PC 487 Explained: California Grand Theft Law

California Penal Code section 487 defines grand theft. It does not define theft itself or set a punishment. Instead, it lists the cases in which a theft counts as grand theft, starting with property worth more than $950.

This page covers what section 487 says as published on the California Legislature's official site, how section 490.2 (Proposition 47) limits it, two theft sections Proposition 36 added in 2024, what the prosecution has to prove under the state's jury instructions, and the penalties in section 489. It covers California state law only.

Information last verified against primary sources on October 20, 2026. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

What PC 487 says

Section 487 sits in the Penal Code's chapter on larceny, alongside the definition of theft in section 484, petty theft in section 488, and the grand theft punishments in section 489. It opens: "Grand theft is theft committed in any of the following cases:"

487(a): value over $950

"When the money, labor, real property, or personal property taken is of a value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), except as provided in subdivision (b)."

487(b): farm products, aquaculture, and employee theft

Subdivision (b) says grand theft is committed "notwithstanding subdivision (a)" in three cases:

• (b)(1) Domestic fowls, avocados, olives, citrus or deciduous fruits, other fruits, vegetables, nuts, artichokes, or other farm crops taken "of a value exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250)." Value may be shown by credible evidence that, on the day of the theft, the same variety and weight exceeded $250 in wholesale value.
• (b)(2) Fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans, kelp, algae, or other aquacultural products taken from a commercial or research operation producing them, worth more than $250.
• (b)(3) Money, labor, or property "taken by a servant, agent, or employee from their principal or employer" that "aggregates nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or more in any 12 consecutive month period."

The $250 figures in (b)(1) and (b)(2) need to be read with section 490.2, covered below.

487(c): theft from the person

"When the property is taken from the person of another."

CALCRIM No. 1801 explains that theft is from the person "if the property taken was in the clothing of, on the body of, or in a container held or carried by, that person."

487(d): automobiles and firearms

Subdivision (d) lists two kinds of property: "(1) An automobile. (2) A firearm."

487(e): adding related thefts together

"If the value of the money, labor, real property, or personal property taken exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) over the course of distinct but related acts, including acts committed against multiple victims or in counties other than the county of the current offense, the value of the money, labor, real property, or personal property taken may properly be aggregated to charge a count of grand theft, if the acts are motivated by one intention, one general impulse, and one plan."

The subdivision adds that evidence of one intention, impulse, and plan "may include, but is not limited to, evidence that the acts involve the same defendant or defendants, are substantially similar in nature, or occur within a 90-day period."

Section 490.3, added by Proposition 36 effective December 18, 2024, is a separate aggregation rule. It does not repeat the one-intention, one-impulse, one-plan condition of 487(e):

"Notwithstanding any other law, in any case involving one or more acts of theft or shoplifting, including, but not limited to, violations of Sections 459.5, 484, 488, and 490.2, the value of property or merchandise stolen may be aggregated into a single count or charge, with the sum of the value of all property or merchandise being the values considered in determining the degree of theft."

CALCRIM No. 1801 (2026) lists section 490.3 among its authorities, under the heading "Aggregation Into Single Count or Charge."

How section 490.2 limits section 487

Proposition 47 added Penal Code section 490.2 in November 2014. Subdivision (a) reads:

"Notwithstanding Section 487 or any other provision of law defining grand theft, obtaining any property by theft where the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) shall be considered petty theft and shall be punished as a misdemeanor, except that such person may instead be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 if that person has one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290."

Subdivision (b) says section 490.2 does not apply to a theft that may be charged as an infraction under another law, and subdivision (c) says: "This section shall not apply to theft of a firearm."

The official jury instruction reflects this. CALCRIM No. 1801 tells the jury that theft from the person, theft of an automobile, theft of listed farm products, and theft of listed aquacultural products are grand theft if the value is more than $950, and that "Theft of a firearm is grand theft."

