Florida felony sentencing works on two layers at once. The degree of the felony sets the ceiling, running from five years for a third-degree felony up to death for a capital felony. Then the Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet sets the floor, calculating a minimum prison term from the offense severity and the defendant’s prior record. Add firearm enhancements and habitual offender statutes on top, and the actual sentence a judge can impose often looks very different from the number listed next to the felony degree.
The Five Felony Degrees and Their Maximums
Every Florida felony falls into one of five categories. Each category sets the statutory maximum prison term and, where applicable, the maximum fine.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Certain Reoffenders Previously Released From Prison2Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
Third-Degree Felony
Up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000. This is the most commonly charged felony level in Florida, covering offenses like possession of a controlled substance, grand theft, aggravated assault, felony battery, carrying a concealed firearm without a license, and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries. Prison is not inevitable at this level; many third-degree cases resolve with probation.
Second-Degree Felony
Up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Typical charges include aggravated battery, robbery without a weapon, burglary of a dwelling, dealing in stolen property, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.3Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.23 – Felons and Delinquents; Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Devices Unlawful Sentences at this level often pair incarceration with a long term of probation afterward.
First-Degree Felony
A standard first-degree felony carries up to 30 years and a fine of up to $10,000. A subset of first-degree felonies is designated “punishable by life,” commonly abbreviated PBL, and the court can impose a term of years or a full life sentence for those crimes. Armed robbery, kidnapping, burglary with assault or battery, armed burglary of a dwelling, and sexual battery under certain aggravating circumstances all appear as PBL offenses on the offense severity ranking chart.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 921.0022 – Criminal Punishment Code; Offense Severity Ranking Chart Other common first-degree charges include large-quantity drug trafficking, carjacking, attempted murder, and arson of an occupied structure. The gap between 30 years and life makes the PBL distinction critical.
Life Felony
For a life felony committed on or after July 1, 1995, the court can impose life in prison or a term of years up to life.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Certain Reoffenders Previously Released From Prison Certain life felonies involving sexual offenses against children carry a mandatory split sentence of at least 25 years in prison followed by probation or community control for the rest of the person’s natural life.
Capital Felony
Only two outcomes exist: death, or life in prison without the possibility of parole. There is no fine. First-degree premeditated murder is the most common capital charge, and felony murder and certain sexual batteries on children under 12 by adults can also be charged at this level.
How the Scoresheet Sets the Minimum Sentence
The felony degree only tells you how high a sentence can go. The Criminal Punishment Code tells you how low it can go. Every felony is assigned an offense severity level from 1 to 10 on the ranking chart, with Level 1 covering the least serious offenses and Level 10 covering crimes like second-degree murder, kidnapping with bodily harm, and home-invasion robbery with a firearm.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 921.0022 – Criminal Punishment Code; Offense Severity Ranking Chart
Points are added for the primary offense, any additional offenses from the same incident, and the defendant’s prior criminal history. The point total then controls what sentence the judge can impose:
- 22 points or fewer: the court must consider a non-prison sanction under certain circumstances.
- 44 points or fewer: the lowest permissible sentence is any non-prison sanction, so the judge can impose probation, community control, or other alternatives.
- More than 44 points: a mandatory prison calculation kicks in. The lowest permissible prison term in months equals (total sentence points minus 28) multiplied by 0.75.
A defendant scoring 100 total points faces a minimum of 54 months in prison: (100 − 28) × 0.75 = 54.6The Florida Bar. Rule 3.992 Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet The judge can sentence anywhere between that floor and the statutory maximum for the felony degree, but generally cannot go below the floor without a formal downward departure.
When a Judge Can Go Below the Floor
Florida law lists specific grounds that allow a court to depart downward from the scoresheet minimum. Recognized reasons include that the defendant played a minor role as an accomplice, cooperated with the state, acted under extreme duress, or has a mental health condition requiring specialized treatment unrelated to substance abuse. A legitimate plea bargain is also an accepted basis for departure.7Online Sunshine. Florida Code 921.0026 – Mitigating Circumstances Without one of these statutory grounds, the floor holds.
