2022 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 7 - Damage to and Intrusion Upon Property
Article 1 - Burglary
§ 16-7-1. Burglary

1. As used in this Code section, the term:
   1. “Dwelling” means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is designed or intended for occupancy for residential use.
   2. “Railroad car” shall also include trailers on flatcars, containers on flatcars, trailers on railroad property, or containers on railroad property.
2. A person commits the offense of burglary in the first degree when, without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein, he or she enters or remains within an occupied, unoccupied, or vacant dwelling house of another or any building, vehicle, railroad car, watercraft, aircraft, or other such structure designed for use as the dwelling of another. A person who commits the offense of burglary in the first degree shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years. Upon the second conviction for burglary in the first degree, the defendant shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two nor more than 20 years. Upon the third and all subsequent convictions for burglary in the first degree, the defendant shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 25 years.
3. A person commits the offense of burglary in the second degree when, without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein, he or she enters or remains within an occupied, unoccupied, or vacant building, structure, railroad car, watercraft, or aircraft. A person who commits the offense of burglary in the second degree shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. Upon the second and all subsequent convictions for burglary in the second degree, the defendant shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than eight years.
4. Upon a fourth and all subsequent convictions for a crime of burglary in any degree, adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld.

History. Laws 1833, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 790.; Ga. L. 1858, p. 98, § 1; Code 1863, §§ 4283, 4285; Ga. L. 1865-66, p. 232, § 2; Ga. L. 1866, p. 151, § 1; Ga. L. 1868, p. 16, § 1; Code 1868, §§ 4320, 4322; Code 1873, §§ 4386, 4388; Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 65, §§ 1, 2; Code 1882, §§ 4386, 4388; Penal Code 1895, §§ 149, 150; Penal Code 1910, §§ 146, 147; Code 1933, §§ 26-2401, 26-2402; Code 1933, § 26-1601, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 895, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 236, § 1; Ga. L. 1980, p. 770, § 1; Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 3-1/HB 1176; Ga. L. 2017, p. 417, § 1-2/SB 104.

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, deleted “vehicle,” following “structure,” near the end of the first sentence of subsection (c).

Cross references.

Entering motor vehicle with intent to commit theft or felony, § 16-8-18 .

Code Commission notes.

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2012, “more than” was substituted for “more that” in the next-to-last sentence of subsection (b).

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 9-1(a)/HB 1176, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2012, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense and shall be considered a prior conviction for the purpose of imposing a sentence that provides for a different penalty for a subsequent conviction for the same type of offense, of whatever degree or level, pursuant to this Act.”

Law reviews.

For article on recidivism and convictions based on nolo contendere pleas, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 723 (1979).

For article on the 2012 amendment of this Code section, see 29 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 290 (2012).

For annual survey of criminal law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 31 (2015).

For article on the 2017 amendment of this Code section, see 34 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 61 (2017).

For annual survey on criminal law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 73 (2017).