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 New Hampshire, forgery is addressed under RSA 638:1, which defines forgery as the act of falsely creating, altering, or using any written instrument with the intent to defraud or injure another party. This includes the range of documents and instruments mentioned, such as checks, contracts, legal documents, and identification cards. The act of uttering refers to presenting or using a forged document as if it were genuine. New Hampshire law also considers possessing a forged instrument with the intent to use it as a form of forgery. The penalties for forgery in New Hampshire can vary depending on the circumstances and the value of the property or services involved, but it is generally treated as a felony offense. The specific classification of the felony and the associated penalties would depend on the details of the offense, such as the amount of loss or the type of document forged.