State enforcement at a glance
All US charity-registration jurisdictions, grouped by the highest-severity criminal classification their enforcement statute touches. Every row below is anchored to a verbatim quote from the underlying statute — no estimates, no fabrication.
Felony states
15
Knowing/willful violation can be a felony
Misdemeanor states
13
Violation is a misdemeanor under state law
Civil-only states
22
Monetary penalties + injunction, no criminal liability
Verified rows
50
States with a primary-source-cited penalty row
Felony (15)
States where a knowing or willful violation can be charged as a felony.
| Jurisdiction | Mechanism | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona (AZ) | Arizona (Class 6 FELONY for contracted fundraiser violations + $1K civil per § 44-6561; AG Consumer Fraud Act $10K per willful violation per § 44-1522) | A.R.S. § 44-6561 + § 44-1522 |
| Arkansas (AR) | Arkansas (DTPA enforcement: AG remedies, civil penalty up to $10,000/violation, restitution, injunctive relief) | A.C.A. § 4-28-416 |
| Colorado (CO) | Colorado (Class 5 felony for charitable fraud + $10K/violation CCPA civil) | Colo. Rev. Stat. §6-16-111 |
| Georgia (GA) | Georgia ($10,000-$100,000/violation + felony for fraud) | O.C.G.A. §§43-17-13, 43-17-19, 43-17-23 (Charitable Solicitations Act of 1988) |
| Illinois (IL) | Illinois ($500-$1,000/violation for registration failure) | 225 ILCS 460/2(i), 460/6(g), 460/6(h), 460/19 (Solicitation for Charity Act) |
| Kentucky (KY) | Kentucky (Class D FELONY for knowing violations + KCPA civil) | KRS 367.990(10)(c) |
| Michigan (MI) | Michigan ($10,000 per violation civil + felony for fraud) | MCL §400.290, §400.293 |
| Mississippi (MS) | Mississippi (misdemeanor up to $2K + 1yr jail; felony fraud up to $25K + 5yr per § 79-11-529) | Miss. Code § 79-11-529 |
| Missouri (MO) | Missouri ($1,000 per violation civil + Class E felony for fraud) | Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.020 |
| New Hampshire (NH) | New Hampshire ($10K/violation civil + entity FELONY for knowing violations) | N.H. RSA 7:28-f, RSA 7:32-b |
| North Dakota (ND) | North Dakota (civil up to $5,000/violation + 5-year denial; Class C FELONY for post-revocation solicitation per § 50-22-05) | NDCC § 50-22-05 |
| Oklahoma (OK) | Oklahoma ($10K civil per violation + felony for fraud) | Okla. Stat. tit. 18, §552.14a |
| South Carolina (SC) | South Carolina (escalating misdemeanor → felony for subsequent + $10/day late fee) | S.C. Code §33-56-145, §33-56-60 |
| South Dakota (SD) | South Dakota (Class 6 felony >$1K; Class 5 felony >$100K per SDCL § 37-24-6; $2K civil per intentional violation per § 37-24-27) | SDCL § 37-24-6 + § 37-24-27 |
| Tennessee (TN) | Tennessee ($5,000/violation civil + Class B misdemeanor / Class E felony) | T.C.A. §§48-101-514, 48-101-515 (Charitable Solicitations Act, as amended by PC 533 of 2024) |
Misdemeanor (13)
States where violation is classified as a misdemeanor under state law.
| Jurisdiction | Mechanism | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska (AK) | Alaska (Class A misdemeanor + up to $25K/violation civil) | Alaska Stat. §45.68 + §45.50.471 |
| Connecticut (CT) | Connecticut ($2,500 per willful violation civil + $5,000/1yr Class B misdemeanor) | Conn. Gen. Stat. §21a-190l |
| District of Columbia (DC) | District of Columbia ($500 fine / 60 days misdemeanor) | D.C. Code §44-1712(a) |
| Maine (ME) | Maine (Class D crime + up to $10K civil under UTPA) | 9 M.R.S. §5014 |
| Maryland (MD) | Maryland ($5,000 per violation civil + $5K/1yr misdemeanor for willful) | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Reg. §§6-618, 6-619 |
| Minnesota (MN) | Minnesota ($25,000 per violation civil + misdemeanor for willful) | Minn. Stat. §309.57, §309.581 |
| North Carolina (NC) | North Carolina ($1,000-$10,000/violation) | NCGS §131F-22, §131F-23(e)(1), §131F-24(a) (Charitable Solicitation Act) |
| Ohio (OH) | Ohio (up to $10,000 per violation + 1st-degree misdemeanor) | ORC §1716.16(B), §1716.99 |
| Oregon (OR) | Oregon ($2,000 per violation civil + Class A misdemeanor for false filings) | ORS 128.675, 128.992 |
| Utah (UT) | Utah (Class B misdemeanor for willful violation per § 13-22-4 — up to 6mo jail + $1K; each day = separate offense) | Utah Code § 13-22-4 |
| Virginia (VA) | Virginia ($5,000 per violation civil + escalating misdemeanor) | Va. Code §57-59 |
| Washington (WA) | Washington ($1,000 per violation civil + gross misdemeanor for knowing) | RCW 19.09.275, 19.09.279 |
| West Virginia (WV) | West Virginia (misdemeanor: first $100-$500 + 6mo jail; subsequent $500-$1K + 1yr per § 29-19-15) | W.Va. Code § 29-19-15 |
Civil-only (22)
States where enforcement is monetary penalties + injunctive relief — no criminal liability under the cited statute.
