Georgia Theft Laws: Felony Threshold, Shoplifting and Penalties (2026)

Georgia has two theft lines, not one. Under O.C.G.A. 16-8-12(a), theft is punished as a misdemeanor unless the property was worth "at least $1,500.01," the point at which the punishment becomes one to five years of imprisonment (with the judge still allowed to sentence it as a misdemeanor). Shoplifting has its own, lower line: O.C.G.A. 16-8-14(b)(2) makes theft by shoplifting a felony when the merchandise "exceeds $500.00 in value," and a fourth shoplifting conviction is a felony at any value. Some property, such as a firearm or anhydrous ammonia, carries prison ranges regardless of value. For other states, see our guide to theft laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-13. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Georgia state theft law in Title 16, Chapter 8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Sections 16-8-1, 16-8-2, 16-8-5.2, 16-8-12, 16-8-14, 16-8-14.1, 16-8-14.2, 16-8-16, 16-8-18, 16-8-20, 16-8-22, 16-8-24 and 16-8-25), gift card theft in Section 16-9-64, burglary in Sections 16-7-1 and 16-7-2 where it overlaps store theft, the general misdemeanor sentence in Section 17-10-3, and the civil and merchant-detention rules in Sections 51-7-60, 51-7-61 and 51-10-6. It does not cover federal theft offenses, city or county ordinances, or identity theft and fraud schemes, which have their own pages linked below.

What counts as theft in Georgia

Georgia keeps several named theft offenses in Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9 and punishes them under one penalty section, 16-8-12. The most common is theft by taking. O.C.G.A. 16-8-2 provides:

"A person commits the offense of theft by taking when he unlawfully takes or, being in lawful possession thereof, unlawfully appropriates any property of another with the intention of depriving him of the property, regardless of the manner in which the property is taken or appropriated."

Two definitions in O.C.G.A. 16-8-1 matter. "Deprive" means, without justification, "to withhold property of another permanently or temporarily" or "to dispose of the property so as to make it unlikely that the owner will recover it." And "property of another" includes property in which anyone other than the accused has an interest, "but does not include property belonging to the spouse of an accused or to them jointly."

Scams and schemes that rely on deception are covered in more depth in our guide to Georgia scam and fraud laws.

Georgia theft penalties by value

O.C.G.A. 16-8-12(a) begins: "A person convicted of a violation of Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9 shall be punished as for a misdemeanor except" in the situations it lists. The value tiers are:

The misdemeanor row comes from Georgia's general misdemeanor sentence, O.C.G.A. 17-10-3(a)(1): "a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or by confinement in the county or other jail ... for a total term not to exceed 12 months, or both." The prison ranges come from 16-8-12(a)(1)(A) through (D) themselves.

Two points about the wording. First, the boundary is exact: the lowest prison tier starts at "$1,500.01," so property worth exactly $1,500 stays in the misdemeanor range. Second, the value tiers in 16-8-12(a)(1)(A) through (C) state prison ranges without using the word "felony," while 16-8-12(a)(1)(D) states that a person with two prior theft convictions, "upon a third conviction or subsequent conviction, ... shall be guilty of a felony" and sets the same one-to-five-year range.

The judge's misdemeanor option is real in the lower tiers. In Ward v. State (Ga. Ct. App. Aug. 22, 2025), the Court of Appeals explained that because converted funds of $14,700 fell between $5,000 and $25,000, "the court was authorized to sentence Ward to a term of imprisonment ranging from one to ten years," and that "the trial court also had the discretion to impose a misdemeanor sentence." The ranges in the table are the statutory limits, not a prediction of any sentence.

The repeat-offense rule in 16-8-12(a)(1)(D) counts prior convictions under Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9, and its text contains no time limit on how old those convictions can be.

Thefts with set ranges regardless of value

O.C.G.A. 16-8-12(a) also sets its own ranges for certain property or certain offenders, apart from the value tiers:

For regulated metal property (the term is defined in Code Section 10-1-350), 16-8-12(a)(9) counts "the sum of the aggregate amount of such property, in its original and undamaged condition, plus any reasonable costs which are or would be incurred in the repair or the attempt to recover any property damaged in the theft or removal." Damage done while removing the metal can therefore push a theft over the $500 line.

