What Is the Statute of Limitations for Theft in Florida?

In Florida, the statute of limitations for theft is five years from the date the offense occurred, whether the case would be charged as misdemeanor petit theft or felony grand theft. That deadline comes from Florida Statute 812.035(10), a theft-specific rule that overrides the shorter limits that normally apply to misdemeanors and lower felonies.¹

Why the Five-Year Window Applies Even to Small Thefts

Florida’s general limitations statute sets different deadlines based on the severity of the offense: four years for a first-degree felony, three years for lower felonies, two years for a first-degree misdemeanor, and one year for a second-degree misdemeanor.²

Theft doesn’t follow those defaults. Section 812.035(10) gives prosecutors a flat five years for any theft offense, so a $50 shoplifting case that looks like a one-year misdemeanor on paper actually carries the same deadline as a six-figure grand theft.¹ This trips people up often. If you were accused of a minor theft two or three years ago and assumed the window had closed, it probably hasn’t.

The clock starts on the date of the offense itself, not the date the theft was discovered or reported.

When the Clock Pauses

The five-year countdown can stop running under a doctrine called tolling. For theft cases, the clock pauses during any continuous period when the accused is absent from Florida or has no reasonably identifiable home or workplace in the state.¹

Tolling has a hard ceiling. It cannot add more than one year to the limitations period, no matter how long someone was away or unreachable. The outside limit on any Florida theft prosecution is therefore six years from the date of the offense.¹

The rule exists so that someone can’t dodge prosecution simply by leaving the state or dropping off the grid. The one-year cap keeps the state from holding a charge over someone indefinitely.

What Happens If Prosecutors Miss the Deadline

Once the five-year window closes, or six years when tolling applied, the state is barred from prosecuting the crime. If charges get filed after the deadline, the accused can raise the expired statute of limitations as a defense, and the court will dismiss the case.

An expired deadline doesn’t scrub the underlying record. If an arrest happened before the window closed, it can still appear on background checks. Under federal law, a non-conviction arrest record can be reported on consumer background checks for up to seven years from the date of the charge, while a conviction can be reported indefinitely.

Civil Liability Runs on Its Own Track

The criminal deadline doesn’t end a victim’s ability to come after you for money. Florida Statute 772.11 lets anyone injured by theft sue for triple the actual damages, with a minimum recovery of $200 plus attorney’s fees and court costs. Before filing, the victim must send a written demand; if the accused pays within 30 days, they get a written release from further civil liability for that theft.³

Civil theft claims carry their own five-year statute of limitations under the same section that governs the criminal side. When a criminal prosecution is pending, the civil clock freezes during the prosecution and for two years after it ends.¹³

Retailers use this civil remedy aggressively in shoplifting cases. Even when a store declines to press criminal charges, it often sends a civil demand letter seeking treble damages. Ignoring that letter can lead to a lawsuit, and the expiration of the criminal statute of limitations has no effect on a pending civil suit.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 812.035 – Civil Remedies, Limitation on Civil and Criminal Actions
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.15 – Time Limitations, General Time Limitations, Exceptions
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 772.11 – Civil Remedy for Theft or Exploitation