New York Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass Laws (2026)

New York treats disorderly conduct as a violation, not a crime. Under Penal Law 240.20, it covers fighting, unreasonable noise, abusive language in a public place, obstructing traffic, refusing a police order to disperse and similar acts, but only when the person acts with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creates that risk. The maximum sentence is 15 days in jail and a $250 fine.

Trespass climbs a ladder by place and weapon. Simple trespass (Penal Law 140.05) is also a violation. Criminal trespass in the third degree (140.10) is a class B misdemeanor, the second degree (140.15, mainly dwellings) is a class A misdemeanor, and only criminal trespass in the first degree (140.17), which requires a weapon or a loaded-gun combination inside a building, is a felony. For other states, see our guide to disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers New York's state statutes on disorderly conduct and related public-order offenses (Penal Law Article 240), trespass and criminal trespass (Penal Law Article 140), and the trespass rules in the Environmental Conservation Law, Railroad Law and Vehicle and Traffic Law. It does not cover local noise ordinances and quiet hours (see New York noise ordinance laws), the civil procedure for removing squatters (see New York squatters' rights), use of force against an intruder (see New York self-defense laws), civil trespass lawsuits, local ordinances or federal property rules.

What is disorderly conduct in New York?

Penal Law 240.20 is one section with seven numbered forms of conduct and a single mental state that applies to all of them. It opens:

"A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof: ..." (N.Y. Penal Law 240.20)

The seven forms, in the statute's order, are:

1. Engaging in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior.
2. Making unreasonable noise.
3. In a public place, using abusive or obscene language, or making an obscene gesture.
4. Without lawful authority, disturbing any lawful assembly or meeting of persons.
5. Obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
6. Congregating with other persons in a public place and refusing to comply with a lawful order of the police to disperse.
7. Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose.

The noise form is one line of the statute; quiet hours and decibel limits come from local codes, covered on our New York noise ordinance laws page. Fighting can overlap with assault charges, which our New York assault and battery laws page covers. Striking, shoving or kicking someone with intent to harass, annoy or alarm them is harassment in the second degree (240.26), also a violation.

Refusing to disperse is not a separate offense in New York. It is subdivision 6 of the disorderly conduct statute, and it requires both congregating with others in a public place and refusing a lawful police order.

What counts as a public place

Only the abusive-language form (subdivision 3) and the dispersal form (subdivision 6) name a public place. Penal Law 240.00(1) defines the term for all of Article 240:

"'Public place' means a place to which the public or a substantial group of persons has access, and includes, but is not limited to, highways, transportation facilities, schools, places of amusement, parks, playgrounds, community centers, and hallways, lobbies and other portions of apartment houses and hotels not constituting rooms or apartments designed for actual residence." (N.Y. Penal Law 240.00(1))

A violation, not a crime

The statute ends: "Disorderly conduct is a violation." Penal Law 10.00 sets out what that means. A violation is an offense "for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of fifteen days cannot be imposed," and a "crime" means only "a misdemeanor or a felony" (10.00(3), (6)). So disorderly conduct is an offense under New York law, but it is not a crime in the Penal Law's own definition.

The penalty limits are in Penal Law 70.15(4), which caps a jail sentence for a violation at 15 days, and 80.05(4), which caps the fine at $250.

Penal Law 240.20 contains no prior-conviction upgrade: a repeat disorderly conduct conviction is still a violation under that section.

The public harm requirement: People v. Baker

New York's highest court has read the mental state in 240.20 as requiring harm to the public, not just to one person. In People v. Baker, 20 N.Y.3d 354 (2013), the Court of Appeals said that "critical to a charge of disorderly conduct is a finding that defendant's disruptive statements and behavior were of a public rather than an individual dimension," and that this requirement "stems from the mens rea component, which requires proof of an intent to threaten public safety, peace or order (or the reckless creation of such a risk)."

Quoting its earlier decision in People v. Weaver, the court said a person "may be guilty of disorderly conduct only when the situation extends beyond the exchange between the individual disputants to a point where it becomes a potential or immediate public problem." Applying that element, the court held that the defendant's arrest for disorderly conduct in Baker was not supported by probable cause because of insufficient proof of public harm. The court did not decide the First Amendment arguments raised in the case.

Related public-order offenses in New York

Article 240 of the Penal Law groups many offenses beside disorderly conduct. These are the main ones; the list is not the whole article.

