A felony is any criminal offense punishable by more than one year in prison, making it the most serious category of crime in the American legal system. That one-year line is what separates a felony from a misdemeanor, and it decides far more than sentence length. It determines where you serve time, what rights you lose, and how long the conviction follows you after release.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses
Misdemeanor sentences are typically served in local county or municipal jails built for short stays. Felony sentences go to state or federal prisons built for long-term confinement, with security levels that depend on the offense. A six-month jail sentence and a five-year prison sentence are not just different in length. They are different systems.
How Felonies Are Classified
Legislatures sort felonies into tiers so punishment stays proportionate to the crime. The two most common structures are federal letter grades and state numerical degrees.
Federal Classes
Federal law divides felonies into five classes based on the maximum prison sentence the crime carries. These classes apply when a federal statute does not assign its own specific grade to the offense.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses
- Class A: Life imprisonment or death. Reserved for the most serious offenses, including murder and large-scale drug trafficking.
- Class B: 25 years or more.
- Class C: 10 years to less than 25.
- Class D: 5 years to less than 10.
- Class E: More than 1 year but less than 5. The lowest felony tier.
The class controls not just prison time but the maximum fine, the length of any supervised release, and whether probation is even on the table.
State Systems
States use their own structures. Some mirror the federal letter grades. Others use numerical degrees, where First Degree represents the most serious level of harm or intent. A handful of states skip a broader framework and simply assign penalty ranges to each crime.
The details vary considerably. An act that qualifies as a low-level felony in one state can be a misdemeanor in another. Theft is a clear example: the dollar amount that pushes a theft from misdemeanor to felony ranges from as low as $200 in some states to $2,500 in others.
Wobblers
Some offenses sit on the boundary. Known informally as “wobblers,” they can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor at the prosecutor’s discretion. The decision usually turns on the severity of the specific incident, the defendant’s history, and any aggravating facts. A first-time offender in a borderline case is more likely to face a misdemeanor; a defendant with priors committing the same act may face a felony. That judgment can mean the difference between prison and probation.
Federal vs. State Jurisdiction
Most felony cases are state prosecutions. Federal jurisdiction kicks in under narrower circumstances: when the crime occurs on federal property, involves a federal agency, crosses state lines, or affects interstate commerce.2Legal Information Institute. Constitution Annotated – Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 – Criminal Law and the Commerce Clause Federal cases tend to carry heavier sentences, and the same underlying conduct can produce very different outcomes depending on which system handles it.
Common Felony Crimes
Felonies cluster into several broad categories.
Violent offenses involve direct physical force or the threat of it. Murder, robbery, kidnapping, and aggravated assault all fall here. Aggravated assault is distinguished from simple assault by the level of harm intended or inflicted, typically involving a weapon or an intent to cause serious bodily injury. The presence of a firearm almost always elevates an offense to a higher class.
Property crimes target belongings rather than people. Burglary, arson, and large-scale theft are the most common felony-level examples. Arson is treated especially seriously because of the risk to human life, even when no one is hurt.
Drug offenses involving manufacturing, distribution, or possession in quantities suggesting more than personal use routinely trigger felony charges. Federal drug laws impose particularly steep penalties for trafficking large quantities, with mandatory minimum sentences that increase based on the drug type and weight.
White-collar crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering are nonviolent but can involve staggering sums. Many land in federal court because the conduct crosses state lines or uses federally regulated financial systems.
Sex offenses carry consequences that extend well beyond the sentence itself, including a tiered federal registration requirement that can last from 15 years to life depending on the tier.3eCFR. 28 CFR Part 72 – Sex Offender Registration and Notification States layer their own requirements on top, including residency restrictions and community notification.
Penalties for a Felony Conviction
Felony sentences combine several components. The specific mix depends on the class and the facts.
Prison
Sentences range from just over a year for the lowest felonies up to life without parole for the most serious. For Class A and Class B federal felonies, probation is not available. Prison time is mandatory.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3561 – Sentence of Probation Class C through E felonies may allow probation in some circumstances, though it is far from guaranteed.
Fines and Restitution
Federal law caps felony fines at $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organizations, unless the specific statute sets a higher amount or the defendant gained more than $250,000 from the crime.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine Courts can also order restitution, requiring the defendant to compensate victims for financial losses or medical expenses. Restitution is separate from the fine and can be substantial in fraud or embezzlement cases.
