If store security stops you for shoplifting in Florida, the store can hold you for a reasonable time and must call police. The value on the price tags sets the charge. Under $750 is petit theft, a misdemeanor. At $750 or more, it is grand theft, a felony.
Two Florida rules catch holiday shoppers off guard. Florida adds together thefts from different stores within 120 days, so several small incidents can become one felony. A person with two prior theft convictions can be charged with a felony for a third theft, no matter how small the amount. Many first cases can be resolved without an adjudication of guilt, and that outcome decides whether the record can be sealed later.
If Store Security Stops You
- Stay calm and do not run or pull away. Resisting a store employee’s effort to recover merchandise is a separate first-degree misdemeanor. Using force against an employee while leaving can turn a shoplifting case into a robbery charge, a felony.
- Give back unpaid merchandise if asked. Do not explain, argue about what the video shows, or write an apology.
- Do not sign anything. That includes confessions, admissions, and “civil restitution” or payment forms. The law lets the store detain you to recover property and call police. It does not require you to give a statement.
- Expect police. Florida law says a law enforcement officer “shall be called to the scene immediately.” Give the officer your identification, and say you want to speak with a lawyer before answering questions.
- Write down what happened as soon as you can. Note the time, the names of staff and officers, whether you were searched or touched, how long you were held, and any witnesses.
- If it happened at self-checkout, keep your receipt and your card or bank record, and write down which items you scanned. The store’s video and register records will be the evidence.
After the Stop: What to Do Next
- Keep your court date. If police gave you a notice to appear, read it for your court date and location. Put it in your phone calendar and keep the paper.
- Do not contact the store, its security staff, or its lawyers about what happened.
- Do not pay a civil demand letter until a lawyer has read it. Paying it does not end the criminal case.
- Bring these to a lawyer: the notice to appear or arrest paperwork, anything the store gave you, any demand letter, your receipt and card or bank record, your written notes, the names of witnesses, and a list of any past theft charges. Past theft convictions can raise the charge, so your lawyer needs to know about them.
- Tell your lawyer if you are not a U.S. citizen before any plea is discussed.
The first consultation is free and confidential. Call (305) 774-7000.
What the Charge Will Be
Under Fla. Stat. § 812.014, the value of what was taken sets the charge:
- Under $100: petit theft of the second degree, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
- $100 to under $750: petit theft of the first degree, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
- $750 to under $20,000: grand theft of the third degree, a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
- $20,000 to under $100,000: grand theft of the second degree. $100,000 or more: grand theft of the first degree.
The value is the price on the tag when the item was taken. Miami-Dade’s appeals court said so in F.T. v. State, 146 So. 3d 1270 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).
A prior record raises the charge. With one prior theft conviction, any petit theft is a first-degree misdemeanor, even for a small amount. After two or more prior theft convictions, petit theft becomes a third-degree felony. A second conviction for petit theft from a store also carries a mandatory fine of $50 to $1,000, or community service in place of the fine.
How a First Case Can End
- Diversion. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office offers pretrial diversion programs for first-time offenders. Under § 948.08(2), a person charged with a misdemeanor or third-degree felony who has no more than one prior nonviolent misdemeanor conviction is eligible. The program administrator must approve, and the victim, the State Attorney, and the judge must consent. In a shoplifting case, the victim is the store. Completing a program can lead to the charge being dropped, which court records may show as a “nolle prosequi” or “nolle pros.”
- Withhold of adjudication. The judge accepts the plea but does not enter a formal finding of guilt.
- How the outcome affects your record. An adjudication of guilt is a formal finding by the judge that you are guilty. Under Florida’s sealing statute, § 943.059, a person who has ever been adjudicated guilty of a crime in Florida, including petit theft, or who has already sealed or expunged another record, cannot seal or expunge a record. Sealing closes the record to the public. Expunction goes further: agencies destroy their copies, and the state keeps a confidential one. A dismissal, a dropped charge, or a completed diversion program keeps both available. A withhold keeps sealing available, and expunction can follow after the record has been sealed for 10 years. Theft is not on the list of offenses that can never be sealed. A robbery conviction is, even with a withhold.
Do not count on a civil citation, a ticket some departments issue to adults in place of an arrest. At least one Miami-Dade police department, South Miami, lists retail theft among the offenses excluded from its adult civil citation program.
The Civil Demand Letter
Many people get a letter from the store or its lawyers demanding money after a shoplifting stop. No Florida law requires you to pay it. The letter is a demand under Florida’s civil theft statute, § 772.11. That law lets a store sue you for three times its actual damages, with a $200 minimum. To win, the store must prove theft “by clear and convincing evidence.” A demand letter is not a court order, and paying it does not end the criminal case. Have a lawyer read it before you pay anything.
If a Teenager Is Charged
For a person under 18 with no prior record, a court may take away a driver license, or hold off on issuing one, for 6 months to 1 year as an alternative to sentencing under § 812.0155.
Parents can be responsible on a civil theft claim for a minor child living at home.
The same steps apply to your child: stay calm, sign nothing, give no statement, keep the court date, and bring every paper from the store and police to the consultation.
The 120-Day Rule and Other Felony Retail Theft
Florida’s retail theft statute, § 812.015, turns some shoplifting into a third-degree felony even when no single theft reaches $750. Adding thefts together is called aggregation. Since October 1, 2024, the time windows in the statute are 120 days; they used to be 30. Ways a person commits felony retail theft include:
- Stealing from more than one store within 120 days when the thefts add up to $750 or more.
