Shoplifting can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor, and the question of which one usually comes down to the dollar value of what was taken. Every state sets a felony theft threshold, and anything below that line is generally a misdemeanor while anything above it is a felony. Thresholds run from as low as $200 to as high as $2,500, with most states drawing the line somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500. Value is the main factor, but it isn’t the only one. Prior convictions, the type of merchandise, and whether the theft was part of a coordinated operation can all push a charge up regardless of how little the items were worth.
What Decides Whether It’s a Felony
Start with the price tag. If the goods are worth less than your state’s felony threshold, you’re almost certainly looking at a misdemeanor. If they’re worth more, the charge jumps to a felony. The lowest threshold in the country is $200, so in that state, stealing anything above that amount is a felony-level offense. About twenty-two states set the line at $1,000, and roughly ten more put it at $1,500. A handful don’t escalate to a felony until the value reaches $2,500.
Many of these numbers haven’t been adjusted in decades. Inflation has effectively made the felony line easier to cross: a threshold set at $500 in 2006 covers much less merchandise today, so the same armful of items that would have been a misdemeanor years ago can be a felony now.
One point worth knowing before anything else: you don’t have to leave the store to be charged. In most states, concealing merchandise with the intent to steal is enough. A loss prevention officer who sees you tuck something into a bag or under your clothing can stop you before you reach the door, and the charge doesn’t depend on whether you made it outside.1Legal Information Institute. Shoplifting
Misdemeanor Shoplifting Penalties
When the value falls under the threshold, a first offense typically carries:
- Fines, usually a few hundred dollars, though they can reach $1,000 or more depending on the state and whether it’s a repeat offense.
- Up to one year in a county jail, though first-time offenders rarely serve significant time.
- Probation, supervised or unsupervised, often six months to a year.
- Community service, sometimes paired with probation.
- Restitution to the store for the value of the merchandise and sometimes for related losses.
A misdemeanor is still a criminal conviction. It shows up on standard background checks and can affect employment, housing, and professional licensing for years.
Felony Shoplifting Penalties
Once the charge crosses into felony territory, the consequences grow substantially:
- Prison sentences of more than a year in state prison, with the specific range tied to the felony’s degree and state sentencing guidelines.
- Fines typically in the thousands, sometimes above $10,000 for higher-degree felonies.
- A permanent record that is far harder to seal or expunge than a misdemeanor, with long-term consequences for employment, voting rights, and firearm ownership.
Items and Situations That Trigger a Felony Automatically
Some thefts bypass the dollar-value analysis entirely.
Firearms
Stealing a firearm is the clearest example. Under federal law, taking a firearm that has moved through interstate commerce can result in up to ten years in prison.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Most states also treat firearm theft as a standalone felony, no matter the gun’s price.
Controlled Substances
Stealing prescription medications or other controlled substances similarly skips the normal threshold analysis and lands directly in felony territory in many jurisdictions.
Goods Moved Across State Lines
Shoplifting can become a federal crime when stolen merchandise worth $5,000 or more is transported across state lines. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 2314, anyone who knowingly moves stolen goods in interstate commerce faces up to ten years in federal prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2314 – Transportation of Stolen Goods, Securities, Moneys, Fraudulent State Tax Stamps, or Articles Used in Counterfeiting This most often involves organized theft rings, but the statute can reach anyone who crosses a state border with stolen goods worth at least $5,000.
How Prior Convictions Can Turn a $20 Theft Into a Felony
Even if the item is cheap, your record can turn a petty theft into a felony. Most states have enhancement statutes that bump up shoplifting charges based on prior convictions. The specifics vary, but the pattern holds: a second or third conviction for retail theft is charged at a higher level than a first.
In some states, one prior theft conviction is enough to elevate the next shoplifting charge to a felony. Others require two or three priors before the enhancement kicks in. Prior convictions don’t always have to be for shoplifting; any theft-related offense, including larceny, burglary, or fraud, may count. This is where people get caught off guard. They assume a $30 item can only produce a misdemeanor, and in their case that isn’t true.
Organized Retail Theft
Coordinated theft operations get their own treatment. Since 2022, at least nine states have enacted new laws specifically targeting organized retail crime, and many others already had such statutes. The defining features are two or more people acting together and an intent to resell what they take.
These laws often let prosecutors aggregate the value of goods stolen across multiple incidents over a set period, typically 30 to 90 days. That aggregation is what turns a run of misdemeanor-level thefts into a single felony. Someone who takes $200 worth of merchandise every week for a month can face a felony based on the combined $800, even though no individual theft crossed the threshold.
Immigration Consequences for Noncitizens
If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, the criminal classification is only part of the exposure. Theft with intent to permanently deprive the owner is generally treated as a crime involving moral turpitude. A single conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude can make a noncitizen deportable if the offense was committed within five years of admission to the U.S. and carries a potential sentence of a year or more. It can also make someone inadmissible, blocking a visa or green card. A narrow exception exists for petty offenses where the maximum possible sentence is one year or less and the actual sentence imposed is under six months, but relying on that exception without legal counsel is risky.
Diversion for First-Time Offenders
Many jurisdictions offer pretrial diversion for first-time shoplifting defendants, and short of having the charges dropped, this is usually the best outcome available. Diversion lets you avoid a conviction by completing a set of requirements, typically community service, restitution, a theft-awareness class, and staying crime-free during a probationary period of several months.
Finish the program and the charges are dismissed. In many cases the arrest record can then be sealed. Fail to complete it and the case returns to the regular court process. Eligibility is usually limited to first-time offenders charged with misdemeanor-level shoplifting, and the prosecutor’s office, not the court, typically decides who qualifies. A prior record of any kind can disqualify you.
Diversion isn’t automatic. You generally have to request it, or have an attorney raise it, and some jurisdictions impose a short window after arraignment. Miss it and the option is gone.
Clearing a Shoplifting Record Later
If you were convicted and didn’t go through diversion, most states offer some path to sealing or expunging a shoplifting record, though it takes time. Misdemeanor convictions typically require two to seven years of a clean record after the sentence is complete before you can petition. Felony convictions often require four to seven years or more. Some states have begun implementing automatic sealing for certain low-level offenses.
During the waiting period, a new conviction, even for something unrelated, can reset the clock or disqualify you. Expungement isn’t guaranteed even after the waiting period ends; a judge reviews the petition in most states and has discretion to grant or deny it. If the charge was dismissed through diversion, acquittal, or prosecutorial discretion, sealing the arrest record is generally faster and more straightforward, and many states allow near-immediate sealing when there was no conviction.