California Penal Code 484(a) is the state’s general theft statute. It makes it a crime to take, carry away, defraud, or otherwise wrongfully obtain someone else’s property with the intent to keep it, and it covers everything from grabbing a phone off a table to running an elaborate fraud scheme.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 484 – Theft Whether a 484(a) charge is filed as a misdemeanor or a felony turns mostly on one number: $950. Below that, it’s petty theft; above it, grand theft. The consequences run from a small fine and probation for a first low-value offense to years in custody for high-value or repeat cases, plus immigration and licensing fallout that can outlast the sentence itself.
What Section 484(a) Actually Covers
The statute is broad on purpose. It reaches physically taking someone’s belongings, tricking a person into handing property over, keeping property that was entrusted to you, and obtaining money or goods by lying about your finances or identity.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 484 – Theft It even reaches lying about your wealth to get credit and then using that credit to obtain property. What used to be charged as separate crimes (larceny, embezzlement, false pretenses) all sit inside this one section now.
What the Prosecutor Has to Prove
For the most common form of theft, theft by larceny, the prosecution has to prove four things:2Justia. California Criminal Jury Instructions – CALCRIM No. 1800 Theft by Larceny
- You took property that belonged to someone else.
- You took it without the owner’s consent.
- You intended to deprive the owner permanently, or long enough to strip away most of the property’s value or enjoyment.
- You moved the property, even a trivial distance.
That last element catches people off guard. You don’t have to leave the store. Once the item is in your possession and you move it at all, the theft is legally complete.
The $950 Line: Petty Theft or Grand Theft
California sorts theft into two tiers based on what was taken and what it was worth.
If the property is worth $950 or less, the offense is petty theft under Penal Code 488.3California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 488 If it’s worth more than $950, the charge becomes grand theft under Penal Code 487.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 487 – Grand Theft
Three categories are grand theft no matter what the property is worth:4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 487 – Grand Theft
- Automobiles. Stealing any car qualifies, even a barely running one worth $200.
- Firearms. Stealing any gun is grand theft and carries a state prison sentence.
- Property taken directly from a person. Pickpocketing a wallet with $5 in it is grand theft because the property was on the victim’s body.
Value is measured by fair market value at the time and place of the theft, meaning what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller. Not the original retail price, and not sentimental value. A three-year-old laptop that cost $1,200 new but would sell used for $400 is a $400 theft. When someone takes multiple items from the same victim as part of a single plan, courts add the values together to decide which side of the $950 line the case falls on.
Penalties for Petty Theft
Standard petty theft is a misdemeanor. The maximum is six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 490 – Petty Theft First-time offenders with no record rarely serve jail time in practice. Judges usually impose informal probation with conditions like community service, a theft-awareness class, and restitution.
On top of the fine, the court must impose a separate restitution fine and must also order full restitution to the victim for any economic loss.6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1202.4 – Restitution
Penalties for Grand Theft
Grand theft is a “wobbler.” The prosecutor can file it as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the facts and your record.7California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 489 As a misdemeanor the maximum is one year in county jail. As a felony the sentence is 16 months, two years, or three years, served in county jail under realignment for most grand theft convictions.
Firearm theft is the exception. It is a straight felony, and the sentence of 16 months, two years, or three years is served in state prison rather than county jail.7California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 489
Fines for grand theft can reach $1,000 for a misdemeanor conviction or $10,000 for a felony where the statute doesn’t set a specific amount.8California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 672 Felony convictions carry a mandatory restitution fine plus full victim restitution.6California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1202.4 – Restitution
Enhancements for High-Value Theft
When a felony theft involves large sums, Penal Code 12022.6 adds mandatory time on top of the base sentence, served consecutively:9California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 12022.6
- Over $50,000: one additional year
- Over $200,000: two additional years
- Over $1 million: three additional years
- Over $3 million: four additional years, plus one more year for every additional $3 million
Prosecutors can combine the value across related charges to hit these thresholds, so a series of smaller thefts under one scheme can trigger an enhancement just like one large theft. The enhancement isn’t automatic; it has to be specifically charged, and the amount has to be proven to the jury or admitted.
Repeat Offender Exposure
California has two mechanisms that raise penalties when someone with prior convictions is charged with theft again, and they apply to different groups.
