First Degree Criminal Trespass in Arizona: ARS 13-1504

Posted on September 17, 2025 in Assault & Violent Crimes

Arizona law classifies the crime of trespass into three degrees of severity. The most serious charge is first-degree criminal trespass. In this article, we consider what happens when a person commits criminal trespass in Arizona in the first degree.If you have been charged with first-degree criminal trespass under ARS 13-1504, please call AZ Defenders at (480) 456-6400.

What is Criminal First Degree Trespass Under Arizona Law?

Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 13-1504 defines what first-degree criminal trespass is. There are six ways to commit it:

• Knowingly entering or remaining in or on a residential structure.
  
• Knowingly entering or remaining in or on a fenced residential yard.
  
• Knowingly entering any residential yard without lawful authority and unlawfully looking into the residential structure thereon in reckless disregard of or infringing on the privacy of the person or people living there.
  
• Knowingly entering onto real property that is subject to a valid mineral claim or lease, intending to hold, work, take, or explore for minerals there.
  
• Knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on another person’s property, and burning, defacing, mutilating, or otherwise desecrating someone else’s religious symbol or other religious property without the express permission of the property owner.
  
• Knowingly entering or unlawfully remaining in or on a critical public service facility.

Some of these forms of trespass are easy to understand. Others require some further explanation. ARS 13-1501 contains important definitions to clarify some key terms.

What is a Residential Structure?

A residential structure is any structure adapted for human residence and lodging. It can be movable or immovable, or permanent or temporary.

It makes no difference if the structure is occupied or not when the act of trespass occurs.

What is a Fenced Residential Yard?

A fenced residential yard is real property immediately surrounding or adjacent to a residential structure that is enclosed by a fence, wall, building, or similar barrier, or any combination of fences, walls, buildings, or similar barriers.

What Does it Mean to Enter or Remain Unlawfully?

When you are on the property of another, you can be there lawfully if you are a licensee or invitee under the law.

In the context of residential property, if you enter onto or remain on someone else’s property without being licensed or otherwise authorized to do so, this is unlawful entry.

What is a Critical Public Facility?

A critical public facility is any of:

• A structure or fenced yard that has posted signage stating that it is a felony to trespass there, or which has signage indicating the existence of high voltage or high pressure there, and which is used by any of the following:
  
  • a rail, bus, air, or other provider of mass transit.
  • 
    a public or private utility.
    
  • any municipal corporation, city, town, or other political subdivision organized under Arizona law, and which generates, transmits, distributes, or otherwise provides natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, electricity, or a combustible substance for a non-retail facility.
    
  • a telecommunications carrier or telephone company.
    
  • a municipal provider that supplies water for non-irrigation use.
    
  • a law enforcement agency.
    
  • a public or private fire department.
    
  • an emergency medical service provider.
    
• A structure, or fenced yard, or any equipment or apparatus that is posted with signage stating that it is a felony to trespass there, or signage indicating the existence of high voltage or high pressure, and which is used to manufacture, extract, transport, distribute, or store natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, oil, electricity, water, or hazardous materials, except for retail-only facilities.

For purposes of critical public service facilities, separate definitions exist for what “entering” a “structure” or a “fenced yard” are.

• A nonresidential structure includes:
  
  • a building, object, vehicle, railroad car, or other place used for lodging, business, transportation, recreation, or storage, that has sides and a floor, and which can be separately secured from any other structure attached to it.
    
  • a device that accepts currency or electronic payment, that is used to conduct commercial transactions.
    
  • a vending machine.
    
• A fenced yard is real property surrounded by fences, walls, buildings, or similar barriers, or any combination of the above.
  
• Entry means putting any part of your body or any instrument inside the boundaries of a structure or onto real property.

For first-degree trespass purposes, this means that you can “enter” a vending machine or other device, such as an automated teller machine, by jamming a device into it, such as a screwdriver or a crowbar, to force it open.

What Are the Penalties for First Degree Trespass?

A conviction for first-degree criminal trespass in Arizona can be a Class 1 misdemeanor, a Class 6 felony, or a Class 5 felony. Which penalty applies depends on which of the six kinds of trespass one commits.

