The New York Penal Code, formally called the Penal Law, is the state statute that defines every criminal offense in New York and sets the punishment for each one. It sorts conduct into three tiers (felony, misdemeanor, and violation), spells out the mental states a prosecutor has to prove, lays out defenses like self-defense and entrapment, and fixes the sentence ranges that attach to each class of crime.
How the Code Is Structured
The Penal Law is divided into four parts. Part 1 holds the general provisions: definitions, rules of interpretation, and the culpability standards that run through the rest of the code. Part 2 governs sentencing, including prison terms, fines, probation, and alternative dispositions. Part 3 is the largest section and contains every specific offense, from assault to weapons possession. Part 4 handles administrative and miscellaneous rules.
If you are looking up a specific charge, Part 3 is almost always where it lives. If you are trying to figure out what a conviction will cost, Part 2 is the one you want.
Felony, Misdemeanor, or Violation
Every prohibited act in New York falls into one of three tiers, and the tier controls both the possible punishment and whether a conviction leaves you with a permanent criminal record. Section 10.00 draws the line: a “crime” means only a felony or a misdemeanor. A violation is technically a non-criminal offense.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 10.00 – Definitions of Terms of General Use in This Chapter
Felonies
Felonies are the most serious category and carry the possibility of state prison. Section 55.05 breaks them into five classes for sentencing: A, B, C, D, and E, with Class A further split into A-I and A-II.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 55.05 – Classifications of Felonies and Misdemeanors A Class A-I felony like first-degree murder can carry life. A Class E felony, the lowest tier, caps at four years.
Misdemeanors
Misdemeanors are less severe but still produce a criminal record. They come in three forms: Class A, Class B, and unclassified.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 55.10 – Designation of Offenses A Class A misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. A Class B misdemeanor carries up to 3 months in jail and a $500 fine. Unclassified misdemeanors follow whatever sentence the defining statute specifies, with jail time capped at 364 days.4New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
Violations
A violation is any offense, other than a traffic infraction, where imprisonment cannot exceed fifteen days. The maximum fine is $250.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 80.05 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Violations Because violations are not crimes, they do not produce a criminal record. This matters more than people assume. Disorderly conduct, for instance, is a violation rather than a crime, so it does not follow you the way a misdemeanor would.
One boundary worth flagging: the Penal Law no longer treats most marijuana possession as a criminal matter. New York legalized recreational cannabis in 2021 through the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which removed marijuana from the Penal Law’s controlled-substance framework for adults possessing small amounts, and many prior convictions have been expunged. The controlled-substance article still applies in full to cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and illegally obtained prescription drugs.
The Mental States That Decide Which Charge Applies
Almost every charge in New York requires the prosecution to prove a specific mental state, called culpability. Section 15.05 defines four levels, and the same physical act can be a different crime depending on which one applied.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 15.05 – Culpability; Definitions of Culpable Mental States
- Intentionally: you acted with the conscious goal of causing the result. The highest bar for prosecutors.
- Knowingly: you were aware your conduct was of a certain nature or that a certain circumstance existed, even if you did not want the result.
- Recklessly: you were aware of a serious risk and ignored it, and ignoring it was a gross departure from how a reasonable person would behave.
- Criminal negligence: you failed to notice a serious risk you should have noticed. A reckless person sees the danger and plows ahead; a negligent person never perceives it at all despite the fact that any reasonable person would.
An assault charge, for example, can be based on intentional conduct, recklessness, or criminal negligence, and each version carries a different degree and penalty.
Offenses Against the Person
Crimes involving physical harm or the threat of it account for the most severe penalties in the code.
Article 120 covers assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, stalking, and hazing. Third-degree assault, the lowest degree, applies when someone intentionally causes physical injury, recklessly causes physical injury, or causes physical injury through criminal negligence with a weapon.7New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 120.00 – Assault in the Third Degree Higher degrees involve more serious injuries, weapons, or particularly vulnerable victims. Menacing and reckless endangerment can apply even when no one is hurt, as long as the conduct created a genuine risk of injury.
Article 125 covers homicide. At the top is first-degree murder, a Class A-I felony. Below it sit second-degree murder, aggravated murder, two degrees of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide.8New York State Senate. New York Penal Code Article 125 – Homicide and Related Offenses The difference between murder and manslaughter often turns on whether the person intended to kill, acted recklessly under extreme emotional disturbance, or was criminally negligent.
Article 130 defines sex offenses based on the absence of consent and the means used to commit the act. The code recognizes several ways a person can be unable to consent, including being physically helpless, mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or below the age of consent.9New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 130.00 – Sex Offenses; Definitions of Terms These offenses carry some of the harshest penalties in the code and trigger sex-offender registration requirements that last well beyond any prison sentence.
Offenses Against Property
Property offenses are graded by value, by whether force was involved, and by the type of property targeted.
Larceny under Article 155 means taking someone’s property with intent to deprive the owner of it.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 155.05 – Larceny; Defined Petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor, covers thefts of $1,000 or less. Grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, kicks in above $1,000.11New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 155.30 – Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree Higher degrees apply at higher dollar amounts or when the property is of a particular type, such as a motor vehicle. Grand larceny in the first degree, involving property worth more than $1 million, is a Class B felony.
Burglary under Article 140 is entering or remaining unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime inside.12New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 140.20 – Burglary in the Third Degree Third-degree burglary is a Class D felony. The charge escalates to the second degree when the building is a dwelling or when the person is armed or causes injury, and to first-degree, a Class B felony, when a dwelling is combined with a weapon or injury.