What the prosecution has to prove

Grand theft is theft plus one of the cases in section 487. Section 484(a) defines theft to include stealing or carrying away another's personal property, fraudulently appropriating property that was entrusted to the person, and obtaining property by false or fraudulent representation. In determining the value of property, "the reasonable and fair market value shall be the test."

For theft by larceny, California's official jury instruction is CALCRIM No. 1800, "Theft by Larceny (Pen. Code, § 484)," published by the Judicial Council of California (2026 edition). It tells the jury the prosecution must prove that:

1. The defendant took possession of property owned by someone else.
2. The defendant took the property without the owner's (or owner's agent's) consent.
3. When the defendant took the property, the defendant intended to deprive the owner of it permanently, or to remove it from the owner's possession for so extended a period that the owner would be deprived of a major portion of its value or enjoyment.
4. The defendant moved the property, even a small distance, and kept it for any period of time, however brief.

This page summarizes the larceny instruction only. Theft by the other means in section 484 is not covered here.

CALCRIM No. 1801, "Grand and Petty Theft," then has the jury decide whether a theft was grand or petty. It defines value as fair market value, "the highest price the property would reasonably have been sold for in the open market at the time of, and in the general location of, the theft." It ends:

"The People have the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the theft was grand theft rather than a lesser crime. If the People have not met this burden, you must find the defendant not guilty of grand theft."

Penalties under PC 487

Section 487 sets no punishment. Section 489 does:

"(a) If the grand theft involves the theft of a firearm, by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years."

"(c)(1) In all other convictions for grand theft not described in either subdivision (a) or (b), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170."

Section 489(b) sets a separate penalty for grand theft involving section 487a, which this page does not cover.

Grand theft of a firearm carries state prison only under 489(a). Penal Code section 1192.7(c)(26) lists "grand theft involving a firearm" as a serious felony.

Other grand theft under 489(c)(1) allows county jail for up to one year or imprisonment under section 1170(h), so it can be handled as a misdemeanor or a felony. Penal Code section 17(b) lists when an either-way offense becomes a misdemeanor for all purposes, such as when the court grants probation and declares it a misdemeanor, or when the prosecutor files it as a misdemeanor and the defendant does not object.

Section 489(c)(1) does not specify a term for the 1170(h) option. Section 1170(h)(1) supplies one for that situation:

"Except as provided in paragraph (3), a felony punishable pursuant to this subdivision where the term is not specified in the underlying offense shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or two or three years."

Under paragraph (3) of section 1170(h), an executed sentence under that subdivision is served in state prison instead when the defendant has a prior or current serious felony conviction (as described in section 1192.7(c)) or violent felony conviction (as described in section 667.5(c)), has a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction for an offense with all the elements of one of those felonies, is required to register as a sex offender, or receives an enhancement under section 186.11.

Petty theft under section 490.2(a) is punished as a misdemeanor, except that a person with the prior convictions it lists may instead be punished under section 1170(h).

That is not the only route. Section 666.1, added by Proposition 36 effective December 18, 2024, says:

"(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who has two or more prior convictions for any of the offenses listed in paragraph (2), and who is convicted of petty theft or shoplifting, is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170."

The offenses listed in 666.1(a)(2) are petty theft, grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle under Vehicle Code section 10851, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting, and identity theft and mail theft under section 530.5, and the section applies to those prior convictions including ones that occurred before it took effect. It adds that a second or subsequent conviction under section 666.1 is punishable by county jail for up to one year or by state prison.

Related sections

• Penal Code section 484. Defines theft. Official text.
• Penal Code section 488. "Theft in other cases is petty theft." Official text.
• Penal Code section 489. Grand theft punishment. Official text.
• Penal Code section 490.2. The $950 petty theft rule from Proposition 47. Official text.
• Penal Code section 490.3. Aggregating the value of one or more thefts or shoplifting acts into a single count, added by Proposition 36. Official text.
• Penal Code section 666.1. Petty theft or shoplifting after two or more listed theft-related prior convictions, added by Proposition 36. Official text.
• Penal Code section 459.5. Shoplifting, covered in our PC 459 burglary explainer. Official text.
• Penal Code section 211 (robbery). Taking property from a person by force or fear is a different crime. See our PC 211 explainer.
• Penal Code section 1192.7. Subdivision (c)(26) lists grand theft involving a firearm as a serious felony. Official text.

