Texas Penal Code 31.04 Theft of Service: Penalties and Collateral Costs

Texas Penal Code Section 31.04, theft of service, makes it a crime to avoid payment for a service you knew required compensation. Penalties scale with the dollar amount involved, running from a Class C misdemeanor fine of up to $500 for services worth under $100 all the way to a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison when the value hits $300,000 or more.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.04 – Theft of Service The statute reaches a wide range of conduct: skipping a restaurant tab, tampering with a utility meter, keeping rental equipment past its return date, or hiring a contractor and refusing to pay after the work is done.

What Counts as Theft of Service

Section 31.04 lays out four distinct ways to commit the offense. Any one of them is enough, so long as you acted with intent to avoid payment for a service you knew wasn’t free.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.04 – Theft of Service

  • Using deception, threat, or a false token (like a stolen credit card or a fake name) to obtain a service.
  • Diverting someone else’s labor that you control for your own benefit or for someone not entitled to it.
  • Keeping leased or rented property past the agreed return date without the owner’s consent.
  • Agreeing to pay, letting the work be completed, and then refusing to pay after receiving a proper written demand.

That fourth method catches people who assume no crime can arise from a straightforward unpaid invoice. It can. If services were performed in good faith and you ignore a proper written demand for payment, you can face criminal charges even though nothing deceptive happened at the start of the transaction.

When an Unpaid Bill Becomes a Crime

Not every unpaid service turns into a theft case. The dividing line is intent. Prosecutors have to prove you meant to avoid payment, not merely that you failed to pay. A contractor who runs short on cash and can’t cover an invoice is in a different position from someone who hires a crew, watches them finish, writes a bad check, and stops answering the phone.

If you genuinely believed you didn’t owe the money, or the work delivered was substantially different from what you agreed to, that typically belongs in civil court as a contract dispute. The facts that push a case to the criminal side are the ones that look like fraud: a false name, an account you knew was empty, disappearance after services were rendered, or a pattern of doing the same thing to different providers.

Many theft-of-service cases start with a service provider walking into a police station angry about an unpaid bill. Not all of those reports become charges. Prosecutors look for signs of fraudulent intent before taking the case forward.

How Prosecutors Prove Intent

Because what you were thinking is hard to prove directly, the statute gives prosecutors legal presumptions that let a jury infer intent from certain conduct.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.04 – Theft of Service

The most important one is the 10-day rule. If a service provider sends you a proper written demand for payment and you don’t pay within 10 days, the law lets the prosecution treat your silence as evidence you never intended to pay. The same window applies when rental property is returned after the agreement ends but the outstanding charges go unpaid.

Intent is also presumed when someone gives false identification or a fictitious name while obtaining services. Renting equipment with a fake driver’s license, or signing a service contract with a bogus address, counts as evidence of an effort to avoid being found later. None of these presumptions guarantees a conviction, but they shift the practical burden to the defendant to explain the conduct.

The 10-day presumption only works if the demand was sent correctly. The notice has to be in writing and delivered by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or by a commercial delivery service, to the address on the service agreement, in the provider’s records, or on a check used for payment.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.04 – Theft of Service A demand sent by regular mail, or to an old address the provider pulled from nowhere, won’t trigger the presumption.

If you receive one of these demands, the 10-day window is the last clean chance to resolve the matter before the legal position shifts hard against you. Paying or returning the property inside that window doesn’t erase every risk, but it takes away the strongest tool the prosecution has.

Penalties by Dollar Value

Theft of service is graded on the same value ladder Texas uses for ordinary theft. The higher the amount, the heavier the charge.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.04 – Theft of Service

The jump at $2,500 is where consequences change character. A state jail felony means prison in a state facility, not county jail, and the conviction travels with you as a felony on your record.

Criminal history can also push a lower-grade case up. Under the general theft statute, two or more prior theft convictions of any grade elevate a new theft under $2,500 to a state jail felony.9State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 31.03 – Theft Someone running the same scheme on different providers faces escalating exposure even when each individual amount stays small.

Defenses to a 31.04 Charge

Because the statute turns on intent, the strongest defenses go after that mental element.

Lack of Intent to Avoid Payment

Not paying isn’t the same as intending not to pay. Partial payments, communications with the provider, attempts to work out a payment plan, or a documented financial hardship all cut against the prosecution’s ability to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt. This is where many cases collapse: the gap between “didn’t pay” and “intended not to pay” is often where the real evidence runs out.

Mistake of Fact

Texas recognizes a mistake-of-fact defense when a reasonable but incorrect belief about a factual situation negates the required intent.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 8.02 – Mistake of Fact In a 31.04 case, that might mean you genuinely believed the service was free or that someone else had already paid. The belief must be reasonable, not merely convenient after the fact.

Dispute Over the Services Delivered

If you refused to pay because the work was substantially different from what you agreed to, the matter may belong in civil court. The prosecution has to show nonpayment paired with intent to get something for nothing, not just a disagreement about workmanship or scope.

Defective Notice

For charges built on the “agreed to pay, then didn’t” prong, the written demand is central. If the provider used regular mail, sent it to the wrong address, or never sent one at all, the 10-day presumption of intent doesn’t apply. That doesn’t end the case, but it forces prosecutors to prove intent without the statutory shortcut.

What a Conviction Costs Beyond the Sentence

The fine and jail time are only part of the picture. A theft-of-service conviction brings other consequences that often outlast the formal sentence.

Restitution

A court that convicts you can order restitution to the victim for the value of the services stolen. If the judge declines to order full restitution, the reasons have to be stated on the record.11State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 42.037 – Restitution The prosecution has to show the actual loss, and the defendant can present evidence of financial resources and ability to pay. Disputes over the amount are decided by the court under a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, which is a lower bar than the one used for the conviction itself.

A Separate Civil Suit

A conviction doesn’t block the victim from suing you in civil court. Under Chapter 134 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, someone harmed by theft can recover actual damages plus additional damages up to $1,000, along with court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.12State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 134.005 – Recovery Because the civil burden is lower, cases that don’t produce a criminal conviction sometimes still result in a civil judgment.

Licensing, Employment, and Housing

Texas licensing authorities can consider criminal convictions when deciding whether to grant, deny, or revoke a professional license, and a felony can trigger revocation of an existing license along with the resulting imprisonment.13State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 53.021 Even misdemeanor theft convictions carry weight for professions involving money, property, or vulnerable populations. On the private side, any theft conviction shows up on a background check, and because it involves dishonesty it carries extra weight with employers and landlords.

Sealing the Record

Texas allows orders of nondisclosure that seal certain criminal records from public view. Eligibility depends on the offense level and how the case was resolved. Misdemeanor theft-of-service cases resolved through deferred adjudication are more likely to qualify, though waiting periods apply. Felony convictions face longer waiting periods and tighter rules. An order of nondisclosure doesn’t erase the conviction entirely: law enforcement and certain government agencies can still see it, but most private employers and landlords running standard background checks cannot.