RCW 9A.56.020

Theft—Definition, defense.

Known as the Washington Criminal Code

The act spans §§ 9A.04.010 to 9A.98.020 (401 sections).

Applied in 221 court decisions — leading case Nijhawan v. Holder (2009)

Most recently applied in State of Washington v. Kevin Wade Zimmerman (March 2025)

2004 c 122 s 1; 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 38 s 9; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.56.020.

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) "Theft" means:

(a) To wrongfully obtain or exert unauthorized control over the property or services of another or the value thereof, with intent to deprive him or her of such property or services; or

(b) By color or aid of deception to obtain control over the property or services of another or the value thereof, with intent to deprive him or her of such property or services; or

(c) To appropriate lost or misdelivered property or services of another, or the value thereof, with intent to deprive him or her of such property or services.

(2) In any prosecution for theft, it shall be a sufficient defense that:

(a) The property or service was appropriated openly and avowedly under a claim of title made in good faith, even though the claim be untenable; or

(b) The property was merchandise pallets that were received by a pallet recycler or repairer in the ordinary course of its business.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.