- Committing three or more retail thefts within 120 days involving 10 or more items, at two or more store locations, “regardless of the value.”
- Acting with five or more other people to overwhelm store employees or police. Recruiting participants through social media makes it a second-degree felony.
Possessing or using an anti-theft countermeasure, such as a foil-lined bag or a tag remover, inside a store is a separate third-degree felony, and nothing has to be taken.
If the thefts happen in more than one judicial circuit (the court districts that divide the state, such as Miami-Dade and Broward) within 120 days, the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor handles the case. A conviction under § 812.015 also requires the court to order restitution, meaning you must pay the store back for its loss.
Self-Checkout Mistakes
No Florida statute addresses self-checkout directly. The question is intent. Theft requires that a person “knowingly” take property “with intent to” deprive the owner, and retail theft requires “intent to deprive the merchant.” An honest scanning mistake lacks that intent. Changing or swapping a price tag or barcode is itself retail theft, so a case built on that pattern is harder to defend as a mistake.
If You Are Not a U.S. Citizen
Get immigration advice before any plea. Under federal immigration law, a Florida withhold of adjudication after a guilty or no contest plea can count as a conviction.
Immigration law treats some offenses as a “crime involving moral turpitude,” a category that can affect a non-citizen’s status. The Board of Immigration Appeals has held that theft, including shoplifting under Arizona law, falls in that category when the intent is to deprive the owner permanently or under circumstances that substantially erode the owner’s property rights (Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga, 26 I&N Dec. 847 (BIA 2016)). Florida’s theft statute also covers temporary deprivation, so how a Florida plea is treated depends on the record. See our guide on immigration consequences of a plea in Florida.
For more on how theft charges work, see our theft and fraud defense page, our criminal defense page, and our post on the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony in Florida. If you were taken into custody, our guide on what to do if you are arrested in Miami-Dade County covers the first steps. To clear a record afterward, see our guide on how to seal or expunge a criminal record in Florida.
This post reflects the Florida Statutes as of November 2026.
Sources: Fla. Stat. §§ 812.014, 812.015, 812.0155, 812.13, 772.11, 775.082, 775.083, 943.059, 943.0584, 943.0585, 948.08; Chapter 2024-69, Laws of Florida (CS/HB 549); F.T. v. State, 146 So. 3d 1270 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014); Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga, 26 I&N Dec. 847 (BIA 2016); 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A); Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Diversion Programs.
Quick Answers
What happens if you get caught shoplifting in Florida?
The store can hold you for a reasonable time and must call police. Police can arrest you or give you a notice to appear in court. Under $750 is petit theft, a misdemeanor with up to 60 days or 1 year in jail depending on value. At $750 to under $20,000, it is grand theft of the third degree, a felony with up to 5 years in prison. Many first cases end through diversion or a withhold, which keeps sealing available.
Will I go to jail for shoplifting in Florida?
The law allows jail. Petit theft under $100 carries up to 60 days, and $100 to under $750 carries up to 1 year. Grand theft of $750 to under $20,000 carries up to 5 years in prison, and higher amounts carry more. First-time offenders in Miami-Dade may qualify for pretrial diversion, and completing it can lead to the charge being dropped.
Is shoplifting a felony in Florida?
Yes, in these cases: the value is $750 or more; thefts from more than one store within 120 days add up to $750 or more; three or more retail thefts within 120 days involve 10 or more items at two or more stores; the person acts with five or more others to overwhelm store employees or police; the person has an anti-theft countermeasure such as a foil-lined bag inside a store, which is a separate felony; or it is a third theft after two prior theft convictions. Otherwise, under $750 is petit theft, a misdemeanor.
Can a store hold me until police arrive?
Yes, if the store has probable cause, meaning a reasonable basis to believe you took something. Florida law lets a merchant detain a person in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time. Florida law does not require you to give the store a statement or sign anything.
What should I do if I get a civil demand letter after shoplifting?
Do not pay it or sign anything until a lawyer reads it. No Florida law requires you to pay it. It is a demand under Florida’s civil theft statute, not a court order, and paying it does not end the criminal case. Keep the letter and bring it to your consultation.
I got a notice to appear for shoplifting. What do I do?
Keep the court date on the notice, do not contact the store, and do not pay any demand letter yet. Bring the notice, any store paperwork, your receipt and payment records, and your written notes to a lawyer.
What if I forgot to scan an item at self-checkout?
Theft requires intent to deprive the store of the item, so an honest mistake is a defense. The store’s video and register records will be the evidence. Keep your receipt and payment record, and do not argue the case with store staff.
Can a shoplifting charge be sealed in Florida?
It can if you have never been adjudicated guilty of a crime in Florida and have never sealed or expunged another record. A dismissal, a completed diversion program, or a withhold keeps sealing available. An adjudication of guilt for petit theft, or a juvenile adjudication of delinquency for petit theft, is a permanent bar, and a robbery conviction can never be sealed.
What happens if my teenager is caught shoplifting in Florida?
For a teen under 18 with no prior record, a court may take away a driver license, or hold off on issuing one, for 6 months to 1 year as an alternative to sentencing. Parents can be responsible on a civil theft claim for a minor child living at home, so have a lawyer read any demand letter before paying.
The first consultation is free and confidential, with no obligation to retain.
Last updated: November 14, 2026.