California Penal Code 488 defines petty theft as any theft of property worth $950 or less that doesn’t qualify as grand theft under another statute. It’s charged as a misdemeanor carrying up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The statute itself is a single sentence, but the consequences reach well past the criminal penalty: retailers send civil demand letters, licensing boards open investigations, and since November 2024 a third theft charge can be filed as a felony.
What the Statute Actually Says
The full text of Penal Code 488 reads: “Theft in other cases is petty theft.”1California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 488 – Theft in Other Cases No dollar figures, no property list, no penalty schedule. The statute works by exclusion: any theft that isn’t grand theft under Penal Code 487 falls into 488.
The $950 threshold everyone associates with petty theft comes from PC 487, which defines grand theft as taking property valued above that amount.2California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 487 – Grand Theft Penal Code 490.2, added by Proposition 47 in 2014, reinforced the line by declaring any theft of $950 or less a misdemeanor petty theft.3California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 490.2 – Obtaining Property by Theft A few categories are grand theft regardless of value, including stealing a firearm, taking an automobile, or lifting property directly from another person’s body.
California’s underlying theft definition in Penal Code 484 is broad. It includes straightforward taking, but also fraud, embezzlement, and obtaining property by false pretenses.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 484 – Theft Defined Any of these becomes petty theft when the value is $950 or less.
Shoplifting has its own statute. Penal Code 459.5 defines it as entering an open commercial business with the intent to steal property worth $950 or less, and it bars the prosecution from stacking burglary or theft charges on top of the shoplifting count for the same act.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 459.5 – Shoplifting That protection matters. Before 459.5 existed, prosecutors routinely filed commercial burglary against shoplifters, a much heavier charge.
Penalties for a First Offense
A first petty theft conviction is a misdemeanor. The maximum exposure is six months in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000, but courts frequently impose informal probation rather than jail time, particularly on first offenses. Probation can run up to three years and typically requires regular check-ins, a theft-prevention class, community service, and restitution to the victim. Violating any condition can trigger a revocation hearing and jail time.
The Infraction Option for Thefts Under $50
If the property was worth $50 or less and you have no prior theft convictions, the prosecutor has discretion to charge the case as an infraction. An infraction carries a maximum fine of $250, no jail, and no misdemeanor record.6California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 490.1 – Petty Theft Infraction Not every prosecutor will offer it, but it’s worth raising through counsel when the facts fit.
When Petty Theft Becomes a Felony
Before 2024, Penal Code 666 already allowed felony prosecution for petty theft with certain priors, but only where the defendant had prior violent or serious felonies, a sex-offense registration requirement, or an elder-abuse conviction, and had served time.7California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 666 – Petty Theft With Prior
Proposition 36, passed by California voters in November 2024, widened felony exposure considerably. The new Penal Code 666.1 allows petty theft or shoplifting to be charged as a felony if you have two or more prior convictions for theft-related offenses. That list is long: petty theft, grand theft, shoplifting, burglary, robbery, carjacking, receiving stolen property, identity theft, and vehicle theft all count. A conviction under 666.1 can bring up to a year in county jail or a state prison term.8California Secretary of State. Proposition 36 Text of Proposed Laws
Proposition 36 also added Penal Code 490.3, which lets prosecutors combine the value of property stolen across multiple incidents into a single charge.8California Secretary of State. Proposition 36 Text of Proposed Laws Before this change, each theft was valued on its own. Now, someone who takes $200 in merchandise on five separate occasions can face one grand theft charge built on the $1,000 aggregate.
The ballot measure also allows felony theft or property-damage sentences to be extended by up to three additional years when three or more people committed the crime together, aimed at organized group shoplifting.9Legislative Analyst’s Office. Proposition 36 Ballot Analysis
Civil Demands From Retailers
The criminal case isn’t the only bill that arrives. Under Penal Code 490.5, a retailer can sue an adult shoplifter for civil damages between $50 and $500, plus the retail value of any merchandise that wasn’t returned in sellable condition.10California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 490.5 – Civil Liability for Theft These demands are separate from any criminal fine or restitution order, and most people first see them as a letter from the retailer or a loss-prevention law firm weeks after the incident.
When the shoplifter is a minor, the same civil damages can be pursued against the parent or guardian, capped at $500 per incident including merchandise value.10California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 490.5 – Civil Liability for Theft
Defenses That Work
The intent element is the most productive place to attack a petty theft charge. California requires proof that you meant to permanently take someone else’s property. If you planned to return the item or believed in good faith that you had a right to possess it, the prosecution’s case weakens. This comes up more often than people expect in disputes between roommates, family members, and business partners over shared property.
Mistaken identity is a second common defense, particularly in retail cases built on grainy surveillance video or a brief look by a loss-prevention employee. Alibi evidence, transaction records, or timing that puts you elsewhere can undermine an identification.
Consent is straightforward when it applies: if the owner gave you permission, there’s no theft. Proving it usually requires a text, an email, or a witness. A verbal “go ahead” with no one else in the room is hard to establish in court.
Necessity exists as a defense but rarely succeeds. It requires showing you had no reasonable alternative and that the harm you avoided outweighed the theft. Courts set the bar high, and it’s a long shot outside genuinely desperate circumstances.
Cleaning the Record
After successfully completing probation, you can petition to have a petty theft conviction dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4. If the court grants the petition, you withdraw your plea and the case is dismissed. You cannot be serving a sentence, on probation, or facing new charges at the time you file.11California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4 – Dismissal of Accusation or Information
A dismissal doesn’t erase the conviction entirely. You still have to disclose it when applying for public office or any state or local license, and it can be used against you if you’re charged with a new crime later.11California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4 – Dismissal of Accusation or Information For most private-sector job applications, though, a dismissed conviction no longer needs to be reported, and California’s Ban the Box rules keep most private employers from asking about criminal history on initial applications anyway.
Immigration and Licensing Risks
Theft is generally treated as a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law, which can trigger inadmissibility or deportation. A California petty theft conviction usually fits within the “petty offense exception” to inadmissibility, but only when three conditions are met: it’s your only such offense ever, the maximum possible sentence didn’t exceed one year, and you weren’t actually sentenced to more than six months.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
A standard PC 488 misdemeanor with its six-month cap normally satisfies those conditions, but any complication is dangerous. A second theft conviction eliminates the exception. A sentence enhanced under PC 666 or the new PC 666.1 can push the punishment past the limit. Any noncitizen facing a petty theft charge should talk to an immigration attorney before entering a plea.
Professional licensing boards create a parallel track. Nursing, teaching, real estate, and law boards are all required to evaluate criminal history, and a theft conviction qualifies as a crime of moral turpitude that can open a disciplinary case. Boards act independently of the criminal court, so a lenient plea deal doesn’t prevent a separate investigation or sanctions ranging from a reprimand to license revocation. Expungement under 1203.4 helps with most private employers but doesn’t remove disclosure obligations for government positions or state-licensed professions.