| Jurisdiction | Mechanism | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama (AL) | Alabama ($5,000 civil per violation + registration cancellation) | Ala. Code §13A-9-71 |
| California (CA) | California ($25/month) | Cal. Gov. Code §12586.1; CA AG Registry of Charities and Fundraisers Delinquency program |
| Delaware (DE) | Delaware (Consumer Fraud Act civil up to $10,000 per willful violation per Title 6 § 2522(b)) | Delaware Code Title 6 § 2522(b) |
| Florida (FL) | Florida ($500/violation for 501(c)(3) registration failure) | Fla. Stat. §496.419(5) |
| Hawaii (HI) | Hawaii (AG admin fine: $1,000/violation + $100/day continuing; late report $20/day cap $1,000) | HRS § 467B-9.7 + § 467B-6.5(d) |
| Idaho (ID) | Idaho (civil $5,000/violation per § 48-606; $10,000/violation injunction per § 48-615; AG Consumer Protection enforcement) | Idaho Code § 48-606 + § 48-615 |
| Indiana (IN) | Indiana (DCSA: $5,000/violation civil; $15,000 injunction violation; $500 incurable per IC 24-5-0.5-4) | Indiana Code IC 24-5-0.5-4 |
| Iowa (IA) | Iowa (Consumer Fraud Act civil up to $40,000 per violation per § 714.16A — among the highest civil caps of audited states) | Iowa Code § 714.16A |
| Kansas (KS) | Kansas (civil penalty up to $10,000 per violation; injunction violation up to $20,000 per violation) | K.S.A. § 17-1773 |
| Louisiana (LA) | Louisiana (Charitable Solicitation Act fine: $5,000 first offense; $10,000 subsequent per LSA-R.S. 51:1909.1) | LSA-R.S. 51:1909.1 |
| Massachusetts (MA) | Massachusetts ($50/day after 30-day notice; $10K cap) | M.G.L. c.12 §8F (Solicitation of Funds for Public Charities Act) |
| Montana (MT) | Montana (Consumer Protection Act civil up to $10,000/violation per § 30-14-142; +$10,000 vulnerable adult per § 30-14-144) | Montana Code § 30-14-142 + § 30-14-144 |
| Nebraska (NE) | Nebraska (Consumer Protection Act damages with discretionary increase capped at $1,000 per plaintiff per § 59-1609) | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-1609 |
| Nevada (NV) | Nevada (civil penalty $50 baseline → $1,000 for 90+ days non-compliance; SoS revocation + AG referral per NRS § 82A.300) | NRS § 82A.300 |
| New Jersey (NJ) | New Jersey ($10K first / $20K each additional violation) | N.J.S.A. §45:17A-33(d) (Charitable Registration and Investigation Act) |
| New Mexico (NM) | New Mexico (AG injunctive relief + civil penalties + restitution per § 57-22-9; $100 late filing fee per § 57-22-6) | NMSA § 57-22-9 + § 57-22-6 |
| New York (NY) | New York (civil $1,000/violation + $100/day per § 177; criminal prosecution per § 175; trust $10/day cap $1K per EPTL § 8-1.4) | N.Y. Exec. Law § 177(2)(b) + § 175 + EPTL § 8-1.4(r) |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | Pennsylvania ($1,000/violation + $100/day) | 10 P.S. §§162.17(b), 162.18, 162.19(a)(6) (Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act) |
| Rhode Island (RI) | Rhode Island ($1,000 admin fine per violation + revocation) | R.I. Gen. Laws §5-53.1-14 |
| Vermont (VT) | Vermont (Consumer Protection Act civil up to $10,000 per unfair/deceptive act per § 2458; up to $1M for unfair competition methods) | Vermont Stat. Title 9 § 2458 |
| Wisconsin (WI) | Wisconsin ($1,000-$10,000 per violation civil forfeiture; continuing violations compound daily) | Wis. Stat. §202.18 |
| Wyoming (WY) | Wyoming (Consumer Protection Act civil up to $10,000 per willful violation per § 40-12-113) | Wyoming Stat. § 40-12-113 |
Buckets are derived from the canonical mechanism field in our structured database; description fields with mixed positive / negated criminal language are intentionally excluded from bucketing to avoid false positives. A state with stacked civil and criminal exposure surfaces under its highest-severity class. For the per-state full citation, click any source link or the state name.
See also: /coverage for verification ratios and freshness, and /change-log for every committed migration that produced this data.