Supervised Release
After prison, most federal felons serve a period of supervised release, essentially monitored freedom with strict conditions. The maximum length depends on the class: up to five years for Class A or B, up to three years for Class C or D, and up to one year for Class E.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment
The conditions are extensive. Standard requirements include reporting to a probation officer within 72 hours of release, not leaving the judicial district without permission, working at least 30 hours a week, avoiding contact with other convicted felons, and not possessing firearms or weapons.7United States Sentencing Commission. Supervised Release Primer Violating any of these can send you back to prison. Courts must revoke supervised release for drug possession, refusal to take a drug test, or four positive drug tests within a year.8United States Sentencing Commission. Probation and Supervised Release Quick Reference Guide
Three-Strikes Enhancement
Repeat offenders face dramatically harsher treatment. Under the federal three-strikes law, a person convicted of a serious violent felony who has two or more prior convictions for serious violent felonies or serious drug offenses receives mandatory life imprisonment.9U.S. Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 1032 – Sentencing Enhancement, Three Strikes Law “Serious violent felony” includes murder, kidnapping, robbery, and any crime punishable by 10 or more years that involves force or a significant risk of force. The prior convictions must follow a specific sequence: each must have occurred after the previous conviction was final.
Consequences After the Sentence Ends
The penalties a judge imposes are only part of the picture. A felony conviction triggers a cascade of legal restrictions and practical barriers that can outlast the sentence by decades.
Firearms
Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing, purchasing, or transporting firearms or ammunition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The ban applies regardless of whether your actual sentence was longer than a year. What matters is that the crime was punishable by that amount. It also applies to people merely under indictment for such a crime.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons Violating the ban is itself a federal felony.
Voting Rights
Every state except Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia strips voting rights from people serving felony sentences. How and when those rights come back varies enormously. About 23 states restore voting rights automatically upon release from prison. Another 15 extend the restriction through parole or probation, restoring rights only after the full sentence is completed. In roughly 10 states, some felony convictions result in permanent disenfranchisement, or restoration requires a governor’s pardon or additional legal action.
Employment
A felony record does not automatically disqualify you from all jobs, but it narrows the field. For federal government positions, agencies evaluate applicants case by case, considering the nature of the offense, time elapsed, and how the conviction relates to the job.12U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Suitability Adjudications – Criminal Record FAQ Some positions have absolute bars. Treason convictions prohibit all federal employment, and domestic violence convictions disqualify applicants from any job requiring access to firearms. Private employers have wide latitude to consider criminal history, though a growing number of states have adopted ban-the-box laws that delay background-check inquiries until later in the hiring process.
Professional Licensing
Many licensed professions, including nursing, law, education, real estate, and accounting, consider felony convictions when evaluating applicants. Outright automatic bars are less common than most people assume. Licensing boards more often use a case-by-case review, weighing the seriousness of the offense, time elapsed, rehabilitation evidence, and relevance to the profession. Convictions involving fraud, violence, or abuse can effectively end certain careers, particularly in healthcare and education.
Student Financial Aid
Federal student aid eligibility is less restrictive than many applicants expect. Drug convictions no longer affect eligibility for Pell Grants, federal student loans, or work-study programs.13Federal Student Aid. Eligibility for Students With Criminal Convictions Incarcerated students are eligible for Pell Grants. The main restriction applies to students with certain sex offense convictions, who may lose eligibility for specific types of aid.
Housing and Jury Service
Finding housing with a felony conviction is a well-documented challenge. Blanket bans on renting to anyone with a criminal record raise fair-housing concerns, but landlords can still consider criminal history case by case. Federal law explicitly allows landlords to deny housing to anyone convicted of manufacturing or distributing drugs. Felony convictions also disqualify you from serving on federal juries, a restriction that applies in most states as well.
Can a Felony Be Cleared From Your Record?
Federal felony expungement is extremely limited. There is no general federal expungement statute, and federal courts have consistently held that they lack authority to expunge valid convictions except in rare situations such as clerical errors or constitutionally invalid arrests. An interest in improving your reputation or employment prospects is not enough.
One narrow exception applies to trafficking survivors. The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, enacted in January 2026, allows people convicted of nonviolent offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked to petition for vacatur and expungement. The court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the person’s participation in the offense was a direct result of their victimization. A separate provision under the Federal First Offender Act allows dismissal and potential expungement for first-time misdemeanor drug possession, but only if the defendant was under 21 at the time.
State courts offer broader expungement options. Filing fees for state felony expungement petitions range from nothing in some jurisdictions to several hundred dollars. Eligibility rules, waiting periods, and which offenses qualify vary widely. Many states exclude violent felonies and sex offenses from expungement entirely.
Presidential Pardon
A presidential pardon is the primary path to formal forgiveness for a federal felony. To apply, you must have been released from prison at least five years ago, or sentenced at least five years ago if no prison term was imposed.14United States Department of Justice. Application for Pardon After Completion of Sentence Anyone still serving a sentence must seek a commutation instead. A pardon does not erase the conviction from your record, but it does restore certain civil rights and can remove legal disabilities imposed by the conviction. If a request is denied, you can reapply after two years.