Firearm Enhancements Under 10-20-Life
Florida’s firearm statute layers mandatory minimums on top of whatever the underlying felony otherwise carries. Possess a firearm during a qualifying felony and the mandatory minimum is 10 years. Discharge it and the minimum is 20 years. Fire it and cause death or great bodily harm and the minimum is 25 years to life.8Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.087 – Possession or Use of Weapon; Aggravated Battery; Felony Reclassification; Minimum Sentence
The qualifying list is broad: murder, sexual battery, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, and drug trafficking, among others. Because these are true mandatory minimums, they override a lower scoresheet result. An armed robbery defendant who fired a weapon serves at least 20 years regardless of what the scoresheet would otherwise produce. A felon in possession of a firearm who has a prior qualifying violent felony faces at least 10 years rather than the standard three.
Habitual Offender Enhancements
Prosecutors can seek enhanced penalties for defendants with significant prior records by filing a notice of intent to pursue habitual offender sentencing. The court then holds a hearing to confirm qualifying prior convictions.9Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.084 – Violent Career Criminals; Habitual Felony Offenders and Habitual Violent Felony Offenders; Three-Time Violent Felony Offenders Three tiers exist.
Habitual Felony Offender
Maximums roughly double. A third-degree felony becomes punishable by up to 10 years, a second-degree felony by up to 30 years, and a first-degree or life felony by up to life in prison.
Habitual Violent Felony Offender
The same enhanced maximums apply, with mandatory minimum terms added before release eligibility: 5 years for a third-degree felony, 10 years for a second-degree felony, and 15 years for a first-degree or life felony.
Three-Time Violent Felony Offender
The most severe tier. On a third qualifying violent felony, the court must impose mandatory minimums of 5 years for a third-degree felony, 15 years for a second-degree felony, 30 years for a first-degree felony, and a mandatory life sentence for a felony punishable by life.
How Much of the Sentence Gets Served
Florida abolished parole for offenses committed on or after October 1, 1983. Inmates can earn gain time for good behavior and program participation, but Florida law currently requires every inmate to serve at least 85% of the sentence imposed. A 10-year sentence means at least 8 years and 6 months behind bars no matter how much gain time is accumulated.
A 2025 legislative proposal (HB 183) sought to lower the floor from 85% to 72%. Whether that change becomes law depends on the final outcome of the legislative process; until then, the 85% rule stands.
Probation and Community Control
When the scoresheet permits it, judges can sentence a felony defendant to probation or community control instead of prison, or add either as a term that follows incarceration. Probation means supervised living in the community with regular check-ins and conditions like drug testing, employment requirements, or travel restrictions.
Community control is far more restrictive. Florida law defines it as intensive supervised custody in the community, with surveillance on weekends and holidays and officers carrying limited caseloads. In practice it functions as house arrest: confinement to an approved residence with permission to leave only for work, treatment, or other specifically authorized purposes.10Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 948 – Probation and Community Control Violating either sanction can lead the court to revoke supervision and impose the original maximum prison term for the underlying felony.
What a Felony Conviction Costs Beyond the Sentence
The prison time and fine are only the beginning. A felony conviction in Florida carries lasting consequences.
A convicted felon cannot own or possess any firearm, ammunition, or electric weapon, and the ban reaches concealed items like chemical sprays and tear gas devices. Violation is itself a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years.3Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.23 – Felons and Delinquents; Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Devices Unlawful
Voting rights are restored under Amendment 4, passed in 2018, once all terms of the sentence are complete, including probation, restitution, and the full payment of fines and fees. The restoration does not apply to anyone convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense; those individuals must petition the governor case by case.
Employment effects are significant. Background checks are standard, and a felony record can bar work in healthcare, education, law enforcement, finance, and other regulated fields. Florida licensing boards can deny, suspend, or revoke professional licenses based on felony convictions.
Can a Felony Record Ever Be Cleared?
This is the hard boundary most people miss. Florida allows criminal records to be sealed or expunged, but if you were adjudicated guilty, neither remedy is available under current law.
Sealing requires that the person was never adjudicated guilty of any criminal offense in Florida, which in practice means adjudication was withheld. The person also cannot have previously sealed or expunged a record, must no longer be under supervision, and the offense cannot appear on the list of statutory exclusions.11Online Sunshine. Florida Code 943.059 – Court-Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records A sealed record still exists and remains accessible to law enforcement and certain agencies.
Expungement goes further by physically removing the record, and eligibility requires that charges were never filed, were dismissed, resulted in acquittal, or that the record was previously sealed for at least 10 years. The same no-prior-adjudication rule applies.12Florida Senate. Florida Code 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records Many violent crimes, sexual offenses, and crimes against children are categorically ineligible regardless of how the case ended. For a defendant who was adjudicated a convicted felon, standard sealing and expungement are off the table.