside. It rarely wins outright but can sometimes reduce the charge to criminal trespass.
- Mistaken identity. When a building has no surveillance and the prosecution can’t place you inside through physical evidence, DNA, fingerprints, or reliable witnesses, the case weakens.
Defenses work best in combination. Arguing both permission and lack of intent forces the prosecution over multiple hurdles instead of one.
Plea Deals and Reduction to Trespass
Most third-degree burglary cases don’t go to trial. Prosecutors often offer plea deals, particularly when the evidence is circumstantial or the defendant has no record. The common reduction is from burglary down to criminal trespass, which is typically a misdemeanor. That single step from felony to misdemeanor changes everything: shorter or no jail time, lower fines, and no felony collateral consequences.
Whether a prosecutor offers that kind of deal depends on how strong the evidence is, the value of any property involved, the defendant’s criminal history, and how crowded the docket is. If the building sustained little damage and nothing was actually taken, prosecutors have less incentive to push for a full felony conviction at trial.
Probation Conditions and Violations
Many third-degree burglary sentences include a period of community supervision, either as a split sentence with jail time or in place of full incarceration. Felony probation typically runs between one and five years, though several states have shortened maximum probation periods for lower-level felonies.
Standard conditions include reporting regularly to a supervision officer, maintaining stable housing and employment, avoiding contact with anyone who has a criminal record, and submitting to unannounced visits at home or work. Travel usually requires written permission before leaving the county or state. Some jurisdictions charge monthly supervision fees up to around $65.
Violations are serious. A supervision officer who finds one can start revocation proceedings, which can send you back to serve the rest of your original sentence. The threshold for revocation is lower than for the original conviction, so even a missed check-in can snowball.
Life After a Conviction
The formal sentence is only part of what a felony burglary conviction costs. Collateral consequences can outlast prison and probation by decades.
Firearms
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition. Since third-degree burglary is a felony everywhere it’s charged, a conviction triggers an automatic federal firearms ban.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Violating that prohibition is itself a separate federal felony. Some states offer a path to restore firearms rights, but the federal ban stays in place unless a specific state restoration meets narrow federal criteria.
Voting
The effect on voting depends on where you live. Three jurisdictions never strip voting rights, even during incarceration. Twenty-three states restore them automatically on release. Fifteen keep the restriction through parole or probation. Ten impose indefinite restrictions for certain offenses or require a governor’s pardon.4National Conference of State Legislatures. Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons
Employment and Licensing
A felony creates barriers that go beyond individual employer decisions. Professional licensing boards run background checks and can deny or revoke licenses based on felony convictions. Healthcare, education, law, finance, real estate, and any role involving fiduciary responsibility or access to vulnerable populations are commonly affected. “Ban the box” laws and fair-chance hiring rules limit when employers can ask about criminal history, but the protections vary widely and don’t cover every industry.
Housing
Federally subsidized housing programs give local authorities discretion to deny applicants with felony records. Private landlords in most states can also screen for criminal history and reject applicants on that basis. Stable housing is one of the most persistent practical problems after a conviction.
International Travel
A felony conviction can block entry to several countries. Canada treats people with felony convictions, including property crimes, as inadmissible unless they apply for criminal rehabilitation at least five years after completing their sentence. Japan generally bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by a year or more. Australia and the United Kingdom refuse entry to people who received custodial sentences of twelve months or more. New Zealand bars entry for sentences of five or more years at any point, or twelve or more months within the past decade. These restrictions apply whether or not you actually served time.
Clearing the Record Later
A growing number of states let people seal or expunge felony convictions after a waiting period, though eligibility rules vary. For property crimes like third-degree burglary, the general pattern requires completing the full sentence including probation, paying all fines and restitution, and then waiting a set number of years with no new convictions. Waiting periods typically run from three to ten years.
Some states, including Maryland, specifically list burglary among the felonies eligible for expungement. Others base eligibility on the felony classification rather than the offense name, so a Class D felony burglary might qualify even if the statute doesn’t name burglary. A handful of states have passed “clean slate” laws that automatically seal certain lower-level felony records after enough time passes without a new conviction. Filing fees for expungement petitions generally run between $90 and $250, with waivers available for indigent applicants in some states.
Expungement doesn’t always erase the record. In many states, sealed records remain visible to law enforcement and can factor into future sentencing. A governor’s pardon is a separate process that doesn’t expunge the record but can remove certain civil disabilities. Both paths are worth exploring with an attorney, because the difference between a visible felony and a sealed one affects job applications, housing, and much else.