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 Wyoming, forgery is defined under Wyoming Statutes Annotated § 6-3-602. The law considers it a felony to knowingly make, alter, forge, or counterfeit any document or other instrument with the intent to defraud. This includes the range of items mentioned such as checks, contracts, legal documents, and any symbols of value or identification. The act of uttering refers to the attempt to pass off such forged documents as genuine, and in Wyoming, this is also treated as a serious offense. The statute encompasses various forms of forgery, including altering an existing document, creating a false document, or possessing a forged document with the intent to use it. Penalties for forgery in Wyoming can include imprisonment, fines, or both, and the severity of the punishment typically depends on the nature of the forgery and the value involved in the fraud. An attorney can provide specific guidance on the potential consequences of a forgery charge in Wyoming.