For theft law more broadly, see California theft laws and, for theft by employees and others entrusted with property, California embezzlement laws. Other statute explainers are in our statutes library.

Recent changes

The official history note for section 487 reads: "Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 168, Sec. 2. (AB 2943) Effective January 1, 2025." According to the Legislative Counsel's Digest for Assembly Bill 2943, the bill clarified that the distinct but related acts that may be aggregated into grand theft include acts against multiple victims or in counties other than the county of the current offense, and that evidence of one intention, one general impulse, and one plan may include acts involving the same defendant or defendants, acts that are substantially similar in nature, or acts within a 90-day period. That language is now in subdivision (e).

Proposition 36, approved at the November 5, 2024 election and effective December 18, 2024, did not amend section 487 but added sections 490.3 and 666.1, both covered above. The text quoted on this page is the version published on the Legislature's site as of October 20, 2026.

What happens after an arrest for PC 487

A "487" on a jail roster or booking sheet is the arresting agency's charge. The prosecutor reviews the case and decides whether to file a grand theft charge, a petty theft or other charge, or nothing, and whether to file it as a misdemeanor or a felony where the law allows either. The first court appearance, the arraignment, is where the filed charges are read.

Our California charge code lookup translates other booking codes, and What Happens After You Get Arrested walks through the steps from booking to arraignment.

Disclaimer

This page explains what California Penal Code section 487 and the related sections quoted here say, as published on official state sources and checked on October 20, 2026. It is general legal information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether a theft is grand or petty often turns on value and the type of property, so anyone facing a 487 charge should speak with a criminal defense lawyer licensed in California.

Last updated: October 20, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PC 487 in California?

Penal Code section 487 defines grand theft by listing the cases in which a theft is grand theft. The main one is a theft of money, labor, or property worth more than $950. Theft itself is defined in section 484, and the punishment for grand theft is in section 489.

Is grand theft a felony in California?

It depends on the type. Under section 489(a), grand theft of a firearm is punishable by state prison for 16 months, two, or three years. Under section 489(c)(1), most other grand theft is punishable by county jail for up to one year or under section 1170(h), so it can be handled as a misdemeanor or a felony.

What is the dollar amount for grand theft in California?

Section 487(a) sets the general line at more than $950. Section 487(b) names lower $250 thresholds for certain farm crops and aquacultural products, but section 490.2(a) says that notwithstanding section 487, obtaining property by theft worth $950 or less is petty theft, except for theft of a firearm.

Is stealing a car always grand theft in California?

Section 487(d)(1) lists an automobile. Section 490.2(a) says that notwithstanding section 487, theft of property worth $950 or less is petty theft, and CALCRIM No. 1801 tells the jury that theft of an automobile is grand theft if the value of the property is more than $950. This page does not cover other vehicle theft statutes.

Is stealing a gun grand theft?

Yes. Section 487(d)(2) lists a firearm, section 490.2(c) says the petty theft rule does not apply to theft of a firearm, and section 489(a) sets state prison for 16 months, two, or three years. Penal Code section 1192.7(c)(26) lists grand theft involving a firearm as a serious felony.

Can several small thefts be added together into grand theft?

Section 487(e) says the value of property taken over distinct but related acts, including acts against multiple victims or in other counties, may be aggregated to charge grand theft if the acts are motivated by one intention, one general impulse, and one plan. Evidence of that may include the same defendant, substantially similar acts, or acts within a 90-day period. Section 490.3, added by Proposition 36, also says that notwithstanding any other law, in any case involving one or more acts of theft or shoplifting, the value of the property stolen may be aggregated into a single count, with the sum of the values used to determine the degree of theft.

What is the difference between 487 and 488?

Section 487 lists the cases that are grand theft. Section 488 says, in full, that theft in other cases is petty theft.