Robbery under Article 160 is larceny committed through the use or threat of immediate physical force.13New York State Senate. New York Penal Code PEN 160.00 – Robbery; Defined Every degree of robbery is a violent felony. Third-degree robbery is a Class D felony. The charge rises when the defendant has an accomplice, causes injury, or uses a weapon, topping out at first-degree robbery as a Class B violent felony.
Arson under Article 150 runs through five degrees, from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class A-I felony.14New York State Senate. New York Penal Code Article 150 – Arson First-degree arson applies when a person starts a fire or explosion that damages a building using an explosive device, or when the conduct is committed under circumstances where another person could be present.
Public Order Offenses
Article 240 covers conduct that disrupts public peace. Disorderly conduct is a violation. Harassment ranges from a violation at the second degree to a Class B misdemeanor at the first degree. Aggravated harassment, which typically involves targeting someone based on protected characteristics, can be a felony. Rioting is addressed in two degrees.15New York State Senate. New York Penal Code Article 240 – Offenses Against Public Order
Article 265 is one of the most active areas of New York criminal law. Criminal possession of a weapon ranges from the fourth degree (a Class A misdemeanor for items like certain knives or electronic stun guns) to the first degree (a Class B violent felony for possessing an explosive substance with intent to use). Possessing a loaded firearm outside your home or business without a license is a Class C violent felony under the second-degree charge. The article also addresses sales to minors, ghost guns, undetectable firearms, and rapid-fire modification devices.16New York State Senate. New York Penal Code Article 265 – Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons A felony conviction under Article 265 also triggers a federal firearms ban under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g).
Defenses That Can Beat a Charge
The code doesn’t just define offenses. It also establishes when otherwise criminal conduct is legally justified. Two defenses come up most often.
Self-Defense
Section 35.15 allows you to use physical force when you reasonably believe it is necessary to defend yourself or another person from what you reasonably believe is an imminent use of unlawful force.17New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 35.15 – Justification; Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person The key word is “reasonably.” The law measures your perception against what a reasonable person in your position would believe, not just what you personally felt.
Deadly force is held to a higher standard. You can use it only when you reasonably believe the other person is about to use deadly force, or is committing or attempting to commit a kidnapping, forcible rape, forcible sexual assault, or robbery. Even then, New York imposes a duty to retreat. If you know you can avoid the confrontation with complete safety by withdrawing, you must do so. The main exception is your own home. If you are in your dwelling and you are not the initial aggressor, you have no duty to retreat before using deadly force.
Self-defense fails if you provoked the confrontation intending to injure someone, or if you were the initial aggressor. An initial aggressor can regain the right to self-defense only by clearly withdrawing and communicating that withdrawal to the other person.
Entrapment
Section 40.05 provides an affirmative defense of entrapment. You can raise it if a government agent or someone working with one actively encouraged you to commit the offense, and the methods they used created a substantial risk that a person who was not otherwise inclined to commit the crime would have done so anyway.18New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 40.05 – Entrapment Simply giving someone the opportunity to commit a crime is not entrapment. The defense requires active inducement beyond what a law-abiding person could resist, and because it is an affirmative defense, the defendant bears the burden of proving it.
What a Conviction Can Cost You
The punishment for any conviction depends on the offense classification. Article 70 governs imprisonment for felonies, Article 70.15 covers misdemeanors, and Article 80 addresses fines. The distinction between indeterminate and determinate sentences controls whether a parole board or a fixed calendar decides when someone gets out.
Felony Sentences
Most non-violent felonies carry indeterminate sentences. The judge sets a minimum and maximum term, and the parole board decides the actual release date somewhere in that range. The statutory maximums are:
- Class A felony: up to life imprisonment. For Class A-I felonies, the minimum must be at least 15 years and no more than 25 years. For Class A-II felonies, the minimum ranges from 3 years to 8 years and 4 months.
- Class B felony: up to 25 years.
- Class C felony: up to 15 years.
- Class D felony: up to 7 years.
- Class E felony: up to 4 years.
For all felonies below Class A, the minimum cannot be less than 1 year or more than one-third of the maximum the court imposes.19New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
Violent felony offenses follow different rules under Section 70.02. Class B and C violent felonies receive determinate sentences, meaning a fixed term with no range. A Class B violent felony carries at least 5 years and up to 25 years. A Class C violent felony carries at least 3.5 years and up to 15 years.20New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 70.02 – Sentence of Imprisonment for a Violent Felony Offense The practical effect is longer mandatory minimums and no parole-board discretion over the core sentence.
Misdemeanor and Violation Sentences
Misdemeanor sentences are definite, meaning the judge sets a fixed term. A Class A misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. A Class B misdemeanor carries up to 3 months in jail and a $500 fine. A violation can result in up to 15 days in jail and a $250 fine. The 364-day cap on Class A misdemeanors is deliberate. It keeps the sentence one day below a full year, which can matter for immigration consequences.
What Happens After the Sentence
The formal sentence is rarely the end of the story. A criminal conviction in New York can trigger restrictions that outlast any jail term or probation period. Common collateral consequences include loss of firearm rights after a felony, ineligibility for certain professional licenses, bars on working with children or vulnerable populations, sex-offender registration requirements, and difficulties with housing and employment applications. These consequences are not imposed by a judge at sentencing. They attach automatically by operation of other state and federal laws.
New York has taken steps to limit the long-term burden. The Clean Slate Act, signed in 2023, provides for automatic sealing of eligible convictions after a waiting period. Misdemeanor convictions become eligible three years after the sentence is complete. Felony convictions become eligible after eight years.21New York State Senate. New York State Senate Bill 2023-S7551A – Clean Slate Act Sealed records generally do not appear on standard background checks.
Not every conviction qualifies. Class A felonies other than drug offenses are excluded, as are sex offenses requiring registration. You also cannot have a pending criminal charge or be under active parole or probation supervision for the conviction you want sealed.