Penal Code 666
Section 666 turns a petty theft into a wobbler (up to one year in county jail or state prison) when the defendant has a prior theft-related conviction and served time for it. But the enhancement only applies to defendants who are registered sex offenders, have a prior serious or violent felony, or have a prior elder abuse conviction.10California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 666 Someone whose only prior is a simple theft doesn’t qualify.
Penal Code 666.1 (Proposition 36)
Proposition 36 took effect in December 2024 and created a broader repeat-offender provision. Under Penal Code 666.1, anyone with two or more prior theft-related convictions who commits petty theft or shoplifting faces a wobbler charge.11California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 666.1 The qualifying priors include petty theft, grand theft, burglary, and robbery, with no time limit on how old the priors can be.12California Assembly Committee on Revision of the Penal Code. Criminal Laws Created or Amended by Proposition 36
As a felony, a first offense under 666.1 is punishable by up to three years in county jail. A second or subsequent conviction can carry up to three years in state prison.11California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code PEN 666.1 Prop 36 also lets prosecutors add up the value of multiple small thefts to reach the $950 grand theft threshold, so a pattern of petty thefts can be aggregated into one felony charge.13Riverside County District Attorney. Prop 36 – Understanding the New California Laws on Drug and Theft Offenses
Shoplifting Is a Different Charge
If you took the property from a store during business hours, the charge probably isn’t straight 484(a) petty theft. Under Penal Code 459.5, shoplifting means entering an open business with intent to steal property worth $950 or less, and it’s a misdemeanor.14California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 459.5 – Shoplifting Someone charged with shoplifting can’t also be charged with burglary or theft for the same act. People with certain serious or violent felony priors, or those required to register as sex offenders, can face a felony shoplifting charge instead.
Defenses That Come Up Often
Because 484(a) requires proof that you intended to steal, defenses tend to attack that mental state.
Claim of Right
If you genuinely believed the property was yours, you lacked the intent to steal. Penal Code 511 recognizes this defense when property was taken openly and under a good-faith belief you had a right to it.15California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 511 The belief doesn’t have to be reasonable or correct; it has to be genuine. It fails if you tried to conceal the taking, if you were trying to collect on a disputed debt, or if the claim came out of activity you knew was illegal.16Justia. CALCRIM No. 1863 – Defense to Theft or Robbery
No Intent to Permanently Deprive
Borrowing isn’t theft. If you intended to return the property and could actually do so, the prosecution can’t prove the required intent. This comes up most with cars and with borrowed equipment. The harder the return would have been, or the longer you kept the property, the harder this defense gets.
Consent
If the owner gave you permission, there’s no theft. Consent disputes are common between roommates, coworkers, and family members where informal borrowing was the norm.
Consequences That Outlast the Sentence
The court sentence is often the smaller problem. Two areas cause the most lasting damage.
Immigration
Theft with intent to permanently deprive is widely treated as a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law. A misdemeanor petty theft can trigger deportation proceedings or block a green card or visa, depending on the person’s immigration history and how many convictions they have. Noncitizens should talk to an immigration attorney before accepting any plea, because a sentence that looks light in criminal court can end up a permanent bar to staying in the country.
Professional Licensing
California boards for nurses, teachers, accountants, real estate agents, and many others consider theft convictions when deciding whether to issue or renew a license. They generally weigh the seriousness of the offense, how recently it happened, and whether the applicant has shown rehabilitation. A felony is much harder to overcome than a misdemeanor, and any theft conviction involving dishonesty is treated seriously in professions that handle money or require positions of trust.
Civil Demands From Merchants
If the theft involved a store, Penal Code 490.5 lets the merchant seek civil damages of $50 to $500 plus costs, regardless of the item’s value, and the full retail value on top if the merchandise wasn’t returned in sellable condition.17California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 490.5 Parents of an unemancipated minor who shoplifts face the same exposure. Paying a civil demand does not resolve the criminal case, and refusing to pay does not make the criminal case worse. They run on separate tracks.
Clearing a 484(a) Conviction Later
Most people convicted of theft can petition for dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4 once probation is complete. If the court grants it, you withdraw your plea, the court sets aside the conviction, and the case is dismissed, releasing you from most penalties and disabilities of the conviction.18California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 1203.4 The court can’t deny the petition solely because restitution is still owed.
The relief has real limits. A dismissed conviction still has to be disclosed on applications for public office and state professional licenses. It does not restore firearm rights. It can still be used as a prior to enhance sentencing on a new case. And federal immigration authorities generally don’t recognize state expungements, so a dismissed California theft conviction can still count as a conviction under federal immigration law.