Report a theft in Minnesota to the local police department or sheriff first and keep the case number. Under Minnesota Statutes § 609.52, theft becomes a felony at $1,000. Then follow the checklist for what was taken, below.
Minnesota at a glance
| Felony theft threshold | $1,000. Theft of property or services worth more than $1,000 is a felony in Minnesota, punishable by up to five years; theft of a motor vehicle or a firearm is a felony at any value. |
|---|---|
| Theft statute | Minnesota Statutes § 609.52 |
| Grading | $500 or less: misdemeanor, up to 90 days. More than $500 to $1,000: gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days (a felony with a qualifying prior conviction within five years). More than $1,000 to $5,000: felony, up to 5 years. More than $5,000: felony, up to 10 years. A firearm, or more than $35,000 for certain theft types: up to 20 years. A motor vehicle, or property taken from a person: felony, up to 5 years even at $1,000 or less. |
| Vehicle theft | Taking or driving a motor vehicle without the owner's consent is a form of theft under § 609.52, subd. 2(a)(17), and theft of a motor vehicle is a felony punishable by up to five years even when the vehicle is worth $1,000 or less; higher-value vehicles fall into the higher value tiers. |
| State police | Minnesota State Patrol (Department of Public Safety) |
| Motor vehicles | Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) |
| Consumer protection | Minnesota Attorney General, Consumer Information |
| Online police reports | Minneapolis accepts online police reports for theft, lost property and property damage inside city limits, but not for a stolen vehicle, a lost or stolen firearm, or any incident involving a weapon or injury. |
| Lost or stolen gun reporting | Minnesota has no statewide requirement to report a lost or stolen firearm, according to the Giffords Law Center, an advocacy group, whose summary does not list Minnesota; we also found no such section in the 2026 Minnesota Statutes, chapter 624. |
| Pawn and secondhand dealers | Minnesota's pawnbroker law (Minn. Stat. ch. 325J) requires pawnbrokers to keep transaction records for three years and provide them to law enforcement on request; licensing and holding rules are set by the cities and counties that regulate pawnshops by ordinance. |
| Official stolen property lookups | No public state-run lookup was found for Minnesota. Use the national tools in the lookup directory. |
Statute text checked on revisor.mn.gov. Laws change; confirm the current version before relying on it.
Minnesota by the numbers
| Measure | Minnesota | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity theft reports to the FTC, 2024 | 7,280 reports, 127 per 100,000 residents; ranked 41 of 50 | FTC Consumer Sentinel Data Book 2024 |
| Fraud and other reports to the FTC, 2024 | 51,773 reports, 906 per 100,000 residents; median reported fraud loss $412; total reported fraud losses $144.6M | FTC Consumer Sentinel Data Book 2024 |
| Firearms reported stolen from private citizens | 1,622 a year on average, 28.4 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 Minnesota
Minnesota is one of the easier states in which to file a minor theft report without waiting for an officer, at least in its largest city. The City of Minneapolis takes online police reports for theft, lost property and property damage, provided the incident happened inside city limits, is not an emergency, involved no weapon and caused no injury. Two kinds of loss are excluded and must be reported to an officer: the theft of a vehicle and the loss or theft of a firearm.
Elsewhere, report to the city police department or county sheriff where the theft happened; the Minnesota State Patrol focuses on highway incidents. Online reporting varies by department.
- Gather serial numbers, photos and receipts first.
- Keep the case number for insurers and credit disputes.
Our stolen property guide lists the full sequence.
Minnesota theft law and the felony threshold
Minnesota folds most theft offenses into Minn. Stat. § 609.52 and defines a felony as a crime that can carry a year or more in prison (§ 609.02). Theft becomes a felony when the value is more than $1,000.
- $500 or less: misdemeanor, up to 90 days or a $1,000 fine.
- More than $500 to $1,000: gross misdemeanor, up to 364 days or a $3,000 fine.
- More than $1,000 to $5,000: felony, up to 5 years or a $10,000 fine.
- More than $5,000: felony, up to 10 years or a $20,000 fine.
- A firearm, or more than $35,000 for certain theft types: up to 20 years or a $100,000 fine.
Several circumstances make a low-value theft a five-year felony anyway, including property taken from a person, public funds, and a motor vehicle. A theft of $500 to $1,000 also becomes a felony when the person has a qualifying theft-related conviction within the previous five years, and a separate subdivision enhances penalties when a theft creates a foreseeable risk of bodily harm.
Stolen vehicles and license plates in Minnesota
Minnesota does not use a separate auto theft statute. Instead, § 609.52 lists taking or driving a motor vehicle without the owner's consent as a form of theft, and it makes theft of a motor vehicle a felony at any value, punishable by up to five years. A vehicle worth more than $5,000 can carry up to ten years.
Report a stolen vehicle by calling police; Minneapolis excludes vehicle theft from its online system. Give the VIN (vehicle identification number) and plate number so the vehicle enters the national crime database, then notify your insurer and contact Driver and Vehicle Services about replacement plates, following its current instructions. Our stolen vehicle checklist covers recovery and insurance.
Pawn shops and secondhand sales
Minnesota's pawnbroker law, chapter 325J, sets a statewide floor: pawnbrokers must keep records of pledged and purchased goods for three years and give law enforcement a complete record of pawn transactions on request, in a standard electronic format when records are computerized. Licensing, and the specifics of how long goods must be held, come from the cities and counties that regulate pawnshops by local ordinance. Ask the investigating agency whether it checks pawn records, and give it serial numbers. See our check-if-stolen guide before buying used goods.
Identity theft and fraud help in Minnesota
File at IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan, report to police, and place a fraud alert or credit freeze; check reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. The Minnesota Attorney General's consumer pages take complaints about scams and businesses. Our identity theft guide and stolen wallet checklist set out each step.
Minnesota has no statewide duty to report a lost or stolen gun, according to the Giffords Law Center, an advocacy group, yet stealing one carries up to 20 years. Report it anyway; see our 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 Minnesota, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an attorney licensed in Minnesota.
Sources
- Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, § 609.52
- Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, § 609.02
- Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, chapter 325J
- Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, chapter 624
- City of Minneapolis, Theft, lost property or damaged property
- Minnesota State Patrol
- Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services
- Minnesota Attorney General, Consumer Information
- Giffords Law Center, Reporting Lost and Stolen Firearms