Petty theft: administrative or criminal liability

Whether theft is an administrative offence or a criminal one is decided by the law primarily by the value of what was taken. Small amounts fall under Article 51 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences (hereinafter — the CoAO), “Petty theft of another’s property”, larger ones under Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter — the CC), “Theft”. Below — the limits in hryvnias for acts of 2026, penalties and consequences.

Where the line lies between petty theft and theft

Article 51 of the CoAO concerns the taking of another’s property by theft, fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement. From here on, the text deals only with theft.

The value of the property is taken as of the time of the offence, and the limits are set by law in non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (hereinafter — NTMI):

• Part 1 — the value does not exceed 0.5 NTMI;
• Part 2 — the value is from 0.5 to two NTMI.

Taking property worth more than two NTMI does not fall under Article 51: secret taking of such value is classified as theft under Article 185 of the CC.

How much this is in hryvnias

For the classification of offences, the NTMI equals the tax social benefit of the relevant year (paragraph 5 of Subsection 1 of Section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine, hereinafter — the TCU). The benefit is 50% of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as of 1 January of the year (subparagraph 169.1.1 of the TCU), and from 1 January 2026 this minimum is UAH 3,328 (Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026”). Thus, for acts of 2026, one NTMI for classification is UAH 1,664, and the limits are:

• up to UAH 832 inclusive — Article 51(1) of the CoAO;
• from UAH 832 to UAH 3,328 — Article 51(2) of the CoAO;
• over UAH 3,328 — theft under Article 185 of the CC.

For an act of another year, the limits are calculated from the subsistence minimum on 1 January of that year.

Penalties for petty theft

The penalty under Article 51 of the CoAO increases with value and repetition:

• Up to 0.5 NTMI — a fine of 50 to 100 NTMI, community service of 20 to 30 hours or administrative arrest for up to five days.
• From 0.5 to two NTMI — a fine of 100 to 300 NTMI, community service of 30 to 40 hours, corrective labour for up to one month with a 20% deduction from earnings, or arrest for five to ten days.
• Repeatedly within a year, if a penalty has already been imposed for such an offence — a fine of 300 to 600 NTMI, community service of 40 to 60 hours, corrective labour for one to two months or arrest for 10 to 15 days.
• By a person who has been subjected to a penalty three or more times within a year for petty theft — a fine of 600 to 1,000 NTMI or arrest for 15 days.

For the amount of the fine, unlike for classification, the NTMI equals UAH 17 (the same paragraph 5 of the TCU). So the fine under Part 1 is UAH 850–1,700, under Part 2 — UAH 1,700–5,100, under Part 3 — UAH 5,100–10,200, under Part 4 — UAH 10,200–17,000.

How a case under Article 51 of the CoAO is heard

The protocol is drawn up by the police (Article 255 of the CoAO), and the case is heard by a judge of a district, district-in-city, city or city-district court (Article 221 of the CoAO). The presence of the person being held liable is mandatory. They have the right to examine the case file, give explanations, submit evidence and motions, and use the legal assistance of an attorney (Article 268 of the CoAO).

A penalty for petty theft may be imposed within six months from the day the offence is discovered, but no later than two years from the day it was committed (Part 4 of Article 38 of the CoAO).

Administrative liability arises from the age of 16 (Article 12 of the CoAO). If petty theft was committed by a teenager aged 14 to 16, a fine of 50 to 100 NTMI (UAH 850–1,700) is imposed on the parents or the persons who replace them (Part 3 of Article 184 of the CoAO).

When it is theft under Article 185 of the CC

Under Article 185 of the CC the punishment depends on the part of the article under which the theft is classified. The severity category of each part is examined in the article on the classification of crimes by degree of severity; here it is named only for Part 1, because the consequences depend on it.

• Part 1 — theft without qualifying features: a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 NTMI (UAH 17,000–51,000), community service of 80 to 240 hours, corrective labour for up to two years, probation supervision or restriction of liberty for up to five years. Imprisonment is not provided for, so this is a criminal misdemeanour (Part 2 of Article 12 of the CC).
• Part 2 — repeatedly or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons: probation supervision for three to five years, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to five years. Theft is repeated if the person has previously committed a criminal offence under Articles 185–187, 189–191 or 262 of the CC, but not if they were released from criminal liability for it, the criminal record has been expunged or removed, or the punishment for a criminal misdemeanour has already been served (Part 4 of Article 32 of the CC).
• Part 3 — with entry into a dwelling, other premises or storage facility, or with significant harm to the victim: imprisonment from three to six years. Significant harm is from 100 to 250 NTMI (for acts of 2026 — UAH 166,400–416,000), taking into account the financial situation of the victim.
• Part 4 — on a large scale (250 NTMI or more; for acts of 2026 — from UAH 416,000) or under martial law or a state of emergency: imprisonment from five to eight years.
• Part 5 — on a particularly large scale (600 NTMI or more) or by an organised group: imprisonment from seven to twelve years with confiscation of property.

The feature “under martial law or a state of emergency” in Part 4 is not connected with the amount stolen: if the stolen property is worth more than two NTMI, theft under martial law may be classified not under Part 1 (a fine) but under Part 4 (imprisonment from five to eight years). How this feature is applied in a specific case is a question for an attorney.

Criminal liability for theft arises from the age of 14: Article 185 is expressly named in Part 2 of Article 22 of the CC.

Consequences: will there be a criminal record

After an administrative penalty, a person is considered not to have been subjected to it if, within a year from the day the execution of the penalty ended, they have not committed a new administrative offence (Article 39 of the CoAO).

A criminal record arises only from a judgment of conviction: a person has it from the day the judgment enters into legal force until the criminal record is expunged or removed (Part 1 of Article 88 of the CC). For theft under Part 1 of Article 185, that is, for a criminal misdemeanour, a person is deemed to have no criminal record immediately after serving the punishment (paragraph 2-1 of Article 89 of the CC). What a criminal record means in life and at work is covered in the article on the criminal record and its consequences.

A person who has committed a criminal misdemeanour for the first time, including theft under Part 1 of Article 185, is released from criminal liability:

• if they sincerely repented, actively assisted in the detection of the offence and fully compensated the losses or eliminated the harm (Article 45 of the CC);
• if they reconciled with the victim and compensated the losses or eliminated the harm (Article 46 of the CC).

Articles 45 and 46 do not apply to Parts 2–5 of Article 185: they extend only to criminal misdemeanours and negligent minor crimes. Whether there are other grounds for release in a specific case should be clarified with an attorney.

If a protocol has been drawn up against you under Article 51 of the CoAO or you have been notified of a suspicion of theft, for help from defence counsel go to the page “Criminal Law”.

The provisions are cited as currently in force as of 13 October 2026.