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 Iowa, forgery is a criminal offense defined under Iowa Code Section 715A.2. The law considers it forgery when a person, with the intent to defraud or harm another, makes, alters, uses, or possesses any writing in a manner that purports it to be the act of another who did not authorize that act, to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case, or to be a copy of an original when no such original existed. This includes documents such as checks, contracts, wills, and credit cards, among others. Uttering a forged document, which involves passing off the document as genuine, is also a criminal act under this statute. The mere possession of a forged document with the intent to utter it can also constitute forgery. Penalties for forgery in Iowa can range from a Class 'D' felony to an aggravated misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances and the value of the property or services involved. An attorney can provide specific guidance on the potential consequences of a forgery charge in Iowa.