Criminal mischief in PA is the crime of intentionally, recklessly, or negligently damaging another person’s property, defined by 18 Pa.C.S. § 3304. Depending on how much damage you cause and how you cause it, the charge ranges from a summary offense to a third-degree felony carrying up to seven years in prison, and the court must order you to pay the victim back on top of any fine or jail sentence.
What Counts as Criminal Mischief
The statute covers six categories of conduct, and several reach further than most people expect. The core offense is damaging someone else’s property on purpose, recklessly, or negligently when fire, explosives, or similarly dangerous means are involved. Keying a car is the obvious example. Setting off fireworks that scorch a neighbor’s siding fits too.
You can also be charged for tampering with property in a way that endangers people or other property. Loosening lug nuts on a wheel is the textbook case. The statute reaches causing someone a financial loss through deception or threats even when you never touch their property.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 3304 – Criminal Mischief
Two provisions target specific acts: defacing property with spray paint, broad-tipped markers, or similar tools, and shooting a paintball gun at someone’s property. Both require proof of intent.
How the Charge Is Graded
The dollar amount of damage drives everything. Prosecutors must prove the loss, which is measured by what it costs to repair or replace the property. There are four tiers:
- Third-degree felony: intentional damage over $5,000, or any act that substantially interrupts a public utility such as water, gas, power, communication, or transportation service.
- Second-degree misdemeanor: intentional damage over $1,000 but not more than $5,000.
- Third-degree misdemeanor: intentional or reckless damage over $500. For graffiti specifically, this tier kicks in at just $150.
- Summary offense: everything below those thresholds.
The graffiti threshold is worth watching. Spray-painting a wall and causing $200 in cleanup is a third-degree misdemeanor, while breaking a $200 window is only a summary offense.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 3304 – Criminal Mischief
Jail Time and Fines by Grade
A third-degree felony conviction carries up to seven years in prison2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 1103 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felonies and a fine of up to $15,000.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 1101 – Fines That is the ceiling, used for deliberate destruction over $5,000 or knocking out utility service.
A second-degree misdemeanor exposes you to up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. A third-degree misdemeanor caps at one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Chapter 11 – Authorized Disposition of Offenders3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 1101 – Fines A summary offense carries up to 90 days in jail and a $300 fine. First-time summary cases rarely bring jail, but a conviction still goes on your record.
Restitution Is Mandatory
On top of any fine or jail term, Pennsylvania law requires the court to order restitution whenever a crime reduces the value of someone’s property. The judge has no discretion to skip it. Restitution covers the victim’s full loss and is ordered regardless of your current ability to pay.5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 1106 – Restitution for Injuries to Person or Property
Payment can be structured as a lump sum or in installments. You cannot be jailed solely because you genuinely cannot pay, but courts look closely at whether you are making a good-faith effort. Restitution does not go away when your sentence ends.
When the Property Is a School, Church, or Farm
Two separate statutes bump up the penalties when the target belongs to specific categories of victims.
Institutional Vandalism
Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3307, damaging property owned by a place of worship, cemetery, school, community center, government building, courthouse, or juvenile detention center is charged as institutional vandalism rather than standard criminal mischief. The grading skips the lower tiers. Desecration or damage over $5,000 is a third-degree felony. Everything else is a second-degree misdemeanor. That means $50 of spray paint on a school wall exposes you to up to two years in jail and a $5,000 fine, where the same damage to a private fence would be a summary offense. Carrying a spray-paint can or broad-tipped marker onto institutional property with intent to vandalize is itself a violation, even if you never actually mark anything.6Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 3307 – Institutional Vandalism
Agricultural Vandalism
Damage to farming or agricultural research property has its own tier under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3309. Each level bumps up one notch:
- Third-degree felony: intentional damage over $5,000.
- First-degree misdemeanor: intentional damage over $1,000, carrying up to five years in jail instead of the two years that would apply under standard criminal mischief.
- Second-degree misdemeanor: intentional or reckless damage over $500.
- Third-degree misdemeanor: all other agricultural vandalism, no matter how small.
There is no summary tier. Twenty dollars of damage to a fence on a working farm is a third-degree misdemeanor exposing you to up to a year in jail.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 3309 – Agricultural Vandalism
How Long Prosecutors Have to File
The statute of limitations for criminal mischief is two years from the date of the offense. The statute is not on the list of crimes that get a longer window, so the two-year clock applies whether the charge would be a summary, misdemeanor, or felony.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 42 – Chapter 55 – Limitation of Time The clock runs from the date the crime happened, not the date someone discovered it, which matters when vandalism sits unnoticed.
Avoiding a Conviction or Clearing It Later
First-time offenders can often apply for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, Pennsylvania’s main diversion program. Property crimes are generally considered appropriate. You complete court-ordered conditions, the charges are dismissed, and the record is automatically expunged. ARD is not a conviction.9Bucks County, PA. Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (A.R.D.) Eligibility is strict: no prior misdemeanor or felony convictions anywhere, and no prior ARD. Picking up a new charge or violating the conditions sends the original case to trial.
If you are already convicted, the path to clearing the record depends on the grade. Summary convictions can be expunged by petition after five years with no new arrests.10Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – Section 9122 – Expungement Traditional expungement of misdemeanor and felony convictions is limited to a gubernatorial pardon, reaching age 70 after ten arrest-free years, or being deceased for three years.
The Clean Slate Act offers a more accessible alternative called record sealing, and criminal mischief is specifically eligible. Most misdemeanor convictions can be sealed automatically after seven years, some felonies after ten, provided you complete your sentence and stay arrest-free during the waiting period. Summary convictions are sealed automatically after five years. Sealed records are hidden from most background checks but remain visible to law enforcement.