Riot, inciting to riot and unlawful assembly

• Riot in the second degree (240.05) is engaging in "tumultuous and violent conduct," simultaneously with four or more other persons, that intentionally or recklessly causes or creates a grave risk of causing public alarm. It is a class A misdemeanor.
• Riot in the first degree (240.06) requires ten or more other persons and that, as a result, someone other than a participant suffers physical injury or substantial property damage occurs. A second form applies inside a correctional facility. It is a class E felony.
• Inciting to riot (240.08) is urging ten or more persons to engage in tumultuous and violent conduct of a kind likely to create public alarm. It is a class A misdemeanor.
• Unlawful assembly (240.10) is assembling with four or more other persons to engage or prepare to engage in tumultuous and violent conduct likely to cause public alarm, or remaining at such an assembly with intent to advance that purpose. It is a class B misdemeanor.

Disrupting a religious service, funeral or place of worship

• Disruption or disturbance of a religious service, funeral, burial or memorial service (240.21) is making unreasonable noise or disturbance at a lawfully assembled service, "or within three hundred feet thereof," with intent to cause annoyance or alarm or recklessly creating a risk of it. It is a class A misdemeanor.
• Criminal interference with access to a place of religious worship (240.69) took effect May 26, 2026. It applies to conduct aimed at an individual who was or is seeking to enter or leave a place of religious worship, and has two forms: knowingly or intentionally obstructing or interfering with the entryway or exit to make that person's passage "unreasonably difficult or hazardous," or, "within fifty feet from a place of religious worship," knowingly or intentionally engaging in a course of conduct that places that person "in reasonable fear for their safety." The 50 feet attaches only to the second form. The section also preserves the power of police to set security perimeters, including ones that extend beyond 50 feet. It is a class B misdemeanor.
• A "place of religious worship" is defined in new Penal Law 240.00(8) to include its entrance, entryway, exit, parking lot, parking lot entrance, driveway, driveway entrance, or sidewalk that touches it, and community centers that meet the definition.
• Criminal interference with health care services or religious worship in the second degree (240.70) covers using force, threat of force or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or interfere with a person obtaining or providing reproductive health services, or seeking to exercise religious freedom at a place of religious worship, and intentionally damaging the property of such a health care facility or of a place of religious worship. It is a class A misdemeanor.

Loitering

Penal Law 240.35 now lists only three forms of loitering, each a violation:

• loitering or remaining in a public place to gamble with cards, dice or other gambling paraphernalia (subdivision 2);
• loitering or remaining in or about school grounds, a college or university building or grounds, a children's overnight camp or summer day camp, or entering a school bus, without a reason involving custody of or responsibility for a student, or another specific, legitimate reason, and without written permission (subdivision 5); and
• loitering in a transportation facility, unless specifically authorized, to sell goods or services or to entertain people by singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument (subdivision 6).

Loitering in the first degree (240.36) is loitering or remaining in any place with one or more persons to unlawfully use or possess a controlled substance. It is a class B misdemeanor.

The masked-loitering subdivision of 240.35 was repealed in 2020, and the separate offense of loitering for the purpose of prostitution (240.37) was repealed in 2021 (see recent changes below).

Public intoxication

Article 240 has no offense for being drunk in public. Its only intoxication offense, Penal Law 240.40, covers appearing in a public place "under the influence of narcotics or a drug other than alcohol to the degree that he may endanger himself or other persons or property, or annoy persons in his vicinity." It is a violation. Conduct while drunk can still fall under 240.20 if it meets one of the seven forms and the mental state.

Criminal nuisance

Criminal nuisance in the second degree (240.45) is knowingly or recklessly creating or maintaining a condition that endangers the safety or health of a considerable number of persons, or knowingly conducting or maintaining premises where persons gather to engage in unlawful conduct. It is a class B misdemeanor.

Criminal nuisance in the first degree (240.46) is knowingly running premises where people gather for certain unlawful sales of controlled substances (sections 220.39, 220.41 or 220.43) and benefiting from it. It is a class E felony.

False reports and false bombs

• Falsely reporting an incident in the third degree (240.50) is, knowing the information to be false or baseless, starting or spreading a false report or warning of a crime, catastrophe or emergency where public alarm or inconvenience is not unlikely; falsely reporting a catastrophe or emergency to an emergency agency; gratuitously giving police a false report of an offense or incident; or making certain false reports of child abuse or maltreatment or of abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person. It is a class A misdemeanor.
• Falsely reporting an incident in the second degree (240.55) covers knowingly false reports or warnings of a fire, explosion or release of a hazardous substance. It is a class E felony.
• Falsely reporting an incident in the first degree (240.60) covers a repeat second-degree offense; certain false reports after which an emergency worker or volunteer firefighter or ambulance worker, or another person in an emergency-vehicle accident, is killed or seriously injured; and a false fire, explosion or hazardous-substance report about school grounds, a stadium or arena, a mass transportation facility, an enclosed mall, a public building or a public place where people are likely present. It is a class D felony.
• Placing a false bomb or hazardous substance is a class E felony in the second degree (240.61), and a class D felony in the first degree (240.62) when the fake device is placed on school grounds, in a public building or in a public place.