For theft of "a growing or otherwise unharvested commercial agricultural product which is being grown or produced as a crop," 16-8-12(c) requires "a fine of not less than $1,000.00," which "shall not in any such case be subject to suspension, stay, or probation." That minimum fine does not apply when a sentence of confinement is imposed and is not suspended, stayed or probated.

Shoplifting in Georgia

Georgia has a separate shoplifting statute. Under O.C.G.A. 16-8-14(a), a person commits theft by shoplifting when, "alone or in concert with another person, with the intent of appropriating merchandise to his or her own use without paying for the same or to deprive the owner of possession thereof or of the value thereof, in whole or in part," the person does any of the following:

• conceals or takes possession of a store's goods or merchandise;
• alters the price tag or other price marking;
• transfers goods from one container to another;
• swaps the label or price tag from one item onto another; or
• wrongfully causes the amount paid to be less than the merchant's stated price.

The listed acts do not include leaving the store: under 16-8-14(a)(1), concealing or taking possession of store merchandise with the required intent is itself one of the ways the offense is committed.

Shoplifting penalties

The repeat rules count earlier shoplifting convictions whether they were felonies or misdemeanors. For the fourth-offense rule only, 16-8-14(b)(1)(C)(i) provides that "the term 'conviction' shall include a plea of nolo contendere." On a third conviction, the court may also require the defendant "to undergo psychological evaluation and treatment to be paid for by the defendant."

The Georgia Court of Appeals restated the felony line in Wong v. State (Ga. Ct. App. July 28, 2026): "The offense is punished as a felony if the value of the merchandise taken exceeds $500. OCGA 16-8-14(b)(2)."

Burglary is a separate offense with no value element. Under O.C.G.A. 16-7-1(c), a person commits burglary in the second degree when, "without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein, he or she enters or remains within an occupied, unoccupied, or vacant building, structure, railroad car, watercraft, or aircraft," a felony punishable by one to five years, or one to eight years on a second or later conviction. Under 16-7-2(b), a person commits smash and grab burglary "when he or she intentionally and without authority enters a retail establishment with the intent to commit a theft and causes damage in excess of $500.00 to such establishment without the owner's consent," a felony punishable by 2 to 20 years, a fine of up to $100,000, or both, and 5 to 20 years on a second or later conviction (16-7-2(c)).

How shoplifting value is measured

For shoplifting, O.C.G.A. 16-8-14(c) defines value as "the actual retail price of the property at the time and place of the offense." It adds: "The unaltered price tag or other marking on property, or duly identified photographs thereof, shall be prima-facie evidence of value and ownership of the property."

Organized retail theft and retail property fencing

Georgia added a separate organized retail theft offense, O.C.G.A. 16-8-14.2, through House Bill 327, effective July 1, 2021. It applies to a person who "intentionally organizes, plans, finances, directs, manages, or supervises one or more other persons" to take store property without paying, when all of these are true under 16-8-14.2(a):

• the property is taken from one or more stores over a period of 180 days;
• it is taken "with the intent to sell such property for monetary or other gain";
• the aggregate value "has a value exceeding $24,999.99"; and
• it "is placed or is to be placed in the control of a retail property fence as defined in Code Section 16-8-5.2 or other person in exchange for consideration."

A conviction is a felony punished by "imprisonment for not less than three nor more than 20 years, a fine not to exceed $50,000.00, or both" (16-8-14.2(d)). Value is the actual retail price at the time and place of the offense, and the case may be brought "in any county in which an incident of organized retail theft occurred" (16-8-14.2(b)-(c)).

O.C.G.A. 16-8-5.2(b) separately defines retail property fencing: a person commits it by receiving, disposing of or retaining "retail property which was unlawfully taken or shoplifted over a period not to exceed 180 days" with intent to transfer, sell or distribute it to a retail property fence, or to cause it to be offered for sale, transfer or distribution "for money or other things of value."

Can a Georgia store detain someone suspected of shoplifting?

Georgia's detention authority for stores is in O.C.G.A. 17-4-80. The civil protection that goes with it is in O.C.G.A. 51-7-60: when a retail establishment's owner, operator, agent or employee detains someone under 17-4-80 and that person later sues for false arrest or false imprisonment, "no recovery shall be had" when it is established that the person behaved in a way that would "cause a person of reasonable prudence to believe" they were committing an offense authorized for detention, and that "the manner of the detention and the length of time during which such plaintiff was detained was under all the circumstances reasonable."

Security tags count. Under O.C.G.A. 51-7-61, "the automatic activation of the device as a result of a person exiting the establishment or a protected area within the establishment shall constitute reasonable cause for the detention of the person so exiting." The same section limits the stop: "Each detention shall be made only in a reasonable manner and only for a reasonable period of time sufficient for any inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the activation of the device." Under 51-7-61(c), the rule applies "only with respect to mercantile establishments in which a notice has been posted in a clear and visible manner advising patrons of the establishment that an antishoplifting or inventory control device is being utilized in the establishment."

Civil demands: can a store make you pay after a theft?

O.C.G.A. 51-10-6 gives a property owner a civil claim against "any person who willfully damages the owner's personal property or who commits a theft as defined in Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 16." The owner may recover compensatory damages, which may include the value of the property and "any other loss sustained as a result of the willful damage or theft offense."

When the total claim, including exemplary damages, is less than $5,000, the owner may also recover "liquidated exemplary damages equal to $300.00 or triple the amount of the entire loss sustained by the property owner ... whichever is greater, and the cost of maintaining the civil action," but only if the conditions in 51-10-6(a)(2) are met. Among them:

• at least 30 days before filing, the owner gave written notice of a demand "by personal delivery or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested"; and
• the person did not pay the amount demanded within 30 days after receiving the demand, did not agree to a payment arrangement in that period, or agreed but did not pay as agreed.

A criminal conviction is not required. The court in the civil case may decide that a theft offense was committed "whether or not any person has pleaded guilty to or has been convicted of any criminal offense or has been adjudicated delinquent."

The statute also protects the person sued. Under 51-10-6(b), that person "shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and court costs upon a finding that the claimant raised a claim which was without reasonable, factual, or legal support." For this section, "value" means "the retail value of any personal property that is offered for sale by a mercantile establishment or the replacement value of any other personal property."

These rules set what an owner can recover and the steps a demand must follow; they do not say how a particular letter should be answered. A lawyer licensed in Georgia can advise on a specific demand.

Other theft offenses with their own grades

Several theft offenses in Chapter 8 of Title 16, and gift card theft in Chapter 9, carry their own penalties instead of the 16-8-12 value tiers:

Recent changes to Georgia theft law

• Organized retail theft (July 1, 2021). House Bill 327 (Ga. L. 2021, p. 273) created the organized retail theft offense in 16-8-14.2, with its $24,999.99 aggregate threshold and three-to-20-year range, and amended the retail property fencing section, 16-8-5.2. The same act let a nolo contendere plea count toward the fourth-shoplifting felony in 16-8-14(b)(1)(C) and let the court go below the one-year mandatory minimum when the prosecutor and defendant agree to a lower sentence.
• Elderly-victim theft by deception range repealed (July 1, 2021). House Bill 363 (Ga. L. 2021, p. 384) replaced 16-8-12(b), the former 5-to-10-year range for theft by deception over $500 against a person 65 or older, with "Reserved."
• Livestock theft (July 1, 2024). House Bill 827 (Act 499, signed April 30, 2024) raised the livestock theft range in 16-8-20(c) to 2 to 15 years and a $10,000 fine, and made theft of livestock worth $100 or less a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
• Gift card theft (July 1, 2026). House Bill 447 (Act 627, signed May 12, 2026) created O.C.G.A. 16-9-64, covering gift card theft, gift card forgery and gift card fraud, punished by "imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years and a fine not to exceed $5,000.00."

The Court of Appeals decisions in Ward (2025) and Wong (2026) apply the same $5,000-to-$25,000 general theft tier and the same $500 shoplifting line described above.

Related legal issues

Theft by deception and other schemes are covered in Georgia scam and fraud laws, and misuse of someone else's identifying information in Georgia identity theft laws. Whether a theft record can be restricted is covered in Georgia expungement laws.

