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 Oklahoma, forgery is considered a serious criminal offense under state law. The Oklahoma Statutes define forgery as the creation, alteration, or use of a false written document with the intent to commit fraud. This includes a wide range of documents such as checks, contracts, deeds, and legal certificates. The act of uttering a forged document, which means presenting or using it as if it were genuine, is also a crime in Oklahoma. The state's statutes cover various forms of forgery, including making or altering a document to appear as if it was made by someone else, changing the date or other information on a document, or creating a false copy of a document that never existed. Additionally, in Oklahoma, simply possessing a forged document with the intent to use it can be considered forgery. Penalties for forgery in Oklahoma can vary depending on the nature of the offense and the value of the fraud, but they typically include fines, restitution, and imprisonment.