Curfews during a local emergency

During a declared local state of emergency, Executive Law 24 lets the local chief executive order a curfew and control pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Knowingly violating such an order is a class B misdemeanor (Executive Law 24(5)).

Camping

Penal Law Articles 140 and 240 contain no offense for camping or sleeping on public property.

Criminal trespass in New York

New York has four trespass grades in Penal Law Article 140. The base offense, trespass, is "knowingly" entering or remaining unlawfully in or upon premises. Each higher grade adds a type of property, or a weapon.

When you are told to leave

Whether entry is unlawful turns on the definition of "enter or remain unlawfully" in Penal Law 140.00(5): a person enters or remains unlawfully "when he is not licensed or privileged to do so." For a store or other place open to the public, the statute says:

"A person who, regardless of his intent, enters or remains in or upon premises which are at the time open to the public does so with license and privilege unless he defies a lawful order not to enter or remain, personally communicated to him by the owner of such premises or other authorized person." (N.Y. Penal Law 140.00(5))

The same subdivision provides that permission to be in a building that is only partly open to the public does not extend to the part that is not open to the public.

What counts as notice, and is there a purple paint law?

New York's trespass statutes contain no purple paint provision. Penal Law 140.00(5) recognizes notice that is personally communicated and notice "given by posting in a conspicuous manner," and 140.10(a) treats property "fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders" as its own category. Neither section, nor the posting rules in Environmental Conservation Law 11-2111, contains a colored paint-mark rule. Assembly bill A2165 (2025-2026 session) proposes one; a bill is not law.

For open land, the statute sets this rule:

"A person who enters or remains upon unimproved and apparently unused land, which is neither fenced nor otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders, does so with license and privilege unless notice against trespass is personally communicated to him by the owner of such land or other authorized person, or unless such notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner." (N.Y. Penal Law 140.00(5))

Penal Law 140.00(5) does not set a size or spacing for trespass signs. Detailed sign rules exist only for land posted against hunting, trapping and fishing under the Environmental Conservation Law (below).

For schools, 140.00(5) provides that a person in or about a school building without written permission from someone authorized to give it, and without a legitimate reason (such as custody of or responsibility for an enrolled student, or school business), is there "without license and privilege."

Key definitions

• Premises includes buildings and any real property (140.00(1)).
• Building has its ordinary meaning and also includes any structure, vehicle or watercraft used for overnight lodging or for carrying on business, any structure used as an elementary or secondary school, and an enclosed motor truck or truck trailer. Each separately secured or occupied unit counts as its own building (140.00(2)).
• Dwelling means "a building which is usually occupied by a person lodging therein at night" (140.00(3)).

Trespass: Penal Law 140.05

"A person is guilty of trespass when he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in or upon premises. Trespass is a violation." Like disorderly conduct, it carries up to 15 days and a fine of up to $250. This is the grade that covers remaining in a place open to the public after a lawful order to leave, personally communicated, when none of the higher grades applies.

Criminal trespass in the third degree: Penal Law 140.10

Third-degree criminal trespass is knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building or on real property that falls into one of these categories:

• (a) property "fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders";
• (b) a building used as an elementary or secondary school, or a children's overnight camp or summer day camp, in violation of conspicuously posted rules governing entry and use;
• (c) and (d) an elementary or secondary school, in violation of a personally communicated request to leave from the principal, custodian or other person in charge (outside a city of more than one million people, the list also includes a school board member or trustee);
• (e) and (f) a public housing project, in violation of conspicuously posted rules, or of a personally communicated request to leave from a housing police officer or other person in charge; and
• (g) a railroad or rapid transit right-of-way or yard "which has been designated and conspicuously posted as a no-trespass railroad zone."

It is a class B misdemeanor: up to 3 months and a fine of up to $500.

Criminal trespass in the second degree: Penal Law 140.15

Second-degree criminal trespass is knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a dwelling. A second form applies to a person required to register under Correction Law article 6-C and designated a level two or level three offender who enters or remains in a public or private elementary, parochial, intermediate, junior high, vocational or high school knowing that the victim of the registrable offense attends or attended it. The statute exempts lawfully registered students, student participants in school events, parents or guardians attending their child's event, voting at the school as a polling place, and entry for purposes the superintendent or chief administrator authorizes. It is a class A misdemeanor: up to 364 days and a fine of up to $1,000.

