A residential entry charge in Indiana is a Level 6 felony under Indiana Code 35-43-2-1.5, filed when someone knowingly or intentionally breaks and enters another person’s dwelling.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-2-1.5 – Residential Entry A conviction carries up to two and a half years in prison and fines up to $10,000, and because it is a felony, it brings a loss of firearm rights and the kind of record that follows a person through background checks for years. Judges can reduce the charge to a Class A misdemeanor in some cases, which changes the picture considerably.
What the State Has to Prove
The statute is short. A person who knowingly or intentionally breaks and enters the dwelling of another person commits residential entry.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-2-1.5 – Residential Entry Each piece carries weight.
Breaking and entering. This sounds like it requires force, but Indiana courts read it broadly. Opening an unlocked door, lifting a window, or pushing through a screen door all count. Nothing has to be damaged. The point is that some minimal barrier was overcome. Walking through a wide-open doorway where no barrier exists may not qualify, but the bar is low.
Dwelling. Under Indiana Code 35-31.5-2-107, a dwelling is a building, structure, or enclosed space, whether permanent or temporary, movable or fixed, that serves as a person’s home or place of lodging. Houses, apartments, mobile homes, hotel rooms, and even a tent someone is living in all count.
Of another person. The accused cannot have a current possessory interest in the dwelling. This is where some charges arise that defendants don’t see coming: past permission can be revoked. If you once lived in a home or had a key but no longer have the right to be there, entering can still support the charge. Previous access is not current permission.
Knowingly or intentionally. Prosecutors must prove one, not both.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-2-1.5 – Residential Entry Intentionally means you meant to enter. Knowingly means you were aware your conduct amounted to entering someone else’s dwelling. Walking into the wrong apartment in a confusing hallway would not satisfy either standard. But you do not need to know the entry was illegal, only that it was deliberate.
How Residential Entry Differs From Burglary and Trespass
Indiana has three overlapping property-entry crimes, and the differences drive the sentencing.
- Criminal trespass under IC 35-43-2-2 covers entering or refusing to leave another person’s property after being told not to. It applies to all real property, not just dwellings, and is generally a Class A misdemeanor.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-2-2 – Criminal Trespass
- Residential entry under IC 35-43-2-1.5 is specific to breaking and entering a dwelling. No intent to commit another crime inside is required. Level 6 felony.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-2-1.5 – Residential Entry
- Burglary under IC 35-43-2-1 requires breaking and entering a building or structure with the intent to commit a felony or theft inside. Burglary of a non-dwelling is a Level 5 felony, burglary of a dwelling is a Level 4, and it can reach Level 1 if someone is seriously injured.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-2-1 – Burglary
The dividing line between residential entry and burglary is intent. If prosecutors can prove the person entered to steal or commit another felony, the charge is burglary. If they can prove entry but not the additional intent, the fallback is residential entry. That dynamic is why residential entry often appears in cases that started as burglary investigations.
Penalties
As a Level 6 felony, residential entry carries a sentencing range of six months to two and a half years in prison, with an advisory sentence of one year and fines up to $10,000.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony Courts may also impose probation, community service, or other alternatives, especially for first-time offenders when no one was hurt and nothing was damaged.
Reduction to a Class A Misdemeanor
Indiana judges have discretion to enter a Level 6 felony conviction as a Class A misdemeanor at sentencing under IC 35-50-2-7(c). There is no automatic right to the reduction, and certain offenses such as domestic battery are excluded.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony The judge weighs criminal history, the circumstances of the offense, and whether justice is better served by a misdemeanor.
A separate path opens after the sentence is finished. Under IC 35-50-2-7(d), a person can petition to convert the Level 6 felony to a Class A misdemeanor at least three years after completing the sentence and all obligations. The court will grant the petition only if the person has no pending charges, no new felony or misdemeanor convictions, and was not convicted of a violent or sex offense.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
A Class A misdemeanor caps out at one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-2 – Class A Misdemeanor The more important shift is in what the conviction does to the rest of a person’s life.
What a Felony Conviction Costs Beyond the Sentence
Firearm Rights
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A Level 6 felony carries up to two and a half years, so a residential entry conviction triggers the federal ban. If the conviction is entered or later converted to a Class A misdemeanor, the federal firearms prohibition generally does not apply, because Indiana misdemeanors top out at one year rather than exceeding it.
Employment and Licensing
A felony shows up on background checks and can disqualify applicants from jobs involving access to homes, vulnerable populations, or positions of trust. Indiana prohibits licensing boards from denying a professional license solely because of a criminal conviction, but boards can consider the underlying conduct if it relates to the profession’s duties. The impact varies by field.
Defenses That Can Work
Lack of Intent
Because the statute requires knowing or intentional entry, accidental entry defeats the charge. Walking into the wrong unit in an apartment complex, entering while sleepwalking, or being too intoxicated to form the required mental state are all potential arguments. The defense does not have to prove the entry was accidental; the prosecution has to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
Right to Be Present
If the accused has a current legal right to occupy the space, as a co-tenant on the lease, a co-owner, or someone with another lawful possessory interest, the dwelling is not “of another person” under the statute. This comes up often in domestic disputes where both parties have a legal claim to the home. The question is whether the right to be there exists now, not whether it existed in the past.
Consent
If the occupant gave permission, there is no crime. The hard cases involve disputed consent, where one person says they gave permission and the other denies it, or consent given by someone without authority over the dwelling. A houseguest, for instance, probably cannot authorize entry on behalf of the homeowner.
Emergency or Necessity
Indiana recognizes justification for using force to prevent harm, and the same reasoning can extend to entry. If someone entered a dwelling to rescue a person in danger, put out a fire, or respond to screams for help, the defense can argue the entry was justified. The response has to be reasonable and proportionate. Smelling gas and going in to check is a much stronger necessity argument than hearing a vague noise.
How Long the State Has to File
Prosecutors must file a Level 6 felony residential entry charge within five years of the offense. If the case is charged as a misdemeanor, the window is two years.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-4-2 – Periods of Limitation Once the limitations period expires, the case cannot be prosecuted.
Clearing the Record Later
Residential entry convictions are eligible for expungement, but the wait is long. Under IC 35-38-9-4, a person convicted of a Level 6 felony cannot file a petition until at least eight years from the date of conviction or three years after completing the sentence, whichever comes later.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-4 – Expunging Certain Less Serious Felony Convictions The prosecutor can consent in writing to an earlier filing date, but that is discretionary.
To qualify, the petitioner must have paid all fines, fees, court costs, and restitution. No criminal charges can be pending, and the person cannot have any new felony or misdemeanor convictions within the previous eight years.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-9-4 – Expunging Certain Less Serious Felony Convictions Sex offenders and those convicted of homicide offenses are permanently barred from felony expungement, but residential entry does not fall into any excluded category.9Indiana Courts. Detailed Information on Criminal Case Expungement Most people convicted of this offense will eventually become eligible.
If the conviction was entered or later converted to a Class A misdemeanor, the path is shorter and less burdensome. Expungement does not erase the conviction entirely, since certain government agencies and law enforcement can still access sealed records, but it removes the conviction from public background checks, which is usually the practical result that matters most.