Perjury is the criminal offense of making a false statement under oath—verbally or in writing—that the witness knows to be false and that is material to the proceeding in which the statement is made. And suborning perjury or subornation of perjury is the criminal offense of procuring the perjury of another person.

Perjury is a criminal offense under both state and federal laws and may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or as a felony offense, depending on the state or federal jurisdiction, and whether there are any aggravating factors that increase the seriousness of the crime. Perjury laws are located in state statutes—often in the penal or criminal code—and the federal perjury law is located in the United States Code at 18 U.S.C. §1621.

In Nevada, perjury is considered a serious criminal offense. Under Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 199.120 and 199.130, a person commits perjury if they willfully give false testimony, either orally or in writing, in any judicial proceeding or before any lawful authority, knowing the testimony to be false. Perjury in Nevada is typically charged as a category D felony, which can result in penalties including imprisonment and fines. Subornation of perjury, which involves persuading or inducing another person to commit perjury, is also a criminal offense under NRS 199.150 and is treated with similar severity as perjury itself. The federal law against perjury is found at 18 U.S.C. § 1621, and it similarly criminalizes the act of willfully making false statements under oath in federal jurisdictions, with penalties that can include fines and imprisonment. Both state and federal laws aim to uphold the integrity of the legal system by deterring and punishing false statements.