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 Connecticut, forgery is defined under the Connecticut General Statutes, specifically in Chapter 952 concerning Penal Code offenses. The statutes categorize forgery into three degrees, with first-degree forgery being the most serious. First-degree forgery (CGS § 53a-138) involves the creation, alteration, or presentation of a written instrument with the intent to defraud, deceive, or injure another, and it typically pertains to instruments such as currency, securities, or other items of significant value. Second-degree forgery (CGS § 53a-139) and third-degree forgery (CGS § 53a-140) cover similar actions but pertain to documents of lesser value or significance. The act of uttering a forged document, meaning presenting it as genuine, is also covered under these statutes. Penalties for forgery in Connecticut can range from misdemeanors to felonies, depending on the degree of the offense, and can include fines, imprisonment, or both. Additionally, mere possession of a forged instrument with the intent to use it can also constitute a forgery offense under Connecticut law.