What Qualifies as a Misdemeanor Under Florida Law?

Under Florida law, a misdemeanor is any criminal offense punishable by up to one year in a county jail. The state sorts these offenses into two degrees: first-degree misdemeanors, which carry up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, and second-degree misdemeanors, which carry up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. Anything that can send you to state prison for longer than a year is a felony, not a misdemeanor.

The One-Year Jail Line

Florida Statute 775.08 divides every criminal offense into three categories: felonies, misdemeanors, and noncriminal violations. The dividing line between a misdemeanor and a felony is where you serve time and for how long. A misdemeanor sentence is served in a county correctional facility and cannot exceed one year. A felony sentence is served in a state penitentiary and can run longer than a year, up to and including a death sentence in the most serious cases.¹

Noncriminal violations sit below misdemeanors. They are punishable only by a fine or civil penalty and do not create a criminal record.¹ Most routine traffic tickets fall there. A misdemeanor is different: a conviction goes on your criminal record and stays publicly accessible.

The Two Degrees and What They Carry

Florida recognizes two classes of misdemeanor, and the degree sets the ceiling on both jail time and the fine.

Those numbers are statutory maximums, not standard sentences. A judge can impose less, and many misdemeanor sentences involve probation, community service, or a treatment program instead of the full jail term. Courts also tack on surcharges and court costs that regularly push the real out-of-pocket cost above the listed fine.

Charges That Fall on Each Side

Seeing which offenses land in each degree is the fastest way to gauge where a charge sits.

First-Degree Misdemeanors

Simple battery. Intentionally touching or striking another person against their will, or intentionally causing bodily harm.⁴
Petit theft, first degree. Stealing property valued between $100 and $750, or stealing any property if you already have a prior theft conviction.⁵
Possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis. The statute carves out cannabis resin and concentrates, which carry harsher penalties.⁶
DUI, first offense. A fine between $500 and $1,000, up to six months in jail, and mandatory probation with at least 50 hours of community service. The exposure increases if your blood-alcohol level reaches 0.15 or a child under 18 is in the vehicle.⁷

Second-Degree Misdemeanors

Disorderly conduct. Conduct that breaches the peace, corrupts public morals, or outrages public decency.⁸
Disorderly intoxication. Being intoxicated in public to a degree that endangers yourself or others.⁹
Petit theft, second degree. Stealing property worth less than $100 with no prior theft convictions.⁵
First-offense driving on a suspended license. Knowingly driving after your license has been suspended, revoked, or canceled.¹⁰

When a Misdemeanor Moves Up a Level

A charge that looks like a misdemeanor on paper does not always stay one. Prior convictions and the circumstances of the offense can push it up a level.

Repeat offenses escalate automatically. A second conviction for driving on a suspended license becomes a first-degree misdemeanor.¹⁰ A second theft conviction of any kind becomes a first-degree misdemeanor; a third becomes a third-degree felony.⁵

Florida law also reclassifies certain misdemeanors upward based on how the crime was carried out. A second-degree misdemeanor becomes a first-degree misdemeanor, and a first-degree misdemeanor becomes a third-degree felony, when any of the following apply:

Evidence shows the offense was motivated by prejudice based on the victim’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or age.¹¹
You concealed your identity with a mask, hood, or similar device while committing the offense.¹¹
The offense was motivated by prejudice against the victim’s mental or physical disability.¹¹
The offense took place on the grounds of a church, synagogue, mosque, or similar institution.¹¹

This matters because reclassification can turn a jail-level charge into a prison-level one. A bar fight charged as first-degree misdemeanor battery can become a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in state prison if prosecutors prove it was motivated by bias.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File

Florida sets short deadlines for charging misdemeanors. The state must file charges within two years of a first-degree misdemeanor and within one year of a second-degree misdemeanor.¹² If the state misses the window, the case is barred. The clock starts when the offense is committed, not when it is discovered, unless a specific statutory exception applies.

What a Conviction Costs After Sentencing

The formal sentence is often the smaller part of the story. A misdemeanor conviction creates a public criminal record, and that record can affect your life in ways the courtroom never addresses.

Employment and Housing

Most employers run background checks, and a misdemeanor can disqualify you from positions in healthcare, education, finance, and other regulated fields. Landlords screen applicants the same way. Expunged or sealed records generally need not be disclosed, but an open conviction is visible to anyone who looks.

Professional Licensing

Florida licensing boards can deny, suspend, or revoke a professional license based on a misdemeanor conviction, particularly where the offense involved dishonesty, substance abuse, or violence. Even a second-degree misdemeanor can trigger a disciplinary review for a license holder.

Firearm Rights

Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition. The ban applies regardless of what the state called the charge; what matters is whether the offense involved the use of force against a spouse, former spouse, parent, or similar household member.¹³ A simple battery conviction under Florida Statute 784.03 can trigger the ban if the victim fits that definition.

Clearing a Misdemeanor From Your Record

Florida offers two ways to clean up a criminal record: sealing and expungement. Sealing hides the record from most public searches but preserves it for law enforcement and certain government agencies. Expungement physically destroys the record, with narrow exceptions. Expungement is the stronger remedy, so the eligibility bar is higher.

Sealing generally requires that adjudication was withheld, that you have never been adjudicated guilty of any criminal offense in Florida, that you have never sealed or expunged a record before, and that the offense is not on the ineligible list, which includes battery, assault, petit theft, and carrying a concealed weapon, among others.¹⁴ Expungement is generally available only where charges were never filed, were dropped, or were dismissed; otherwise you typically need to seal the record first and wait ten years before petitioning for expungement.¹⁵ Florida allows only one court-ordered sealing or expungement per lifetime, so the choice of when and how to use it matters.¹⁶

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.08 – Classes and Definitions of Offenses
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Sentences
3
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 775.083 – Fines
4
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 784.03 – Battery; Felony Battery
5
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 812.014 – Theft
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 893.13 – Prohibited Acts; Penalties
7
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 316.193 – Driving Under the Influence
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 877.03 – Breach of the Peace; Disorderly Conduct
9
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 856.011 – Disorderly Intoxication
10
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 322.34 – Driving While License Suspended, Revoked, Canceled, or Disqualified
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 775 – Definitions; General Penalties; Registration of Criminals
12
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 775.15 – Time Limitations
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
14
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 943.059 – Court-Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records
15
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records
16
FDLE. Applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for Court-Ordered Sealing or Expunging