If a store detective stopped you in a German shop, three separate things usually follow: a criminal case for theft, a demand for money from the store, and a ban from the store. They run on different rules. Here is what each one means, what to say and sign at the time, and how a first case typically ends.
1. In the store: what staff may do
Anyone, store staff included, may hold a person caught in the act until the police arrive, if that person might run off or their identity can't be established on the spot (§ 127(1) StPO). The police can then establish your identity and, if that is otherwise not possible, hold and search you for it (§ 163b(1) StPO).
- Give your personal details to the police: name, address, date of birth and nationality. Those are not optional.
- You don't have to explain what happened, to the store or to the police. Your rights as a suspect are in our police letter guide.
- Read before you sign. Stores often hand over forms: a record of the incident, a confession, an acknowledgement of a debt, a store ban. You are not obliged to sign a confession or to agree to pay on the spot. Ask for a copy of anything you do sign.
2. What counts as theft
Shoplifting is ordinary theft: taking someone else's goods with the intention of keeping them. It carries a fine or up to five years in prison, and an attempt is punishable too (§ 242 StGB). So being stopped before the exit can still be an attempt.
Theft needs intent. Only intentional acts are punishable unless the law says otherwise (§ 15 StGB), and there is no offence of careless theft. An item that slipped through a self-checkout by mistake is not theft. Whether it was a mistake is a question of evidence, which is why it matters not to talk the case through with the store or the police before you know what is in the file.
Theft of low-value items is prosecuted only if the owner files a complaint, unless the prosecutor sees a special public interest (§ 248a StGB). Stores often file one. Stealing an item secured against theft, for example in a locked case or with a security device, can be a particularly serious case with a higher minimum sentence (§ 243(1) no. 2 StGB), though not where the item is of low value (§ 243(2) StGB).
3. The police letter
Later, a letter from the police usually arrives, inviting you to an interview or to give a written statement as a suspect (Beschuldigter). You don't have to attend or fill in the part about the facts. Defence lawyers generally ask for the file first and decide on a statement afterwards. The police letter guide explains why.
4. How a shoplifting case can end
The prosecutor decides. For a less serious offence the law offers several ways to end a case without a trial:
- Dropped as minor, where the guilt would be minor and there is no public interest in prosecution (§ 153 StPO).
- Dropped against a payment to a charity or the state, only with your consent (§ 153a StPO). This is not a conviction.
- A penalty order (Strafbefehl): a fine by post, counted in daily rates. You have two weeks to object (§ 410 StPO). See the penalty order guide.
Which of these is open depends on the value, whether it is a first case, and the file. A previous case matters. Our guide to what happens after a police report explains each outcome.
5. The store's demand for money
Separately from the criminal case, many stores send a demand for money: the value of anything damaged or not recovered, and often a flat fee for catching you (Fangprämie) or for handling the incident. This is a civil claim. It does not end the criminal case if you pay, and the criminal case does not decide it either.
Not every item on such a demand is necessarily owed. Check it before you pay, and don't treat a form you signed in the store as settling it. If the demand comes from a debt collector, our Inkasso guide explains what such letters can and can't add.
6. The store ban
A store can ban you from its premises (Hausverbot), often for a set period and sometimes for every branch of the chain. If you enter despite a ban, that can be trespass, punishable on complaint (§ 123 StGB). Keep the ban letter and check which stores and how long it covers.
7. Your record and your residence permit
- A case dropped under § 153 or § 153a is not a conviction. A first fine of up to 90 daily rates does not appear on an ordinary certificate of conduct if there is no other sentence in the register (§ 32(2) no. 5 BZRG). Details are in our criminal record guide.
- The immigration office is told when a criminal case against a foreign national starts and how it ends (§ 87(4) AufenthG).
- Being convicted several times of intentional theft offences committed within twelve months counts as a serious interest in expulsion; fines of up to 90 daily rates are left out of that count (§ 54(2) no. 2a AufenthG).
- For citizenship, fines of up to 90 daily rates are generally disregarded, but several are added together (§ 12a(1) StAG).
8. When a lawyer can help
A defence lawyer can get the file, including any CCTV footage and the store's report, and ask the prosecutor to drop the case, with or without a payment. That is often worth most to people whose residence status, naturalisation or job depends on a clean record. A lawyer can also check the store's demand for money.
Have the police letter and envelope, anything you signed in the store, the store's demand and any ban letter ready. You can request an English-speaking criminal defence lawyer.
Sources checked on 17 October 2026. The linked provisions are the German statutory text; the explanations here are general information.