Grand Larceny Charges in Missouri: Felony Classes and Penalties

Missouri doesn’t use the term “grand larceny” in its criminal code, so grand larceny charges in Missouri are prosecuted as felony stealing under Revised Statute § 570.030. The felony line is drawn at $750 in property or service value, with certain categories of property, such as firearms and vehicles, triggering a felony no matter how little they’re worth.¹ Sentences run from up to four years for the lowest felony class up to fifteen years for the most serious.

When Theft Becomes a Felony by Dollar Value

The jump from misdemeanor to felony happens at $750. Fair market value, meaning what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller locally, controls the calculation, and it’s typically established through retail receipts, appraisals, or comparable listings.

$750 to just under $25,000: Class D felony
$25,000 or more: Class C felony¹

Class B stealing isn’t triggered by a general dollar amount. It applies to specific situations: livestock worth more than $10,000, motor vehicle theft with two prior stealing convictions in the past ten years, physically taking property from a person at a financial institution, or organized retail theft totaling $10,000 or more.¹

Items That Are Felonies No Matter What They Cost

Some property automatically bumps the charge to a Class D felony regardless of market value:¹

Firearms and explosive weapons
Motor vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft
Credit devices, debit devices, and letters of credit
Livestock as defined in the state tax code
Property taken directly from a person, including pickpocketing
A U.S. national flag designed for display on a building or flagstaff

Any animal, even one not classified as livestock, is a Class E felony to steal. The same classification applies to catalytic converters, which have become frequent targets because of their precious metal content.¹

Organized Retail Theft

Coordinated retail theft runs on its own ladder, and the thresholds are lower than for a solo theft at the same dollar figure. When combined stolen value plus any property damage reaches $750 but stays under $10,000, the charge is a Class C felony. At $10,000 or more, it becomes a Class B felony.¹

Prison Time and Fines by Felony Class

Missouri’s statutory ranges for felony stealing:

Class B felony: 5 to 15 years in prison²
Class C felony: 3 to 10 years in prison
Class D felony: up to 7 years in prison, or up to 1 year in county jail at the court’s discretion
Class E felony: up to 4 years in prison, or up to 1 year in county jail at the court’s discretion²

The county-jail option on Class D and E felonies gives judges a way to impose a felony conviction without state prison time. It shows up often in first-time cases or cases near the bottom of the value range.

Fines for Class C, D, and E felonies max out at $10,000. If the court finds the defendant profited from the crime, however, it can impose a fine up to double the gain, which can push the total well past $10,000 in high-value cases.³

Repeat Offender Escalations

Prior stealing convictions change the math. Three or more stealing-related convictions in the past ten years make any new stealing charge a Class E felony automatically, even if the item itself would otherwise be a misdemeanor. For motor vehicle theft, two prior stealing convictions in the past ten years push the new offense to a Class B felony with its 5-to-15-year range.¹

Missouri’s general habitual offender law under § 558.016 adds another layer. Prosecutors can seek a “prior offender” designation with one previous felony or a “persistent offender” designation with two or more. These labels allow harsher sentencing and can eliminate probation eligibility.

Restitution for Vehicle, Watercraft, and Aircraft Theft

A conviction or guilty plea for stealing a motor vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft can trigger court-ordered restitution under § 559.105. Restitution covers the victim’s repair or replacement costs, towing and storage fees, and reasonable expenses the victim incurred to help with prosecution. Probation cannot end until restitution is paid in full. If the defendant can’t pay within the original probation term, the court extends probation to the maximum allowed for the offense.⁴

Restitution is separate from any fine and goes to the victim rather than the state. For someone on parole, the parole board can impose the same obligation and hold release until payment is complete.

Life After a Felony Stealing Conviction

Firearm Rights

Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.⁵ Every Missouri felony stealing class crosses that line. The prohibition applies nationwide regardless of state law, and violating it is a separate federal crime.

Employment and Professional Licensing

Licensing boards weigh theft convictions heavily because they go directly to honesty. Healthcare, finance, education, and law enforcement roles typically require background checks, and many applications ask about criminal history or require a showing of “good moral character,” which a stealing conviction complicates.

International Travel

Canada is the most common example of a country that can deny entry to people with felony records, treating felony-equivalent offenses as grounds for inadmissibility at the border. A formal rehabilitation process exists but generally requires waiting at least ten years after completing the full sentence, including probation and parole. Other countries maintain similar restrictions.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

The state has three years from the date of the offense to file felony stealing charges. That clock pauses if the defendant leaves Missouri (adding up to three more years), actively hides from law enforcement, or already has a prosecution pending.⁶ For someone who crosses state lines after the theft, the window can stretch well beyond three calendar years.

Expungement

Missouri allows expungement of most felony stealing convictions under § 610.140. The waiting period is seven years after full completion of the sentence, including probation, parole, and any outstanding fines, with no new convictions during that time. Missouri limits individuals to one expungement petition in a lifetime, so timing matters. Violent felonies and sex offenses are excluded entirely, but property crimes like stealing qualify when all other conditions are met.

A successful expungement seals the record from public view, which can lift employment and licensing barriers. It does not automatically restore federal firearm rights lost under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g); that takes a separate process.

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 570.030
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Sentence of Imprisonment, Terms – Conditional Release
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.002 – Fines for Felonies
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 559.105
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922
6
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo Section 556.036