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 Minnesota, forgery is a serious criminal offense that involves creating or using a false document with the intent to defraud or harm another person. This can include a wide range of documents such as checks, contracts, legal certificates, and identification cards. The act of forgery can encompass altering an existing document, making a new one that is false, or claiming a forged document to be genuine (uttering). Minnesota law also recognizes that simply possessing a forged document with the intent to use it can constitute forgery. The specific statutes that address forgery in Minnesota can be found in the Minnesota Statutes under sections dealing with crimes involving fraud and deceit. Penalties for forgery in Minnesota vary depending on the circumstances and the value of the property or service involved, but they can include fines, restitution, and imprisonment. An attorney can provide more detailed information about the potential consequences of a forgery conviction in Minnesota.