Time limits matter too. Under O.C.G.A. 17-3-1(e), "prosecution for misdemeanors shall be commenced within two years after the commission of the crime." For felonies other than those listed in 17-3-1(a), (b) and (d), and except as provided in Code Section 17-3-2.1, 17-3-1(c) sets four years, or seven years when the victim was under 18 at the time of the offense. Under O.C.G.A. 17-3-2, these periods do not include any time in which "the person committing the crime is unknown or the crime is unknown," among other exclusions. More detail is in our guide to the Georgia statute of limitations.

Federal theft offenses are covered on our theft laws by state hub.

Related

• Theft laws by state
• Georgia scam and fraud laws
• Georgia identity theft laws
• Georgia expungement laws
• Georgia statute of limitations

This page provides general legal information about Georgia theft statutes as of October 13, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Georgia.

Last updated: 2026-10-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the felony theft threshold in Georgia?

For general theft, the one-to-five-year prison range begins at $1,500.01 in value (O.C.G.A. 16-8-12(a)(1)(C)); at $1,500 or less theft is punished as a misdemeanor. For shoplifting, the statute expressly makes theft a felony when the merchandise exceeds $500 (16-8-14(b)(2)).

Is stealing $1,000 a felony in Georgia?

Under the general theft penalty section, property worth $1,000 falls below the $1,500.01 line, so theft by taking is punished as a misdemeanor (16-8-12(a)) unless another rule in that section applies, such as a third theft conviction or the property being a firearm. Separate statutes also set prison ranges that do not depend on that value line, including entering a vehicle with intent to commit a theft (16-8-18), porch piracy (16-8-25), possession of stolen mail (16-8-24) and gift card theft (16-9-64). If the $1,000 in goods was shoplifted, it exceeds $500 and is a felony carrying 1 to 10 years (16-8-14(b)(2)).

Is shoplifting a felony in Georgia?

Theft by shoplifting is a misdemeanor when the merchandise is worth $500 or less and a felony carrying 1 to 10 years when it exceeds $500 (O.C.G.A. 16-8-14(b)). A fourth shoplifting conviction is a felony regardless of value, and thefts adding up to more than $500 across three stores in one county within seven days, or within 180 days, can also be felonies. Burglary is separate and has no value element: entering or remaining in a building without authority and with intent to commit a theft there is burglary in the second degree, 1 to 5 years, and entering a retail establishment without authority to steal while causing more than $500 in damage is smash and grab burglary, 2 to 20 years (5 to 20 on a repeat conviction) (O.C.G.A. 16-7-1(c), 16-7-2).

What happens for a first shoplifting offense in Georgia?

A first conviction for shoplifting merchandise worth $500 or less is punished as a misdemeanor (16-8-14(b)(1)). Georgia's general misdemeanor sentence is a fine of up to $1,000, confinement for up to 12 months, or both (17-10-3(a)(1)).

What is the punishment for misdemeanor theft in Georgia?

Theft punished as a misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $1,000, confinement for a total term of up to 12 months, or both, under O.C.G.A. 17-10-3(a)(1).

Does Georgia use petty theft and grand theft?

Georgia's theft penalty section, O.C.G.A. 16-8-12, does not use those labels. It sets misdemeanor punishment at $1,500 or less and prison ranges by value above that: 1 to 5 years, 1 to 10 years and 2 to 20 years.

Is stealing a gun a felony in Georgia?

Theft of a destructive device, explosive or firearm carries 1 to 10 years of imprisonment regardless of value, and 5 to 10 years on a second or later conviction (O.C.G.A. 16-8-12(a)).

Can a store sue me for shoplifting in Georgia?

O.C.G.A. 51-10-6 lets a property owner sue for theft, and the court may find a theft occurred without any criminal conviction. On claims under $5,000, the owner may add $300 or triple the loss, whichever is greater, if it sent a written demand at least 30 days before suing and the demand was not paid or settled.

Can a Georgia store stop me if the security alarm goes off?

Under O.C.G.A. 51-7-61, automatic activation of an antishoplifting device as a person exits is reasonable cause for detention, but each detention must be made only in a reasonable manner and only for a reasonable time to look into why the device went off. The rule applies only in a store that has posted a clear and visible notice that such a device is in use (51-7-61(c)).