The longest jail sentence you can get for adultery is five years, and only in Oklahoma, where the crime is a felony on paper. Wisconsin allows up to three and a half years, Michigan treats it as a felony without a specific ceiling in the statute itself, and about a dozen other states classify adultery as a misdemeanor with penalties ranging from a small fine to a year in jail. Military service members face up to one year of confinement under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In practice, civilian prosecutions almost never happen, and most people who have an affair will never see the inside of a courtroom over it.
The Felony States
Three states still classify adultery as a felony: Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Oklahoma carries the harshest penalty on the books anywhere in the country. Adultery is a Class D1 felony punishable by up to five years in state prison, a fine of up to $500, or both.1Justia Law. Oklahoma Statutes Title 21-872 – Punishment for Adultery
Wisconsin classifies adultery as a Class I felony. The maximum penalty is up to three and a half years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000, and both the married participant and the unmarried partner can be charged.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 944.16 – Adultery
Michigan’s statute simply declares adultery a felony without specifying a sentence.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.30 – Adultery Punishment The maximum penalty therefore falls under Michigan’s general felony sentencing provisions. Secondary sources commonly cite a maximum of four years and a $5,000 fine, though anyone actually facing a Michigan charge should verify that against current sentencing guidelines.
The Misdemeanor States
Most states that still criminalize adultery treat it as a misdemeanor. That usually means potential jail time measured in days or a few months, not years, plus a small fine.
Florida caps adultery at 60 days in jail and a $500 fine as a second-degree misdemeanor. The Florida statute is narrower than most: it targets people who “live in an open state of adultery,” so a single hidden affair may not technically meet the statutory definition.4Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 798.01 – Living in Open Adultery
Illinois classifies adultery as a Class A misdemeanor,5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/11-35 – Adultery which carries up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-55 – Class A Misdemeanor A year is the ceiling for civilian misdemeanor exposure.
North Carolina treats adultery as a Class 2 misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $1,000.7North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 15A-1340.23 – Punishment Limits for Each Class of Offense Jail time depends on prior record: no criminal history means a maximum of 30 days, while someone with five or more prior convictions could see up to 60. The statute itself uses old-fashioned language, criminalizing people who “lewdly and lasciviously associate, bed and cohabit together.”8North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 14-184 – Fornication and Adultery
Other states with misdemeanor adultery laws include Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. Puerto Rico also keeps a statute on the books. The list has been shrinking. Minnesota repealed its adultery law in 2023, and New York followed in late 2024 when the governor signed a repeal bill.9New York State Senate. Senate Bill S8744
Military Adultery Under the UCMJ
If you’re in uniform, the calculation changes. Extramarital sexual conduct falls under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the “General Article” covering conduct that discredits the armed forces or undermines good order and discipline.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 934 – Art. 134 General Article The maximum punishment includes a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for up to one year.
The confinement ceiling is lower than the felony states, but the odds of actually facing consequences are far higher. Aggravating factors matter: abuse of rank, an affair with a subordinate’s spouse, effects on unit readiness, or conduct during deployment all make confinement more likely.11United States Army. Legal Separation, Adultery and the UCMJ An affair between two single people where one is separated from a spouse draws less scrutiny than a commanding officer sleeping with someone under their command.
Why Civilians Almost Never Get Prosecuted
For a civilian, the realistic answer to how long you can go to jail for adultery is: you won’t. Prosecutions are extraordinarily rare, for a few overlapping reasons.
The first is constitutional. The Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas struck down sodomy laws on privacy grounds, and Justice Scalia’s dissent explicitly warned that the reasoning called adultery statutes “into question.”12Justia. Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) No state has since mounted a serious adultery prosecution that would force a court to resolve the question, and most prosecutors have no interest in being the test case.
The second is practical. Adultery happens in private between consenting adults and is difficult to prove. Police departments have no appetite for investigating affairs when they’re already stretched on violent and property crime. Even when someone files a complaint, prosecutors almost universally decline to charge.
The remaining statutes are widely viewed as relics. Legislators haven’t repealed them partly because no one enforces them and partly because voting to “legalize adultery” makes for an awkward campaign ad.
Consequences That Actually Happen
Jail is unlikely, but three other consequences are real.
Security Clearances
Anyone who holds or needs a federal security clearance faces genuine risk. Adjudicative Guideline D covers sexual behavior that reflects poor judgment or creates vulnerability to coercion or blackmail. The concern is straightforward: someone hiding an affair from a spouse could be leveraged by a foreign intelligence service.13Center for Development of Security Excellence. Adjudicative Guideline D Sexual Behavior Short Adjudicators weigh how serious the behavior was, whether it’s ongoing, whether the person has been open about it, and how likely it is to recur. A past affair that’s fully disclosed looks different from an ongoing secret one.
Divorce Court
Many states let judges consider marital misconduct when dividing property or awarding alimony. A spouse who spent marital funds on an affair may face a dissipation-of-assets claim, in which the court reduces their share of the marital estate to reimburse what was spent on the relationship.
Heartbalm Lawsuits
A few states still let a wronged spouse sue the affair partner directly. North Carolina is the most active jurisdiction, where these claims go by “alienation of affection” and “criminal conversation.” Juries have returned verdicts in the millions. One North Carolina case produced $2.2 million in compensatory damages and $6.6 million in punitive damages against the affair partner. Utah is among the small number of other states that still recognize these claims, though the list keeps shrinking.
For most people who have an affair, this is where the actual risk sits. Not handcuffs, but a divorce settlement, an alimony ruling, or a civil judgment that follows you for years.