Petit Theft Charge in Florida

A petit theft charge in Florida looks small on paper — a misdemeanor, maybe even a second-degree one — but it carries a permanent theft record, real jail exposure, and, for anyone with two prior theft convictions, a felony charge that most people never see coming.

What Does the State Have to Prove in a Petit Theft Case?

Florida defines theft under section 812.014, Florida Statutes. The State must prove that the defendant knowingly obtained or used, or endeavored to obtain or use, the property of another person, with intent to either temporarily or permanently deprive that person of a right to the property or a benefit from it, or to appropriate the property to the defendant’s own use or the use of any person not entitled to it. Every word in that definition matters. “Knowingly” means the State has to show the defendant was aware the property belonged to someone else — an honest mistake about ownership is not theft. “Endeavored to obtain” means the crime does not require a completed taking; an attempt counts. And the intent element is what separates theft from a civil dispute over who owns what. If two people have a genuine, good-faith disagreement about whether property was borrowed, gifted, or owned jointly, that is a defense worth developing, not a technicality.

Petit theft is simply theft where the value of the property falls below the felony threshold. Get the value wrong and the whole charge can fall apart, which is why value is so often the first thing worth challenging.

What Are the Actual Penalties for Petit Theft in Florida?

Florida splits petit theft into two misdemeanor tiers based on the value of the property, and then a separate felony tier based on the defendant’s prior record — not on value at all.

If the property stolen is worth less than $100, the offense is petit theft of the second degree, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. If the property is worth $100 or more but less than $750, the offense is petit theft of the first degree, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. That $750 ceiling matters — it is the line the Legislature drew between petit theft and grand theft of the third degree, and it has been $750 (not the older $300 figure some outdated articles still cite) since a 2019 statutory amendment raised the threshold. Anything valued at $750 or more is charged as grand theft, a felony, not petit theft at all.

The third tier has nothing to do with dollar value. Under section 812.014(3), a person who commits petit theft and who has previously been convicted of any theft — of any degree, in any jurisdiction — commits a first-degree misdemeanor, even if the new theft would otherwise be a second-degree misdemeanor. And a person who commits petit theft with two or more prior theft convictions commits a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, regardless of how small the item taken was. This is the part of the statute that surprises people the most: someone with a shoplifting record from years earlier can be charged with a felony over a low-value item today, simply because of who they are on paper rather than what they took.

Why Does the Prior-Conviction Enhancement Matter So Much?

This is the section of 812.014 that turns a routine misdemeanor into a felony case, and it is also the section most likely to contain an error the State never bothered to check. The enhancement requires the State to prove the prior convictions — not just allege them. That means certified copies of prior judgments, not a printout from a criminal history database or an officer’s recollection that “this guy’s been arrested before.” Arrests are not convictions. A withheld adjudication may or may not count as a “conviction” for enhancement purposes depending on how it was resolved, and out-of-state or municipal-court dispositions have to actually qualify as theft offenses under Florida’s definition, not just carry a similar-sounding name. Before accepting that a felony enhancement applies, the defense should independently verify each alleged prior — the certified judgment, the statute of conviction, and the date. It is not uncommon for the State to overcharge the enhancement based on incomplete records, and that error only gets corrected if someone catches it.

What Happens Beyond the Jail Time and Fine?

The jail exposure is often the least of a client’s problems. A theft conviction — even a low-level misdemeanor — creates a permanent criminal record that shows up on background checks for employment, housing, and professional licensing, and theft convictions in particular carry a credibility stigma that follows a person into unrelated future proceedings. For retail theft cases specifically, a merchant or its insurer can also send a civil demand letter under Florida’s civil theft statute, section 772.11, Florida Statutes, seeking treble damages separate from the criminal case — paying that demand does not resolve the criminal charge, but ignoring it can expose someone to a civil suit for three times the value of the merchandise plus a minimum $200 statutory penalty.

Prosecutors also frequently offer pretrial diversion for first-time, low-value petit theft cases, which can result in the charge being dropped upon completion of conditions like theft-awareness classes, community service, or restitution. Eligibility depends heavily on the county, the value involved, and the defendant’s record — not something to negotiate without counsel, since the terms offered up front are rarely the best terms available.

What Should Someone Charged With Petit Theft Actually Do?

First, do not talk to loss prevention, store management, or police about the incident beyond identifying information. Store security personnel and police reports routinely characterize ambiguous conduct — a forgotten item under a cart, a return without a receipt, a dispute over a coupon — in the most incriminating way possible, and anything said in that moment becomes part of the arrest affidavit. Second, get the actual charging document and find out exactly what degree of petit theft is alleged and what value the State is claiming, because valuation and prior-conviction allegations are where these cases are most often won. Third, if there is any theft history at all, do not assume the State has it right — verify every alleged prior conviction before agreeing to any plea that treats the case as enhanced. Fourth, ask about diversion early, before the case is set for a plea, since eligibility often closes as a case moves further into the docket.

A petit theft charge is small enough that it gets treated casually by everyone in the courtroom except the person facing it. That is exactly the wrong way to handle a charge that can mean a permanent theft record or — with the wrong prior on the books — a felony.

Legally reviewed by Tonmiel Rodriguez · Last reviewed July 2026

Tonmiel Rodriguez is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law by The Florida Bar and represents clients facing theft and property crime charges throughout Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties. If you or a family member has been charged with petit theft, call The Rodriguez Law Office at (863) 774-4556 to discuss the case.