First-Degree Burglary in Oregon: Penalties, Defenses, Consequences

First-degree burglary in Oregon is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $375,000.¹ The charge applies when a person unlawfully enters a building intending to commit a crime inside, and the circumstances involve something the law treats as especially dangerous: the building is a home, the person is armed, or someone is hurt or threatened during the incident. It is the most serious burglary charge Oregon recognizes, and a conviction follows a person for the rest of their life.

What Makes a Burglary First Degree

Every first-degree burglary starts with the basic elements of second-degree burglary under ORS 164.215: entering or remaining unlawfully in a building with the intent to commit a crime inside.² The intended crime does not have to be completed. Someone who breaks into a warehouse planning to steal but gets caught empty-handed is still guilty of burglary.

Under ORS 164.225, the charge becomes first degree the moment any one of four aggravating circumstances is present:¹

The building is a dwelling.
The person is armed with a burglary tool or a deadly weapon.
The person causes or attempts to cause physical injury to anyone during the entry, while inside, or during the escape.
The person uses or threatens to use a dangerous weapon.

The dwelling factor catches people off guard more than any other. Oregon defines a dwelling as a building regularly or intermittently occupied by someone who sleeps there at night, whether or not anyone is actually home when the break-in happens.³ A house, an apartment, or even a seasonal cabin someone sleeps in from time to time qualifies. Breaking into a home at noon on a Tuesday while the owners are at work, without a weapon and without hurting anyone, is still first-degree burglary. The law treats homes differently because people sleep there.

Burglary tools are defined narrowly under ORS 164.235. The list includes acetylene torches, thermal lances, signal jammers capable of defeating alarm systems, explosives, and any other tool adapted or designed for forcing entry or committing a physical theft.⁴ A deadly weapon qualifies on its own regardless of the building type.

How It Compares to Second-Degree Burglary and Trespass

Second-degree burglary covers unlawful entries into non-dwelling buildings like stores, offices, and warehouses when the person intended to commit a crime inside. It is a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison.² The moment any of the four aggravating factors appears, the charge jumps to first degree and the maximum sentence quadruples.

Criminal trespass is a different animal. First-degree criminal trespass under ORS 164.255 covers entering or remaining unlawfully in a dwelling without any intent to commit another crime inside.⁵ Someone who wanders into an unlocked home out of curiosity but never planned to steal or damage anything might face trespass rather than burglary. Trespass in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor, not a felony. The gap between the two outcomes is enormous, and intent is usually what sits between them.

Prison Time and How Sentences Are Actually Decided

Twenty years is the statutory ceiling for a Class A felony, not the sentence most people receive.⁶ Oregon judges work from a sentencing guidelines grid that pairs the seriousness of the crime against the defendant’s criminal history score. The block where those two values meet gives the presumptive sentence, which may be prison time or probation with local sanctions.⁷

First-degree burglary sits in one of three seriousness categories depending on the facts. A dwelling burglary that also involves a weapon or injury falls in Category 9. A dwelling burglary without those extra factors sits in Category 8. A non-dwelling burglary elevated by weapons or violence falls in Category 7.⁸ A first-time offender in Category 8 lands in a very different grid block than someone with multiple prior felonies in Category 9, and that spread is where defense work focuses.

One point worth clearing up: first-degree burglary is not a Measure 11 offense. ORS 137.700 lists the violent and sex crimes that carry mandatory minimum sentences, and burglary of any degree is not on that list.⁹ That gives judges room to depart downward when the facts support it, which they could not do with a Measure 11 charge.

After release, a first-degree burglary conviction carries three years of post-prison supervision because the offense falls in Crime Categories 7 through 9.¹⁰ Violating the conditions of that supervision can send a person back to prison.

Fines and Restitution

The maximum fine for a Class A felony is $375,000.¹¹ Courts rarely impose the ceiling, but the authority to do so is always there.

Restitution is a separate obligation and runs directly to the victim. Under ORS 137.106, when a court finds a victim suffered economic losses from the crime, it must order the defendant to pay the full amount.¹² In burglary cases, that typically covers the value of stolen property, repair costs for damaged doors, windows, and locks, and sometimes lost wages if the victim missed work because of the crime. Restitution is not discretionary. If the prosecution documents the losses, the judge enters the amount into the judgment.

Defenses That Can Reduce or Defeat the Charge

The prosecution has to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, and each element is a point of attack.

The most common defense targets intent. Burglary requires the intent to commit a crime inside the building at the moment of entry. If someone entered for reasons unconnected to any crime, the burglary charge fails even if they were trespassing. Intent is a mental state, and prosecutors usually try to prove it with circumstantial evidence: what the person was carrying, what they did once inside, what they told others before or after.

Permission to enter is another avenue. If the defendant had a genuine reason to believe they were allowed to be in the building, the unlawful entry element collapses. These disputes come up most often among roommates, estranged family members, and people who previously had access to the property.

Identification can be challenged where the evidence is thin. Burglaries often happen at night without witnesses who got a clear look at the intruder, and surveillance footage is not always as conclusive as it first appears.

Finally, challenging the dwelling designation can drop the charge from first degree to second degree. A structure that no one regularly or intermittently sleeps in does not meet Oregon’s definition. Even without an outright acquittal, moving a case from first to second degree cuts the maximum sentence from 20 years to 5 and lowers the crime category on the grid.

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

Some of what follows a first-degree burglary conviction never ends.

Firearms

Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.¹³ Oregon layers its own prohibition on top. Under ORS 166.270, a convicted felon who possesses a firearm commits a separate Class C felony.¹⁴ Oregon allows a narrow restoration path 15 years after a person completes their sentence, parole, or probation, but only if they have a single felony that did not involve homicide, a firearm, or certain other weapons. For most people convicted of first-degree burglary, that door is effectively closed.

Criminal Record and Expungement

Oregon’s set-aside statute, ORS 137.225, allows some convictions to be removed from a person’s record. Class A felonies are not among them.¹⁵ A first-degree burglary conviction stays on the record permanently and will show up on every background check for employment, housing, and professional licensing for the rest of a person’s life.

Immigration

For non-citizens, a first-degree burglary conviction can trigger deportation. Federal immigration authorities generally treat offenses involving intent to steal as crimes involving moral turpitude, and the Class A felony classification can independently qualify as an aggravated felony for immigration purposes. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen should consult an immigration attorney alongside their criminal defense lawyer before accepting any plea. A deal that looks good in criminal court can be devastating in immigration court.

Employment and Licensing

Oregon professional licensing boards usually require applicants to disclose felony convictions and will consider whether the offense relates to the job. A burglary conviction weighs especially heavily for work involving access to homes, financial accounts, or positions of trust. Because the record cannot be set aside, that disclosure is permanent.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 164.225 – Burglary in the First Degree
2
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 164.215 – Burglary in the Second Degree
3
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 164.205 – Definitions for 164.205 to 164.270
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 164 – Offenses Against Property
5
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 164.255 – Criminal Trespass in the First Degree
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 161.605 – Maximum Terms of Imprisonment for Felonies
7
Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. Oregon Sentencing Guidelines Grid
8
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Administrative Rule 213-004-0010 – Burglary I
9
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 137.700 – Offenses Requiring Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences
10
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Administrative Rule 213-005-0002 – Term of Post-Prison Community Supervision
11
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Crimes and Punishments 161.625 – Fines for Felonies
12
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 137.106 – Restitution to Victims
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
14
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 166.270 – Possession of Weapons by Certain Felons
15
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 137.225 – Order Setting Aside Conviction or Record of Criminal Disposition