Organized retail theft in Texas is a standalone crime under Penal Code Section 31.16, separate from ordinary shoplifting, that punishes coordinated, repeated, or receiving-side theft of retail merchandise. Penalties scale with the value of the property involved, from a Class B misdemeanor for less than $100 up to a first-degree felony carrying five to 99 years or life when the total reaches $150,000 or more. A conviction typically brings civil liability to the merchant on top of the criminal sentence, and interstate operations can draw federal charges as well. The statute was rewritten by SB 1300 effective September 1, 2025, which broadened the conduct it reaches and reset the penalty thresholds.
What Counts as Organized Retail Theft
Section 31.16 lays out four separate ways a person can commit the offense. Any one of them is enough:1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.16 – Organized Retail Theft
- Acting with one or more other people to steal retail merchandise, money, or other property from a merchant, intending to deprive the merchant of it.
- Stealing from a merchant on two or more occasions within a 180-day window, even acting alone each time.
- Knowingly benefiting from merchandise stolen under either of the first two methods. This reaches people who never enter a store but buy, warehouse, or resell goods they know were stolen.
- Knowingly working with one or more people to overwhelm a merchant’s security response or a peace officer, whether to carry out the theft or to avoid getting caught.
The fourth category was added by SB 1300 and targets group thefts where a crowd floods a store to overpower loss-prevention staff. The 180-day repeat provision matters because a single person hitting the same retailer twice in six months can face this charge with no co-conspirators at all.
The statute also closes off two common defenses. It is not a defense that the alleged co-conspirators were never identified, caught, or charged, and law enforcement sting operations are fully valid.
How It Differs From Ordinary Shoplifting
A standard shoplifting case under Section 31.03 covers a single incident where someone takes merchandise without paying. Section 31.16 reaches a broader pattern.
Repeat conduct is the first difference. Taking a $40 item from a pharmacy once is ordinary theft. Taking $40 in merchandise from the same pharmacy every week for a month becomes organized retail theft because of the repeated conduct inside 180 days. Second, the statute reaches people who never physically steal anything. Buying stolen merchandise from a booster, knowing where it came from, is organized retail theft even without ever setting foot in the store. In practice this is why a person caught with a trunk full of stolen cosmetics is charged under 31.16 rather than as a simple shoplifter, especially when police can tie the haul to several store visits or a network of accomplices.
Penalty Tiers Based on Property Value
The grade of the offense turns entirely on the total value of the property. The current thresholds, effective since September 2025, run in six tiers:1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.16 – Organized Retail Theft
- Less than $100: Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in county jail and a fine up to $2,000.
- $100 to $749: Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000.
- $750 to $2,499: state jail felony, 180 days to two years in a state jail facility and a fine up to $10,000.
- $2,500 to $29,999: third-degree felony, two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- $30,000 to $149,999: second-degree felony, two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- $150,000 or more: first-degree felony, five to 99 years in prison or life, and a fine up to $10,000.
The line between $749 and $750 is where the offense crosses from misdemeanor into felony territory. A felony conviction means potential prison time rather than county jail, loss of voting rights during incarceration, and a record that follows through employment background checks for years afterward.
How Values Get Added Together
Aggregation is one of the most consequential features of a Texas theft prosecution. Under Section 31.09, when thefts are part of one scheme or a continuing course of conduct, the values from every incident can be combined and treated as a single offense.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.09 – Aggregation of Amounts Involved in Theft
This is how organized retail theft charges climb quickly. Someone who takes $200 in merchandise from five different stores over a few weeks might assume each incident is a low-level misdemeanor. Once prosecutors aggregate those amounts into a single $1,000 total, the charge becomes a state jail felony. The incidents can span different stores, different dates, and different cities, so long as the state can show they were connected as part of one scheme. For rings operating across dozens of locations, the aggregated figure often reaches second- or first-degree felony levels.
Presumptions That Help the Prosecution
Section 31.16 builds in two evidentiary shortcuts. A person is presumed to have intended to steal retail merchandise if they either removed or altered a label, price tag, barcode, or retail theft detector, or transferred merchandise out of its original packaging into different packaging.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.16 – Organized Retail Theft
These presumptions are rebuttable, so a defendant can present evidence against them. In practice, they shift the burden hard. If police find you with 50 units of the same product with security tags stripped off or barcodes swapped, the prosecution does not have to prove you stole the goods. The presumption carries that weight, and you need to explain what you were doing.
Enhancements That Can Stack On Top
Section 31.16 itself does not contain penalty enhancement provisions, but the general theft statute does, and it frequently applies in the same fact pattern. Under Section 31.03(f), the offense grade automatically bumps up one level if, during the theft, the defendant:3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.03 – Theft
- Caused a fire exit alarm to activate.
- Deactivated or prevented a fire exit alarm or retail theft detector from sounding.
- Used a shielding or deactivation device to avoid detection by a retail theft detector.
Many people involved in organized retail theft carry the tools this provision targets: foil-lined bags that block sensor signals, magnetic detachers, or devices that jam electronic surveillance gates. When the state can prove those tools were used, the general theft charge is enhanced, and a defendant can face charges under both 31.16 and an enhanced 31.03, stacking the prison exposure.
Civil Liability to the Merchant
The criminal case is not the end of the financial exposure. Under Chapter 134 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, anyone who commits theft is civilly liable for the resulting damages. A merchant who sues can recover the actual damages found at trial plus an additional amount up to $1,000, along with court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.4Texas Legislature. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 134 – Theft
For a one-time shoplifter the civil exposure is modest. For someone tied to an organized ring where the aggregated value reaches tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, the actual-damages portion alone can be financially devastating. The civil case is independent of the criminal prosecution. A merchant can pursue it whether or not the state files charges, and winning the criminal case does not block the civil suit. Parents face separate liability for theft committed by their children, with actual damages capped at $5,000.4Texas Legislature. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 134 – Theft
When Federal Charges Enter the Picture
Rings that move stolen goods across state lines risk federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. ยง 2314. Anyone who transports stolen merchandise valued at $5,000 or more across state or international borders, knowing the goods were stolen, faces up to ten years in federal prison.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2314 – Transportation of Stolen Goods, Securities, Moneys, Fraudulent State Tax Stamps, or Articles Used in Counterfeiting That $5,000 threshold is easy to hit for any operation moving inventory in bulk.
The online resale side has also tightened. The INFORM Consumers Act, effective since June 2023, requires online marketplaces to collect and verify identity, tax, and contact information from high-volume third-party sellers, meaning those exceeding $20,000 in annual gross revenue or 200 transactions on a platform. Marketplaces must disclose seller identity information to consumers and provide reporting mechanisms for suspicious activity.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 45f – Collection, Verification, and Disclosure of Information by Online Marketplaces For operations that relied on anonymous online resale to cash out stolen goods, that route is much harder to keep hidden than it used to be.