Criminal trespass in the first degree: Penal Law 140.17

First-degree criminal trespass is the only felony grade. It requires knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building and, in the course of doing so:

1. possessing, or knowing that another participant possesses, an explosive or a deadly weapon; or
2. possessing a firearm, rifle or shotgun and also possessing or having readily accessible ammunition that can be discharged from it; or
3. knowing that another participant possesses a firearm, rifle or shotgun under the circumstances in item 2.

It is a class D felony, with a maximum term of up to 7 years.

Trespass versus burglary

Burglary in the third degree (Penal Law 140.20) is knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building "with intent to commit a crime therein." That intent is what separates it from trespass. It is a class D felony.

Railroad tracks and yards

The railroad form of third-degree criminal trespass (140.10(g)) is not statewide. Railroad Law 83-b authorizes only a city with a population of one million or more and the counties of Monroe, Nassau and Suffolk to designate rail rights-of-way or yards as no-trespass railroad zones by local law, with conspicuous posting. Outside a designated, posted zone, 140.10(g) does not apply.

Railroad Law 83 provides that no person other than those connected with or employed upon the railroad shall walk upon or along its tracks; where tracks are laid across or along streets or highways, a person may walk on them only when necessary to cross. Separately, Railroad Law 83-a makes it a violation to operate a motor vehicle, snowmobile, ATV or motorcycle, or to ride, lead or drive an animal, on posted abandoned railroad property or on or along an operating railroad's tracks or within its fences or guards. The fine is $100 to $250, and $250 to $500 for a second or later conviction.

Schools

Besides the school forms of 140.10 and the school-grounds loitering offense in 240.35(5), Education Law 2801 requires every school district and BOCES to adopt a code of conduct for school property and school functions that governs visitors as well as students and staff, including provisions for removing "students and other persons who violate the code." The code is not itself a criminal offense.

Posted hunting, trapping and fishing land

Environmental Conservation Law Title 21 of Article 11 has its own posting system for land protected against hunting, trapping and fishing:

• Signs (11-2111(1), (2)): at least 11 by 11 inches, with a conspicuous statement covering at least 80 square inches, posted not more than 660 feet apart along the boundaries, with at least one sign on each side and on each side of each corner. Signs must bear the name and address of the owner, lawful occupant or other person authorized to post, and either the word "posted" or a warning against entry. Illegible or torn-down signs must be replaced at least once a year.
• Written notice (11-2111(4)): personally serving a written notice describing the premises and containing the warning has the same effect, for the person served, as posted signs.
• The offense (11-2113): no person may enter or remain unlawfully or engage in any activity on posted land in violation of the signs or a served notice, post land without authority, or deface or remove a sign.
• Failing to leave (11-2115): a person hunting, trapping or fishing without permission on another's land, posted or not, must leave immediately when the owner, lessee or lawful occupant asks. A conviction revokes all current hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and makes the person ineligible for the next license year, and at the court's discretion one more.
• Penalties: these are violations, punishable by up to 15 days, a fine of up to $250, or both (ECL 71-0923(1)), plus a civil penalty of $25 to $100 and, as the court decides, actual damages or $10 for each sign injured, defaced or removed (ECL 71-0925(6)).

Farms and ATVs

Vehicle and Traffic Law 2403(3) bars operating an ATV on the private property of another without the owner's or lessee's consent. Subdivision 3-a separately bars operating an ATV on a farm operation without consent where the owner or lessee has put up a sign, structure, display or device prohibiting trespass that includes a sign stating "No Trespassing." A 3-a violation is a traffic infraction: up to $250 and/or 15 days for a first violation, up to $400 and/or 45 days for a second within 18 months, and up to $550 and/or 90 days for a third or later within 18 months.

Utilities

The trespass sections of Penal Law Article 140 (140.05 to 140.17) contain no separate offense for utility or other critical-infrastructure sites. Interference with utility property is covered by criminal tampering. Criminal tampering in the second degree (145.15) is tampering or making a connection with the property of a gas, electric, sewer, steam or water-works corporation, a telephone or telegraph corporation, a common carrier, a nuclear generating facility or a municipal utility without a right to do so; it is a class A misdemeanor, and the statute provides an affirmative defense that the conduct was not for a larcenous or otherwise unlawful or wrongful purpose. Criminal tampering in the first degree (145.20) requires intent to cause a substantial interruption or impairment of public service and actually causing one; it is a class D felony.

