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 Mexico, forgery is defined under NM Stat § 30-16-10 (2021) as falsely making, altering, forging, or counterfeiting certain documents with the intent to defraud or injure someone. This includes, but is not limited to, checks, contracts, wills, and other legal instruments. The act of uttering refers to offering a forged document as genuine, and in New Mexico, possessing a forged document with the intent to pass it off as real can also constitute forgery. The crime of forgery in New Mexico is typically classified as a fourth-degree felony, which can result in penalties including imprisonment, fines, or both. The specific consequences for a forgery conviction depend on the circumstances of the case and the value of the fraud involved. It is important for individuals accused of forgery to consult with an attorney to understand the charges they are facing and to receive legal representation.