The Theft Ladder
ORC 2913.02 — where a number turns a misdemeanour into a felony
One section covers almost all of it, and the thing that decides how serious a theft charge is usually is not what was taken or how. It is a number. The same act at nine hundred dollars and at eleven hundred dollars is a misdemeanour and a felony, and nothing else about it has changed.
| Value of what was taken | What the section calls it | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1,000 | Petty theft | First degree misdemeanour |
| $1,000 to under $7,500 | Theft | Fifth degree felony |
| $7,500 to under $150,000 | Grand theft | Fourth degree felony |
| $150,000 to under $750,000 | Aggravated theft | Third degree felony |
| $750,000 to under $1,500,000 | Aggravated theft | Second degree felony |
| $1,500,000 or more | Aggravated theft | First degree felony |
Value is an element like any other, which means it is proved rather than asserted. It is what the property was worth, not what a price tag said and not what it cost new, and where a course of conduct is charged as one offence the amounts can be added together, which is how a series of small takings becomes a felony.
Shoplifting is not an offence in Ohio. It is a word for a situation, and the charge written is theft under the same section as everything else on this page, on the same ladder. A store detention has its own rules and the criminal case is separate from what the shop does next.
“What value is this charge written at.”
This is the general theft section. Receiving stolen property, misuse of a credit card, passing bad cheques, identity fraud and theft from a vulnerable adult are their own sections with their own ladders, and a charge that sounds like theft may be written under one of those instead. The list of property that carries a felony regardless of value is longer than the three examples above and reaches other degrees for some items. Whether an amount is provable, whether counts can be aggregated, and which section a set of facts belongs under are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney.
Sources for this section (6)
- ORC 2913.02 — Theft
- ORC 2913.71 — Property that makes a theft a fifth degree felony whatever it was worth
- ORC 2929.24 — Definite jail terms for misdemeanors
- ORC 2929.14 — Definite prison terms for felonies
- ORC 2911.21 — Criminal trespass
- ORC 2307.61 — The civil action a property owner may bring for a theft offence, and the demand letter
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.