Squatting

Squatting is handled mainly through civil eviction law. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 711 provides that "a tenant shall not include a squatter" and defines a squatter as a person who enters or intrudes on real property without permission of the person entitled to possession and continues to occupy it without title, right or permission. Removal procedure is covered on our New York squatters' rights page. Questions about using force against an intruder are covered on our New York self-defense laws page.

Penalties at a glance

The ranges come from New York's general sentencing sections. Penal Law 70.15 caps jail at 15 days for a violation, 3 months for a class B misdemeanor and 364 days for a class A misdemeanor, and 80.05 caps the matching fines at $250, $500 and $1,000. For felonies, Penal Law 70.00(2) sets a maximum term of up to 7 years for a class D felony and up to 4 years for a class E felony, and 80.00(1) caps the fine at the higher of $5,000 or double the defendant's gain. For the full class table, see New York felony and misdemeanor classes.

Recent changes to these statutes

• Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2026 (S.9008-C / A.10008-C), Part QQ, signed May 26, 2026 and effective immediately, added Penal Law 240.69 (criminal interference with access to a place of religious worship, a class B misdemeanor) and the definition of "place of religious worship" in 240.00(8). The offense did not exist before that date.
• Chapter 98 of the Laws of 2020, signed June 13, 2020 and effective immediately, repealed subdivision 4 of Penal Law 240.35, which had made it loitering to be masked or disguised in a public place with other masked or disguised persons.
• Chapter 23 of the Laws of 2021, signed February 2, 2021, repealed Penal Law 240.37, loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense.

Federal law separately governs conduct on federal property and at the U.S. Capitol; our disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state guide covers that layer.

Related New York and state-by-state guides

• Disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state
• New York noise ordinance laws
• New York felony and misdemeanor classes
• New York squatters' rights
• New York self-defense laws
• New York assault and battery laws
• Pennsylvania disorderly conduct and trespass laws
• How to charge someone with trespassing

This article provides general legal information about New York's disorderly conduct, public-order and trespass statutes as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in New York.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is disorderly conduct in New York?

Under Penal Law 240.20, it is one of seven acts, such as fighting, unreasonable noise, abusive language in a public place, obstructing traffic or refusing a lawful police order to disperse, done with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating that risk.

Is disorderly conduct a crime in New York?

No. Penal Law 240.20 makes it a violation, and Penal Law 10.00(6) defines a crime as only a misdemeanor or a felony. A violation carries up to 15 days in jail (70.15(4)) and a fine of up to $250 (80.05(4)).

Can you get disorderly conduct for swearing in New York?

Penal Law 240.20(3) covers using abusive or obscene language, or making an obscene gesture, in a public place, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or recklessly creating that risk. In People v. Baker (2013), the Court of Appeals held that the offense requires conduct of a public rather than an individual dimension.

Is public intoxication illegal in New York?

Penal Law Article 240 has no offense for being drunk in public. Section 240.40 applies only to narcotics or drugs other than alcohol, to a degree that may endanger people or property or annoy people nearby, and it is a violation.

Is trespassing a felony in New York?

Only criminal trespass in the first degree (Penal Law 140.17) is a felony: knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building with an explosive or deadly weapon, or a gun plus accessible ammunition. It is a class D felony. Trespass is a violation, third degree a class B misdemeanor and second degree a class A misdemeanor.

What happens if a store tells you to leave in New York?

Under Penal Law 140.00(5), a person in premises open to the public is there with license and privilege unless they defy a lawful order not to enter or remain, personally communicated by the owner or another authorized person. Remaining after that order is trespass, a violation, under 140.05 unless a higher grade applies.

Does New York have a purple paint law?

New York's trespass statutes (Penal Law Article 140) and hunting-posting rules (ECL 11-2111) contain no purple paint provision. Penal Law 140.00(5) recognizes notice that is personally communicated or given by posting in a conspicuous manner, and 140.10(a) covers fenced or enclosed property. Assembly bill A2165 would add one, but a bill is not law.

Do I need a No Trespassing sign in New York?

For unimproved, apparently unused land that is not fenced or enclosed, Penal Law 140.00(5) requires notice personally communicated or posted in a conspicuous manner, without setting a sign size. Land posted against hunting, trapping and fishing under ECL 11-2111 needs signs at least 11 by 11 inches, no more than 660 feet apart, with the owner's name and address.

Is squatting a crime in New York?

Penal Law Article 140 contains no squatting-specific offense; its trespass grades apply to knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully. Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 711 provides that a tenant shall not include a squatter, for purposes of the civil eviction process.