Class 1 Misdemeanor Offenses

The following first-degree trespass offenses are Class 1 misdemeanors:

• Entering or remaining unlawfully in a fenced residential yard.
  
• Entering any residential yard and looking into the residential structure there in reckless disregard of infringing on the inhabitant’s right of privacy.
  
• Entering unlawfully on real property that is subject to a valid mineral claim or lease with the intent to hold, work, take or explore for minerals on the claim or lease.

Class 6 Felony Offenses

The following are Class 6 felonies under the Arizona first-degree criminal trespass law:

• Entering or remaining unlawfully in or on a residential structure.
  
• Entering or remaining unlawfully on the property of another and burning, defacing, mutilating or otherwise desecrating a religious symbol or other religious property of another without the express permission of the owner of the property.

Class 5 Felony Offense

Entering or remaining unlawfully in or on a critical public service facility is a Class 5 felony.

Class 1 Misdemeanor	Class 6 Felony	Class 5 Felony
Up to six months in jail.Probation eligible.	First offense: Prison sentence of 4 months to 2 years. Probation eligible. One prior felony conviction: Prison sentence of 8 months to 2.75 years. Two prior felony convictions: Prison sentence of 2.25 to 5.75 years.	First offense: Prison sentence of 6 months to 2.5 years.Probation eligible One prior felony conviction: Prison sentence of 1 to 3.75 years. Two prior felony convictions:Prison sentence of 3 to 7.5 years.
Up to $2500 in fines, plus possible surcharges	Up to $150,000 in fines, plus applicable surcharges	Up to $150,000 in fines, plus applicable surcharges

What Defenses Exist for a Criminal Trespassing Charge?

Two main kinds of defenses are possible if you are charged with first-degree criminal trespass.

Defenses to Elements of the Crime

To convict you of criminal trespass, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that all elements of the crime are met in your case. If you can cast reasonable doubt on any of these elements, this can defeat the charge.

Elements that you can challenge include:

• Whether you knowingly committed an act of trespass. If you can persuade the jury that your trespass was inadvertent, this can be a sufficient defense.
  
• Whether the structure was a residential structure. If you can show that the structure in question was not a residential structure, then this will not necessarily mean that you cannot be convicted of a trespass offense. But it can reduce the charge from a first-degree trespass to a second-degree trespass.
  
• Whether your conduct was unlawful. If you can successfully argue that your presence on the property in question was that of a licensee or an invitee, this would make your presence lawful.

Procedural Defenses

Defenses common to many criminal cases focus on possible errors that the police made when arresting you for trespass charges. Examples of these procedural or technical defenses include:

• Lack of probable cause to arrest you for trespassing.
  
• Mistaken identity.
  
• Failure to inform you of your rights under the U.S. Constitution, like your right to remain silent or to have an attorney present during custodial questioning by the police.
  
• Failure to observe these constitutional rights, like continuing to question you when you invoke your right to remain silent or denying you the right to have an attorney with you during questioning.
  
• Errors or inaccuracies in police reports or during police investigation of the case against you.

An experienced Arizona criminal defense attorney can help you identify and aggressively implement all your available defenses in plea negotiations or at trial.

Have You Been Charged with First-Degree Criminal Trespass in Arizona?

Being convicted of criminal trespass is a serious offense under Arizona law. Even a Class 1 misdemeanor conviction can result in jail time, stiff fines, and additional punishments, including community service, possible probation, and a mark on your public record that can follow you long after you complete any time spent in jail.

For example:

• You could face difficulty getting a job.
  
• It could be harder to find a place to live.
  
• You may have trouble getting into a school of higher education, or getting a student loan.

A felony conviction carries even more substantial collateral penalties, including prison time, the loss of any Arizona professional licenses you may have, and the loss of civil rights like the ability to purchase or possess a firearm and the right to vote.

An experienced criminal defense lawyer, like one AZ Defenders can give you, can make the difference between suffering and avoiding these potential penalties.

If you have been charged with any degree of criminal trespass, we will prepare a personalized defense strategy to protect you from the serious consequences that can come with a criminal trespass conviction.

Our attorneys will review your case, gather the facts, and stand by your side throughout the trespassing case process.

Call our law office at (480) 456-6400 or use our contact form to speak with one of our attorneys and arrange for a free consultation.