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 Maine, forgery is defined under Title 17-A, §705 of the Maine Criminal Code as the act of falsely making, altering, or completing a written instrument with the intent to defraud. This includes any document or object that, if genuine, would have legal efficacy or value, or could be used to authorize the payment of money or the delivery of property. The term 'uttering' refers to the act of offering a forged instrument as genuine, and Maine law considers both the creation and the uttering of forged documents to be part of the crime of forgery. The crime of forgery can be classified as a Class C or Class D crime, depending on the circumstances, with Class C being the more serious offense. Penalties for forgery in Maine can include imprisonment, fines, or both, and the severity of the punishment typically depends on factors such as the nature of the forged document and the intent behind the forgery. Additionally, possessing a forged instrument with the intent to defraud is also a punishable offense in Maine.