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RCW 9A.56.040

Theft in the second degree.

Known as the Washington Criminal Code

The act spans §§ 9–9 (401 sections).

Applied in 96 court decisions — leading case Ewing v. California (2003)

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

2017 c 266 s 11; 2013 c 322 s 3; 2012 c 233 s 3; 2009 c 431 s 8; 2007 c 199 s 4; 1995 c 129 s 12 (Initiative Measure No. 159); 1994 sp.s. c 7 s 433; 1987 c 140 s 2; 1982 1st ex.…

How often courts cite this section

19781990200020102020202560
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) Except as provided in RCW 9A.56.400, a person is guilty of theft in the second degree if he or she commits theft of:

(a) Property or services which exceed(s) seven hundred fifty dollars in value but does not exceed five thousand dollars in value, other than a firearm as defined in RCW 9.41.010 or a motor vehicle;

(b) A public record, writing, or instrument kept, filed, or deposited according to law with or in the keeping of any public office or public servant;

(c) Commercial metal property, nonferrous metal property, or private metal property, as those terms are defined in *RCW 19.290.010, and the costs of the damage to the owner's property exceed seven hundred fifty dollars but does not exceed five thousand dollars in value; or

(d) An access device.

(2) Theft in the second degree is a class C felony.

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