Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order: Texas Penal Code §32.24

The Texas Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order law gives police the right to arrest you if they believe you stole an unsigned check or received a stolen unsigned check with the intent to use, sell, or transfer it to another person.

The Texas legislature codified this criminal offense in Texas Penal Code Section 32.24. The law was amended in 2025 to increase the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. This was the first amendment to this statute since 1999.

The penalty increase reclassified the offense as a felony, which means it now carries a felony limitations period. In addition, the legislature extended the limitations period for this and all other Chapter 32 felonies to seven years.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check law under Title 7 “Offenses Against Property,” Chapter 32 “Fraud.” Learn more about the Texas offense of Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order below.

What is the current Texas law about Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order?

Texas law currently defines the offense of Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order in Penal Code Section §32.24 as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if the person steals an unsigned check or similar sight order or, with knowledge that an unsigned check or similar sight order has been stolen, receives the check or sight order with intent to use it, to sell it, or to transfer it to a person other than the person from whom the check or sight order was stolen.

What is the penalty for a Texas Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check offense?

As of September 1, 2025, a conviction for Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order in Texas is punished as a state jail felony.^[2]

For conduct occurring before September 1, 2025, the offense is classified as a Class A misdemeanor, with a maximum fine of $4,000 and up to one year in jail.^[3]

What Changed in 2025?

In 2025, the Texas Legislature increased the penalty for Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony.^[4]

This change applies only to conduct occurring on or after September 1, 2025.^[5] Offenses committed before that date remain subject to the prior penalty scheme.

In addition to the penalty increase, the statute of limitations for this offense was extended from two years to seven years for conduct occurring on or after September 1, 2025.^[6]

How can I be charged with a Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check offense in Texas?

You can be charged with Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check or Similar Sight Order in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of 32.24(a) as described in the section above have been met.

What is the statute of limitations for Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check in Texas?

Misdemeanor level Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check charges have a two-year limitations period.^[7] Felony level Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check charges have a seven-year limitations period for offenses occurring on or after September 1, 2025.^[8] For conduct before September 1, 2025, the limitations period was two years because the offense was classified as a misdemeanor, and the new seven-year period does not revive prosecutions already barred before that date.^[9]

Can you get probation for Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check in Texas?

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows both judges and juries to grant probation for Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check, and judges are also allowed to accept deferred adjudication plea deals.^[10]

Note, however, that judges may not grant community supervision after a conviction if (1) the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the felony or immediate flight thereafter and (2) the defendant used or exhibited the deadly weapon himself or was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited.^[11]

What level of crime is Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check in Texas?

As of September 1, 2025, Stealing or Receiving Stolen Check is classified as a state jail felony. For conduct occurring prior to that date, it is a Class A misdemeanor.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

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Legal References:

^1. Texas Penal Code §32.24. This law is current as of 2025.^2. Texas Penal Code §32.24(b), as amended by SB 1451, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 1^3. SB 1451, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 2–3^4. SB 1451, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 1^5. SB 1451, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 2–3^6. Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 12.01(3)(A), as amended by SB 2798, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 1, 3; SB 1451, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 2–3^7. Code of Criminal Procedure 12.02(a)^8. Code of Criminal Procedure 12.01(3)(A), as amended by SB 2798, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 1, 3^9. SB 2798, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 2^10. See Chapter 42, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 42A.054, Art. 42A.056, Art. 42A.102^11. Art. 42A.054(b), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure