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 Washington State, forgery is defined under RCW 9A.60.020 and is considered a class C felony. The law states that a person is guilty of forgery if, with intent to injure or defraud, they falsely make, complete, or alter a written instrument or possess, utter, offer, dispose of, or put off as true a written instrument which they know to be forged. The term 'written instrument' includes any paper, document, or other instrument containing written or printed matter or its equivalent, and encompasses the range of items mentioned in the topic description such as checks, contracts, and credit cards. The act of uttering a forged document involves presenting or using it as if it were genuine. Penalties for forgery in Washington can include imprisonment, fines, or both, and the severity of the punishment can depend on factors such as the nature of the forgery and the value of any financial loss caused.