Page 50 - Florida Concealed Carry Law

The castle doctrine is a common law doctrine stating that a person has no duty to retreat in his or her home, or “castle,” and may use reasonable force, including deadly force, to defend his or her property, person or another. This doctrine gives you two presumptions. First, a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm when an intruder unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter your residence, dwelling or occupied vehicle. The second presumption is that the person entering your dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle did so with the intent to commit a violent act.
Dwelling - F.S. 776.013 (5)(a) means a building or conveyance of any kind, including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night.
Residence - F.S. 776.013 (5)(b) means a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently, or is visiting as an invited guest.
Occupied Vehicle - Means someone must be inside of the vehicle. If you left your car running outside of a convenience store, and as you were leaving, someone jumped in and drove off. You do not have a right to use deadly force.
Unlawful Entry - F.S. 82.01(5) means the entry into and possession of real property, even if the possession is temporary or for a portion of the real property, when such entry is not authorized by law or consented to by a person entitled to possession of the real property.
Forcible Entry - F.S. 82.01(1) means entering into and taking possession of real property with force, in a manner that is not peaceable, easy or open, even if such entry is authorized by a person entitled to possession of the real property and the possession is only temporary or applies only to a portion of the real property.
Can I Shoot if Someone is On my Property?
Another common question I receive is, “Can I shoot someone if they are on my property?” It depends; are you in reasonable fear of death, great bodily harm or the imminent commission of a forcible felony? If your answer is no, then you cannot use deadly force just because someone is on your lawn.