Forgery is the criminal offense of making or uttering a false document or other instrument with the intent to defraud or harm someone—including a written or printed document, money, coins, tokens, stamps, checks, cashier’s checks, bonds, money orders, traveler’s checks, real property deeds, contracts, stock certificates, lottery tickets, wills, seals, credit cards, badges, trademarks, and symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification. Uttering a document means to declare—either directly or indirectly, and through words or actions—that the document is legitimate and what it purports to be.
Forging a document includes altering, making, completing, executing, or authenticating a writing so it purports (1) to be the act of another who did not authorize that act; (2) to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case; or (3) to be a copy of an original when no such original existed.
Forging a document also includes the acts of issuing, transferring, registering the transfer of, recording, passing, publishing, or otherwise uttering a document that is forged. And in some states the mere possession of a forged document with the intent to utter it constitutes forging a document.
The definitions, penalties, and punishments for the crime of forgery vary from state to state and are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.
In Texas, forgery is a criminal offense that involves the creation, alteration, or use of a false document with the intent to defraud or harm another person. This includes a wide range of documents such as checks, contracts, wills, and credit cards. The act of uttering a forged document means presenting it as genuine, whether by words or conduct. Texas law also considers it forgery to alter or create a document to make it appear as if it was made by someone else, executed at a different time or place, or to represent a copy of a non-existent original. Additionally, the mere possession of a forged document with the intent to use it can be considered forgery. The specific definitions, penalties, and punishments for forgery are outlined in the Texas Penal Code. The severity of the offense can range from a Class A misdemeanor to a felony, depending on factors such as the type of document involved and the amount of financial loss.
