The words people use, and the words the statute uses

In everyday speech, theft, robbery, and burglary get used as though they mean the same thing. Legally they are three separate offenses under three separate chapters of the Texas Penal Code, with different elements and dramatically different punishment ranges.

The gap is not academic. The same afternoon can produce a Class C misdemeanor citation or a first-degree felony carrying up to life in prison, depending on facts most people would consider incidental.

If you came home and your property was gone, you were not robbed

People say they were robbed when someone took their property. In Texas law the word is narrower, and the difference decides which offense is charged.

Someone entered your house while you were at work. That is burglary. The offense is the entry, not the taking.

Someone took property with nobody present and no unlawful entry. That is theft.

Someone confronted you and took your phone by force, or by threatening you. That is robbery. Robbery requires a person, present, and force or the threat of it. What people call a mugging is robbery.

Stealing is not a Texas offense name either. It is the everyday word for theft. None of this changes what happened. It changes which section of the Penal Code applies, and that is what sets the punishment range.

Theft, Texas Penal Code 31.03

Theft is unlawfully appropriating property with intent to deprive the owner of it. Shoplifting, employee theft, and taking personal belongings all fall here.

One refinement is worth knowing. Texas does not strictly require intent to permanently deprive. Section 31.01 defines deprive more broadly. It includes withholding property so long that a major portion of its value is lost, returning it only on payment of a reward, or disposing of it so recovery is unlikely. "I was going to bring it back" is not automatically a defense.

Penalties turn largely on value.

The ordinary felony line sits at $2,500. That single number changes everything about a case, and value is frequently contestable. Retail price is not always fair market value, and how the State calculates it is a real defense issue.

Value is not the only route to a felony. The statute sets rungs that do not depend on value at all. Theft of a firearm is a state jail felony whatever the firearm was worth. So is theft from the person. Theft under $2,500 can be a state jail felony where there are two or more prior theft convictions of any grade.

Other enhancements can move a case up a level as well, including theft from an elderly person, specified property types, and the organized retail theft provisions, which Texas revised for offenses committed on or after September 1, 2025. If a case involves several incidents, ask specifically how the State is aggregating value. That question is often where the offense level is won or lost.

What a theft charge means for one person is not what it means for another, because history, property type, and county practice all change the picture. Our page on Houston theft and robbery defense covers how these cases are actually handled, including the collateral consequences a conviction carries for licensing, housing, and immigration.

What about larceny? Texas does not use that word

Texas has no offense called larceny, and no offense called grand larceny. If you were charged in another state, or you are reading a definition written for one, the word does not carry over.

Texas folded its older property offenses into one. Section 31.02 of the Penal Code did it, and it names them: theft by false pretext, conversion by a bailee, theft from the person, shoplifting, acquisition of property by threat, swindling, swindling by worthless check, embezzlement, extortion, and receiving or concealing stolen or embezzled property. All of that is now the single offense of theft under Section 31.03.

Larceny is simply the word other states kept. The conduct it describes is charged here as theft.

Grand larceny is the same story. In Texas the usual dividing line is the value of the property, not a name, and as the table above shows, value is not the only path to a felony.

If a charging instrument, a background check, or an out-of-state record uses the word larceny, bring the paperwork to the consultation. It still has to be matched to a Texas offense before anyone can tell you what it means here.

Robbery, Texas Penal Code 29.02

Robbery is theft plus a person. It occurs when, in the course of committing theft and with intent to obtain or maintain control of property, someone causes bodily injury, or threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death.

Robbery is always a felony in Texas. There is no misdemeanor robbery. Robbery under Section 29.02 is a second-degree felony, 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Aggravated robbery under Section 29.03 is a first-degree felony, 5 to 99 years or life. It applies where the offense causes serious bodily injury, involves the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon, or is committed against someone 65 or older or a disabled person. Aggravated robbery also carries restrictions on judge-ordered community supervision and a delayed parole eligibility calculation, which is why the difference between robbery and aggravated robbery matters long after sentencing.

The detail that surprises people most is the phrase "in the course of committing theft." It includes flight immediately after the attempt or the offense. A shoplifting case, potentially a Class B misdemeanor, becomes a second-degree felony if the person shoves a loss-prevention employee on the way out the door. Same merchandise, same value, and a punishment range that jumps from months in county jail to potentially decades in prison.

No weapon is required for robbery. No injury is required either, if a threat placed someone in fear. Where a store encounter turned physical, the defense has to separate the alleged theft from the injury, the threat, the timing, and the mental state. We explain how that analysis works on our robbery and theft defense page.

Burglary, Texas Penal Code 30.02

Burglary is entering a habitation or building without the owner's effective consent, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or an assault, or committing or attempting one after entering.

Two corrections to how this is commonly described.

There is no breaking and entering offense in Texas. Nothing has to be broken. An unlocked door, an open window, or a garage left up is enough. Entry also has a broad definition. Intruding any part of the body, or any physical object connected to the body, counts.

Nothing has to be stolen. The offense is complete on entry with the required intent. Someone who enters intending to steal and leaves empty-handed has still committed burglary.

A habitation is a structure or vehicle adapted for overnight accommodation. That definition is broader than house and covers apartments, hotel rooms, and RVs.

Burglary of a vehicle is a separate offense under Section 30.04 and is generally a Class A misdemeanor, though prior convictions can elevate it. It is not the same as burglary under Section 30.02, and the difference matters enormously.

Criminal trespass under Section 30.05 is the lesser related offense. Entering without consent, but without the intent to commit a further crime. That missing element of intent is frequently the central battleground in a burglary case. If you are facing a habitation allegation, the exposure is serious enough that the defense issues we examine in burglary and property cases are worth reading before you make any decision about your case.

Side by side

Why these distinctions decide cases

The elements that separate these offenses are exactly where defenses live.

In theft cases, value is contestable. So is intent. A genuine mistake, a disputed ownership claim, or a good-faith belief in a right to the property are all real issues. How the State aggregates multiple incidents is frequently challengeable.

In robbery cases, the fight is often over whether force or a threat actually occurred, and whether it happened in the course of the theft. The difference between an accidental collision while leaving and an intentional shove is the difference between a misdemeanor and a second-degree felony.

In burglary cases, intent at the moment of entry is the battleground. The State must prove the person entered intending to commit a crime. Someone who entered for another reason and formed criminal intent later has a fundamentally different case, potentially criminal trespass plus theft rather than burglary. Consent is also frequently disputed. A former resident, an invited guest, or someone with a colorable claim of access presents a genuine question about effective consent.

These are not technicalities. They are the difference between offense levels separated by decades of potential prison time. Our record in criminal cases reflects work on exactly these kinds of contested elements.

Common questions