Burglary in Florida is not a synonym for theft. Florida Statute 810.02 defines it around entry and intent, and the degree turns on the kind of place entered, whether a person was inside, and whether a weapon or an assault was involved.
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Or call (813) 588-6602Florida Statute 810.02(1)(b) defines burglary as entering a dwelling, structure, or conveyance with intent to commit an offense therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the person is licensed or invited to enter. The same subsection reaches a person who remains after permission to remain has been withdrawn, or who remains surreptitiously with intent to commit an offense, or who remains with intent to commit a forcible felony as defined in Florida Statute 776.08. Nothing in the section requires that anything be taken.
Florida Statute 810.011 supplies the definitions that set the degree. A dwelling is a building or conveyance of any kind with a roof over it, designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night, together with the enclosed space of ground and outbuildings immediately surrounding it. A structure is a building of any kind, temporary or permanent, with a roof over it, together with the curtilage. A conveyance includes a motor vehicle, ship, vessel, railroad car, trailer, aircraft, or sleeping car, and the statute provides that entering a conveyance includes taking it. Whether a screened porch, a fenced yard, or a detached shed falls inside one of those definitions changes the exposure.
Subsection (2) makes burglary a felony of the first degree, punishable by a term of years not exceeding life imprisonment, where in the course of the offense the offender makes an assault or battery, or is or becomes armed within the premises with explosives or a dangerous weapon, or uses a motor vehicle as an instrumentality other than merely as a getaway vehicle and thereby damages the dwelling or structure, or causes damage to the premises or property within them exceeding $1,000.
Subsection (3) sets out the second-degree felony forms, including entering a dwelling whether occupied or not, an occupied structure, an occupied conveyance, an authorized emergency vehicle, or a structure or conveyance where the offense is theft of a controlled substance. Subsection (4) makes the offense a felony of the third degree where the offender makes no assault or battery, is not and does not become armed with a dangerous weapon or explosive, and enters a structure or a conveyance with no other person inside.
Florida Statute 775.087 reclassifies certain felonies where a weapon or firearm was carried, displayed, used, threatened, or attempted to be used during commission of the offense, moving a first-degree felony to a life felony, a second-degree felony to the first degree, and a third-degree felony to the second degree. The same statute imposes a mandatory minimum term of 10 years for actual possession of a firearm or destructive device during commission of listed felonies, with a 3-year minimum specified for burglary of a conveyance. A weapon allegation is therefore not an aggravating detail; it can change both the degree and the floor of a sentence.
Administrative Order S-2024-030 of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit assigns first appearance hearings, felony bond and release motions in matters not yet assigned to a division, adversary preliminary proceedings, and all pretrial detention hearings to Criminal Division "O," conducted by audiovisual device and electronically recorded. Administrative Order S-2025-063 excludes burglary arrests from booking-officer release under the uniform bond schedule and states that the schedule binds only the booking officer, not a judge.
This page is general information about Florida burglary statutes and local court procedure. It is not legal advice and analyzes no set of facts. A person facing a burglary charge should speak with a licensed Florida attorney about the specific subsection of 810.02 alleged.
Burglary Charges in Florida: Entry, Intent and Degree in Tampa. Call (813) 588-6602 and a Tampa lawyer reviews the claim and the deadline that applies. Nothing is signed on that call.
Call (813) 588-6602Administrative Order S-2025-063 of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit adopts the statewide uniform bond schedule for Hillsborough County without change, effective January 1 through December 31, 2026. The order states the schedule applies only to the booking officer and does not bind a judge. It also excludes a long list of arrests: capital, life, first- and second-degree felonies, homicide, felony battery, domestic battery by strangulation, and domestic violence under Florida Statutes 741.28. The list continues with stalking, robbery, burglary, carjacking, kidnapping, trafficking in a controlled substance, and violation of a protective injunction. It reaches anyone on pretrial release, probation or community control at the time of a felony arrest, and anyone arrested three or more times in the preceding six months.
Why it matters: It decides whether anyone can be bonded out at the jail counter or has to wait for a judge. For every excluded charge there is no pre-first-appearance release, and the judge then makes an individualized determination under Florida Statutes 903.011(6) and 903.046 and Rule 3.131. Prior supervision status and recent arrest history change the answer even when the charge itself is minor.
Source: fljud13.org
The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court states that after a felony arrest the county jail sends the initial paperwork to the Clerk's felony department. That department prepares the official court file, including the original arrest document and any release forms, and forwards it to the Office of the State Attorney. The State Attorney then determines whether to file formal charges. Once charges are filed with the Clerk, the defendant is notified by mail of an arraignment date, sent to the address provided at the time of arrest, and the bail bond agent is also notified if the defendant bonded out. The felony department cannot change a court date once notice has gone out.
Why it matters: An arrest is not a filed charge, and the gap between them is where people assume a case has gone away. The notice that resumes it goes to whatever address was recorded at booking, so anyone who moved, or who gave a temporary address, can miss a court date they never saw. Missing it does not pause the case.
Source: hillsclerk.com
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130 requires that every arrested person not already released in a lawful manner be taken before a judicial officer within 24 hours of arrest, in person or by electronic audiovisual device at the court's discretion. At that hearing the judge must state the charge, provide a copy of the complaint, and advise the person of the right to remain silent and the right to counsel. Rule 3.133 sets a separate 48-hour limit for a nonadversary probable cause determination when the defendant is in custody.
Why it matters: In Hillsborough County that hearing is normally run by video link from the county jail, and release conditions are addressed at it. Rule 3.130(c)(2) also requires the judge to allow a defendant who is hiring counsel reasonable time to send for that lawyer and, on request, to have an officer carry a message to a named lawyer inside the county at no cost. That makes the first day after an arrest the point at which counsel matters most.
Source: flcourts.gov
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