Report a theft to local police in the state where it happened, then use the state page for the law and the agencies that apply there. Felony theft thresholds run from $200 in New Jersey to $2,500 in Texas and Wisconsin; most states set the line between $750 and $1,500.
Choose a state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Felony theft thresholds at a glance
How theft is graded from state to state
Every state treats theft as a crime, but each one draws the line between a misdemeanor and a felony at a different dollar amount. That amount, the felony theft threshold, decides how a case is charged, which court hears it, and how seriously police and prosecutors are likely to pursue it. In most states the value of the property is the main factor; a few also make certain items, such as firearms or motor vehicles, a felony regardless of value.
Thresholds range widely. New Jersey treats theft of more than $200 as an indictable crime, while Texas and Wisconsin set the felony line at $2,500. Most states fall between $750 and $1,500. Several states have raised their thresholds in recent years, so older articles and forum posts are often out of date. Each state page links to the statute so you can confirm the current text.
What is the same in every state
The first steps after a theft do not change at a state line. Report it to the local police department or county sheriff where it happened, ask for the report or case number, and give police the serial numbers, VINs or IMEIs that identify the property. Those identifiers are what allow an item to be entered into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the law-enforcement database that officers check when they recover property anywhere in the country.
The national tools are also the same everywhere: IdentityTheft.gov for identity theft, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center for online crime, NICB VINCheck and NMVTIS for vehicles, and registries such as Bike Index for bicycles. The lookup directory explains what each one covers.
What changes from state to state
The details that differ are the ones that trip people up: whether your city takes theft reports online, what the motor vehicle agency requires before it replaces a stolen license plate, whether gun owners must report a lost or stolen firearm and how quickly, how long pawn shops and secondhand dealers must hold items before reselling them, and which office handles identity theft and consumer complaints. Each state page answers those questions in the same order and names the agency to contact.
A few states run their own programs that are worth knowing about. Florida publishes public searches of stolen vehicles, boats, guns and other articles. Arizona’s attorney general runs TheftAZ, a stolen-vehicle lookup by plate or VIN. Texas, Michigan and Maryland fund dedicated vehicle theft prevention authorities, and some states issue identity theft passports to victims whose names are misused in criminal cases.
How to use these pages
Start with the state where the theft happened, not where you live, because the law of the place of the theft applies and that is where the report belongs. Read the short answer and the at-a-glance table first, then use the checklist for what was stolen: each one is ordered the way a victim should act and comes with a free printable PDF.
The figures on each page come from federal sources: Federal Trade Commission identity theft and fraud reports for 2024, and ATF data on firearms reported stolen from private citizens between 2019 and 2023. They count reports, not every theft, so treat them as a measure of what reached the agencies. Statutes and agency procedures were checked on official sites where they were available; where an official site could not be read, the page says which published copy of the statute was used. This is general information, not legal advice.
Compare every state
| State | Felony theft threshold | Statute | Identity theft reports per 100,000 (FTC 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $500 | Code of Alabama §§ 13A-8-3 through 13A-8-5 | 269 |
| Alaska | $750 | Alaska Statutes §§ 11.46.120 through 11.46.150 | 106 |
| Arizona | $1,000 | Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-1802 | 287 |
| Arkansas | $1,000 | Arkansas Code § 5-36-103 | 209 |
| California | $950 | California Penal Code §§ 487 and 490.2 | 356 |
| Colorado | $2,000 | Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-4-401 | 208 |
| Connecticut | $2,000 | Connecticut General Statutes §§ 53a-122 through 53a-125 | 236 |
| Delaware | $1,500 | Delaware Code Title 11, § 841 | 392 |
| District of Columbia | $1,000 | D.C. Code § 22-3212 | 480 |
| Florida | $750 | Florida Statutes § 812.014 | 528 |
| Georgia | $1,500 | O.C.G.A. § 16-8-12 | 517 |
| Hawaii | $750 | Hawaii Revised Statutes §§ 708-830.5 and 708-831 | 138 |
| Idaho | $1,000 | Idaho Code §§ 18-2407 and 18-2408 | 125 |
| Illinois | $500 | 720 ILCS 5/16-1 | 339 |
| Indiana | $750 | Indiana Code § 35-43-4-2 | 198 |
| Iowa | $1,500 | Iowa Code § 714.2 | 123 |
| Kansas | $1,500 | K.S.A. 21-5801 | 154 |
| Kentucky | $1,000 | KRS 514.030 | 142 |
| Louisiana | $1,000 | Louisiana Revised Statutes § 14:67 | 346 |
| Maine | $1,000 | Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, § 353 | 127 |
| Maryland | $1,500 | Maryland Code, Criminal Law § 7-104 | 324 |
| Massachusetts | $1,200 | Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 266, § 30 | 388 |
| Michigan | $1,000 | Michigan Compiled Laws § 750.356 | 237 |
| Minnesota | $1,000 | Minnesota Statutes § 609.52 | 127 |
| Mississippi | $1,000 | Mississippi Code § 97-17-41 (grand larceny) and § 97-17-43 (petit larceny) | 268 |
| Missouri | $750 | Missouri Revised Statutes § 570.030 | 187 |
| Montana | $1,500 | Montana Code Annotated § 45-6-301 | 131 |
| Nebraska | $1,500 | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-518 | 130 |
| Nevada | $1,200 | NRS 205.0835 | 466 |
| New Hampshire | $1,000 | RSA 637:11 | 150 |
| New Jersey | $200 | N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2 | 313 |
| New Mexico | $500 | NMSA 1978, § 30-16-1 | 150 |
| New York | $1,000 | N.Y. Penal Law §§ 155.25–155.42 | 295 |
| North Carolina | $1,000 | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-72 | 259 |
| North Dakota | $1,000 | N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-23-05 | 119 |
| Ohio | $1,000 | Ohio Rev. Code § 2913.02 | 236 |
| Oklahoma | $1,000 | 21 Okla. Stat. § 1705 | 169 |
| Oregon | $1,000 | Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 164.043–164.057 | 163 |
| Pennsylvania | $2,000 | 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3903 | 290 |
| Rhode Island | $1,500 | R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-41-5 | 264 |
| South Carolina | $2,000 | S.C. Code Ann. § 16-13-30 | 291 |
| South Dakota | $1,000 | S.D. Codified Laws § 22-30A-17 | 94 |
| Tennessee | $1,000 | Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-105 | 212 |
| Texas | $2,500 | Texas Penal Code § 31.03 | 393 |
| Utah | $1,500 | Utah Code § 76-6-404 | 157 |
| Vermont | $900 | 13 V.S.A. §§ 2501–2502 | 101 |
| Virginia | $1,000 | Va. Code § 18.2-95 | 213 |
| Washington | $750 | RCW 9A.56.030, 9A.56.040 and 9A.56.050 | 169 |
| West Virginia | $1,000 | W. Va. Code § 61-3-13 | 113 |
| Wisconsin | $2,500 | Wis. Stat. § 943.20(3) | 149 |
| Wyoming | $1,000 | Wyo. Stat. § 6-3-402 | 120 |
General information, not legal advice. Thresholds change; each state page links to the statute.