New York sorts misdemeanors into three classes: Class A, Class B, and unclassified. Class A is the most serious, with a maximum of 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Class B tops out at 90 days and $500. Unclassified misdemeanors sit outside the Penal Law and carry whatever penalties the specific statute assigns, generally somewhere between 16 days and one year in jail. The class controls the ceiling on jail time, the fine, probation length, and several collateral consequences that outlast the sentence.
How the Classification Works
Penal Law Section 55.05 creates the three tiers.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 55.05 – Classifications of Felonies and Misdemeanors Every misdemeanor written into the Penal Law itself carries its class in the statute that defines it, so you can read the label directly off the offense.
Offenses defined elsewhere in New York law follow Section 55.10. If an outside statute calls something a misdemeanor without stating a class, it becomes a Class A misdemeanor by default. If that statute instead sets a maximum jail term between 16 days and one year without assigning a letter, the offense is unclassified.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 55.10 – Designation of Offenses
Class A Misdemeanor Penalties
A Class A misdemeanor carries the highest ceiling in the category: up to 364 days in jail, served in a local county facility rather than state prison.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law PEN 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Violation The one-day gap below a full year is intentional; federal immigration law treats a sentence of one year or longer as a trigger for certain removal consequences, and the 364-day cap keeps the sentence just under that line.
The maximum fine is $1,000.4New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.05 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Violations If the crime produced a gain, the judge can substitute a fine equal to twice that gain. Jail and a fine are not either/or; a judge can impose both up to the maximum.
Common Class A Charges
Petit larceny, which covers shoplifting and theft of property of any value, is one of the most frequently charged.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 155.25 – Petit Larceny Assault in the third degree, which requires actual physical injury, is another.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.00 – Assault in the Third Degree Forgery in the third degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, theft of services, and stalking in the third degree also fall here.7New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 170.05 – Forgery in the Third Degree Attempting any Class E felony is automatically treated as a Class A misdemeanor, which is one route people land here without a completed crime.
Class B Misdemeanor Penalties
Class B misdemeanors carry lighter maximums: up to 90 days in jail, again in a local facility, and a fine of up to $500.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law PEN 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Violation4New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.05 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Violations The double-the-gain alternative applies to Class B fines too.
Common Class B Charges
Harassment in the first degree, menacing in the third degree, prostitution, criminal trespass in the third degree, issuing a bad check, public lewdness, and stalking in the fourth degree are all Class B offenses. The line between Class A and Class B often turns on whether a specific harm actually occurred. Assault in the third degree is Class A because it requires physical injury; menacing in the third degree, involving the threat rather than the injury, sits in Class B.
Unclassified Misdemeanors
Unclassified misdemeanors appear in laws outside the Penal Law: the Vehicle and Traffic Law, the Environmental Conservation Law, and various regulatory codes. Each statute sets its own jail range and fine rather than borrowing the standard Class A or Class B numbers.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 55.10 – Designation of Offenses An offense qualifies as unclassified when its statute allows more than 15 days but no more than a year in jail and never assigns a letter.
A number of criminal driving charges work this way, and their penalties may be higher or lower than the standard Class A or B ceilings. Because the numbers are custom to each statute, you have to read the specific section you are charged under rather than reason from the general misdemeanor ranges.
Surcharges Every Conviction Triggers
On top of any fine the judge imposes, every misdemeanor conviction in New York carries a $175 mandatory surcharge and a $25 crime victim assistance fee.8New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 60.35 – Mandatory Surcharge, Sex Offender Registration Fee, DNA Databank Fee, Supplemental Sex Offender Victim Fee and Crime Victim Assistance Fee That $200 total applies whether the judge imposes jail, a fine, both, or neither. Plead guilty to a Class B misdemeanor with no fine and no jail, and you still owe $200.
Sentences Other Than Jail
Jail is only one of the options a judge can impose on a misdemeanor conviction. The alternatives, and their lengths, vary by class.
Probation
A judge can sentence you to probation when confinement is not needed to protect the public and supervision would be useful. The length tracks the class: two or three years for a Class A misdemeanor and one year for a Class B misdemeanor.9New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 65.00 – Sentence of Probation Unclassified misdemeanors follow the Class A schedule if the maximum possible jail term exceeds three months, and the Class B schedule if it does not. A Class A misdemeanor sexual assault conviction carries a six-year probation term, well beyond the ordinary range.
Probation means reporting to a probation officer and following conditions the court sets, which commonly include holding a job, attending counseling, and avoiding new arrests.
Conditional and Unconditional Discharge
When neither jail nor probation is warranted, the court can impose a conditional discharge. You go home without supervision but must meet specific conditions, such as community service, restitution, or a stay-away order, for one year in a misdemeanor case.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 65.05 – Sentence of Conditional Discharge A violation or a new charge during that year lets the court revoke the discharge and resentence you. If restitution is still unpaid at the end of the year, the court can extend the period by up to two more years.
An unconditional discharge is the lightest disposition. The court releases you with no conditions and no supervision; the conviction itself remains on your record, but nothing else follows.
Federal Consequences Tied to the Class
A New York misdemeanor conviction can reach into federal law in ways the sentence itself never touches. Two areas matter most.
Firearms
Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a firearm or ammunition. The prohibition applies to any misdemeanor that involves the use or attempted use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, someone you have lived with as a partner, or someone you have dated.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts In New York, that most often means assault in the third degree or criminal obstruction of breathing charged out of a domestic incident. Possessing a firearm in violation of this ban is a federal felony punishable by up to 15 years.12Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions For a dating-relationship conviction with no other qualifying convictions, the ban can lift after five years under federal conditions; for spouses, co-parents, and other covered relationships, it is permanent unless the conviction is expunged or pardoned.
Immigration
Non-citizens face a distinct layer of risk. Federal immigration law treats certain offenses as crimes involving moral turpitude, and a single such conviction within five years of entry can make a person deportable if the offense carries a potential sentence of one year or more. Two qualifying convictions at any point after admission can trigger deportability regardless of timing. Class A misdemeanors are particularly exposed because immigration courts look at the maximum possible sentence, not the one actually imposed. The 364-day cap keeps New York Class A sentences just under the one-year line for other federal purposes, but it does not immunize every Class A conviction from immigration consequences; the elements of the offense matter alongside the sentence.
Clearing the Conviction Later
A misdemeanor conviction stays on your record unless it is sealed. New York’s Clean Slate Act, at CPL Section 160.57, provides for automatic sealing of most misdemeanor convictions three years after you finish your sentence or are released from incarceration, whichever is later.13New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 160.57 – Automatic Sealing of Convictions A new criminal conviction inside that window restarts the clock. Sex offenses and certain other categories are excluded. The law took effect in November 2024, and the courts have until November 2027 to work through the backlog, so an eligible case that has not been sealed yet is likely waiting in that queue rather than being denied.
If your conviction does not qualify for automatic sealing, you may be able to apply under CPL Section 160.59 once at least ten years have passed since your sentence or release. You can have no more than two total convictions on your record, no more than one of which is a felony, and violent felonies, sex offenses, and Class A felonies are excluded.14New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 160.59 – Sealing of Certain Convictions The district attorney has 45 days to object, and the judge decides whether sealing serves the interests of justice. Sealed records still remain accessible to law enforcement and a limited set of authorized entities, but they do not appear on the background checks most employers and landlords run.