A.R.S. Criminal Trespass in Arizona: Degrees, Penalties, Defenses

Criminal trespass penalties in Arizona range from a Class 3 misdemeanor with up to 30 days in jail to a Class 5 felony punishable by up to two and a half years in prison. Three statutes — ARS 13-1502, 13-1503, and 13-1504 — sort trespass into three degrees, with the classification driven almost entirely by the type of property you entered. A first-time offender charged with felony trespass into a home may be able to have the charge treated as a misdemeanor, but that outcome is not automatic.

Third Degree Criminal Trespass

Third degree is the lowest-level trespass offense. Under ARS 13-1502, you commit it by knowingly entering or remaining on real property after a reasonable request to leave from a law enforcement officer, the property owner, or anyone else with authority over the property. A posted “No Trespassing” sign counts as that notice. The statute also covers railroad property — track rights-of-way, switching yards, and storage areas — where simply being there without permission is enough.¹

Third degree criminal trespass is a Class 3 misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.²³

Second Degree Criminal Trespass

ARS 13-1503 applies when the property involved is a nonresidential structure or a fenced commercial yard. That covers warehouses, office buildings, retail stores after hours, and fenced lots holding equipment or inventory.⁴ You still have to act knowingly, but nobody has to ask you to leave first. The building or the fence does the work of putting you on notice.

Second degree criminal trespass is a Class 2 misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is four months in jail and a fine of up to $750.²³

First Degree Criminal Trespass

ARS 13-1504 covers six distinct scenarios, and the classification is not uniform. Some first degree trespass offenses are felonies, others are misdemeanors, and the differences surprise people who assume “first degree” always means a felony.⁵

Residential Structure

Knowingly entering or remaining in someone’s home without permission is a Class 6 felony. “Residential structure” is defined broadly to include any building or vehicle adapted for people to live in, whether occupied or not. Houses, apartments, RVs, and temporarily vacant units all qualify.⁶⁵

Fenced Residential Yard, Privacy Violation, or Mineral Claim

Three categories of first degree trespass are only Class 1 misdemeanors:⁵

Entering a fenced residential yard without permission, even if you never go inside the home.
Entering a residential yard and looking into the home with reckless disregard for the occupant’s privacy. No sexual motive has to be proven; the privacy intrusion itself is the offense.
Trespassing on property covered by a valid mining claim or lease with the intent to take or explore for minerals.

A Class 1 misdemeanor carries up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.²³

Desecration of Religious Property

Trespassing on someone’s property and damaging or desecrating a religious symbol or other religious property without the owner’s permission is a Class 6 felony. The statute does not require any specific intent to intimidate; the trespass combined with the desecration is enough.⁵

Critical Public Service Facility

The most serious form of trespass targets critical public service facilities and is a Class 5 felony. The property has to be posted with signage indicating that trespass is a felony or warning of high voltage or high pressure. Qualifying facilities include those operated by utilities, telecommunications providers, mass transit systems, law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency medical providers, along with structures and equipment used to manufacture, transport, or store gas, oil, electricity, water, or hazardous materials.⁶⁵

What the Felony Classes Actually Mean in Time

Arizona felony sentences use a structured range with mitigated, presumptive, and aggravated terms. For a first-time offender:⁷

Class 6 felony (residential structure or religious property desecration): 4 months mitigated, 1 year presumptive, up to 2 years aggravated.
Class 5 felony (critical public service facility): 6 months mitigated, 1.5 years presumptive, up to 2.5 years aggravated.

Both classes carry a maximum fine of $150,000.⁸ The judge sets the actual term within the applicable range based on aggravating and mitigating factors.

Getting a Class 6 Felony Treated as a Misdemeanor

ARS 13-604 gives first-time defendants a potentially significant break. If you are convicted of a Class 6 felony that did not involve a dangerous offense, the judge can reduce it to a Class 1 misdemeanor at sentencing when a felony conviction would be unduly harsh. The court can also leave the offense undesignated during probation; if you complete probation successfully, the court then designates it a misdemeanor. The prosecutor can also file the charge as a misdemeanor from the outset. None of these options are available if you have two or more prior felony convictions.⁹

Because residential trespass is the most commonly charged Class 6 trespass felony, this pathway often decides whether the case ends in a felony record or a misdemeanor one. Whether the judge actually grants the reduction depends on your criminal history and the facts of the case.

Defenses That Can Defeat the Charge

Every Arizona trespass statute requires that you acted knowingly. That requirement opens the main defense: you genuinely did not realize you were somewhere you were not allowed to be. This works best against third degree charges, where the statute itself demands a reasonable request to leave or reasonable notice prohibiting entry. If no signs were posted, no fences were present, and nobody asked you to leave, the prosecution has a harder path.¹

A related argument challenges whether the person who told you to leave actually had authority over the property. A request from a fellow party guest, for example, is not the same as one from the homeowner or tenant. This matters more than people expect, because trespass charges often grow out of disputes between people who both have some connection to the location.

Consent is the other side of “unlawfully.” If you had permission to be there, or reasonably believed you did based on something concrete like a prior invitation, you did not enter unlawfully.⁶ A vague assumption that nobody would mind is not enough.

Necessity can also apply. If you entered to escape an immediate threat or to rescue someone in danger, and you had no other reasonable option, the defense may be available. Courts expect you to leave once the emergency passes.

Sealing a Trespass Record

Arizona lets you petition to seal arrest, conviction, and sentencing records after you complete your sentence and wait a set period. The waiting periods for trespass offenses are:¹⁰

Class 2 or 3 misdemeanor (third or second degree trespass): 2 years after completing your sentence.
Class 1 misdemeanor (first degree trespass involving a fenced yard, privacy violation, or mineral claim): 3 years.
Class 4, 5, or 6 felony (first degree trespass involving a residential structure, religious property, or critical public service facility): 5 years.

You have to finish all nonmonetary terms of the sentence, including probation, and pay all restitution before the clock starts. The petition is filed in the court where you were convicted. Once sealed, the record no longer shows up in standard background checks, though certain government agencies retain access.¹⁰

Consequences Beyond the Sentence

Jail time and fines are the visible penalties. A felony conviction can also affect your ability to obtain professional licenses in regulated fields like healthcare, education, and finance, because licensing boards review criminal history and have authority to deny or revoke based on convictions they consider relevant. Even a misdemeanor trespass conviction shows up on background checks until the record is sealed, which can complicate job, housing, and loan applications. For non-citizens, any criminal conviction raises immigration questions that warrant separate legal advice.

The Class 6 misdemeanor designation pathway matters most here. Getting a residential trespass charge treated as a misdemeanor rather than a felony removes the heaviest downstream consequences while still resolving the case.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1502 – Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree; Classification
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-707 – Misdemeanors; Sentencing
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-802 – Fines for Misdemeanors
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1503 – Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree; Classification
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1504 – Criminal Trespass in the First Degree; Classification
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-1501 – Definitions
7
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders; Sentencing; Definition
8
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-801 – Fines for Felonies
9
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-604 – Class 6 Felony; Designation
10
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-911 – Sealing of Arrest, Conviction and Sentencing Records