Report a theft in Connecticut to the local police department or sheriff first and keep the case number. Under Connecticut General Statutes §§ 53a-122 through 53a-125, theft becomes a felony at $2,000. Then follow the checklist for what was taken, below.
Connecticut at a glance
| Felony theft threshold | $2,000. Larceny of property or services worth more than $2,000 is larceny in the third degree, a class D felony in Connecticut. |
|---|---|
| Theft statute | Connecticut General Statutes §§ 53a-122 through 53a-125 |
| Grading | Fourth degree: more than $1,000, class A misdemeanor. Third degree: more than $2,000, class D felony. Second degree: more than $10,000, or property taken from the person regardless of value, class C felony. First degree: more than $20,000, class B felony. Lower misdemeanor degrees apply at $1,000 or less. |
| Vehicle theft | Since Public Act 22-115 (2022), larceny of a motor vehicle is graded by the offender's record rather than the car's value under § 53a-119c: a class E felony for a first offense, class D for a second, and class B for any later offense. |
| State police | Connecticut State Police (Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection) |
| Motor vehicles | Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles |
| Consumer protection | Connecticut Attorney General, Consumer Assistance |
| Online police reports | Several Connecticut departments take online reports for unsolvable thefts with no suspect information, including Hartford and Westport; incidents on state highways and in state parks go to the Connecticut State Police. Other departments vary. |
| Lost or stolen gun reporting | Connecticut requires owners to report a lost or stolen firearm within 72 hours of when they discovered or should have discovered the loss or theft, according to the Giffords Law Center (an advocacy group's summary). |
| Pawn and secondhand dealers | No statewide holding period was found; rules are set by cities or counties. |
| Official stolen property lookups | No public state-run lookup was found for Connecticut. Use the national tools in the lookup directory. |
Statute text checked on law.justia.com. Laws change; confirm the current version before relying on it.
Connecticut by the numbers
| Measure | Connecticut | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity theft reports to the FTC, 2024 | 8,502 reports, 236 per 100,000 residents; ranked 21 of 50 | FTC Consumer Sentinel Data Book 2024 |
| Fraud and other reports to the FTC, 2024 | 43,890 reports, 1,220 per 100,000 residents; median reported fraud loss $432; total reported fraud losses $90.3M | FTC Consumer Sentinel Data Book 2024 |
| Firearms reported stolen from private citizens | 796 a year on average, 22.1 per 100,000 residents (2019 to 2023) | ATF National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment |
These figures count reports made to federal agencies, so they measure what was reported, not every theft. National context is on the theft statistics page.
Reporting a theft in Connecticut
In Connecticut, report a theft to the police department of the town or city where it happened. Where a town has no department of its own, and on state highways, the Connecticut State Police take the report. The State Police are a division of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Online reporting is offered town by town. The Hartford Police Department's Police to Citizen system accepts larceny and stolen property reports where there is little chance of solving the case, along with lost property and identity theft or fraud; it rejects reports with suspect information or useful evidence. The Westport Police Department takes theft, vehicle burglary and identity theft online, but sends incidents on I-95, the Merritt Parkway and at Sherwood Island State Park to the State Police.
- Get a written police report, not just a case number; the DMV requires the report for stolen plates.
- Report a lost or stolen gun within 72 hours.
Connecticut theft law and the felony threshold
Connecticut calls theft larceny and grades it in Chapter 952 of the General Statutes. Larceny becomes a felony at more than $2,000:
- Fourth degree (§ 53a-125): more than $1,000, a class A misdemeanor.
- Third degree (§ 53a-124): more than $2,000, a class D felony. Public records and secret scientific or technical processes also qualify regardless of value.
- Second degree (§ 53a-123): more than $10,000, a class C felony. Property taken from another person's body counts regardless of value.
- First degree (§ 53a-122): more than $20,000, a class B felony.
Below $1,000, lower misdemeanor degrees apply. Stealing a firearm is addressed separately in § 53a-212. This is general information; prosecutors decide the actual charge.
Stolen vehicles and license plates in Connecticut
Connecticut changed how it punishes car theft in 2022. Public Act 22-115 removed motor vehicles from the value-based larceny degrees and created larceny of a motor vehicle under § 53a-119c, graded by the offender's record: a class E felony for a first offense, a class D felony for a second and a class B felony for any later offense. The same law added faster court appearances and possible GPS monitoring for youth with repeat vehicle offenses.
For stolen plates, the Connecticut DMV says to notify local police and get a police report that states the plate was stolen; a case number alone is not accepted. Replacement for lost or stolen plates is by appointment, not online, and requires Form E-159, the registration certificate, an insurance ID card and any remaining plate. The DMV states a $5 fee with a police report and $25 without; check the page for current fees. Vanity plate holders can ask to have the same plate remade within 10 months. See our stolen vehicle guide and check if stolen page; we found no public state stolen vehicle search.
Pawn shops and secondhand sales
We did not verify a statewide pawn holding period for Connecticut, so rules may vary by town. If you find your property in a pawn shop or listed online, give the police serial numbers and your report and let them handle contact. Our stolen property guide explains how to document ownership.
Identity theft and fraud help in Connecticut
Connecticut splits consumer help between two offices. The Attorney General's Consumer Assistance section takes complaints, and the Department of Consumer Protection keeps an identity theft resources list that points to the FTC, the credit bureaus and the Judicial Branch law libraries' ID theft guide. Hartford and Westport residents can file identity theft reports online. File with the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov. See our identity theft guide and stolen firearm guide.
Checklists for what was stolen
Each guide opens with a checklist in the order to act, with a free printable PDF.
- Domain names
- Identity theft
- Vehicles
- Social media and email
- SIM swap and phone numbers
- Stolen phones
- Bicycles and e-bikes
- Packages and mail
- Wallets, cards and checks
- Passports
- Firearms
- Art and collectibles
- Cryptocurrency
This page is general information about Connecticut, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an attorney licensed in Connecticut.
Sources
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-119c, Larceny of a motor vehicle (Justia)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-122 (Justia)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-123 (Justia)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-124 (Justia)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-125 (Justia)
- Insurance Journal, Connecticut auto theft law (2022)
- Connecticut DMV, Replace Plates
- Hartford Police Department, Police to Citizen
- Westport Police Department, Report a Crime Online
- Connecticut DESPP
- Connecticut Office of the Attorney General
- Connecticut DCP, Identity Theft Resources
- Giffords Law Center, Reporting Lost and Stolen Firearms (advocacy group)