Penal Code § 470 PC – California “Forgery” Laws

Penal Code § 470 PC defines the California crime of forgery, which is falsifying a signature or seal or counterfeiting documents when doing so with fraudulent intent.

Specifically, PC 470 makes it a crime to do any of the following:

1. sign the name of another person or of a fictitious person,
2. counterfeit or forge the seal or handwriting of another,
3. alter, corrupt, or falsify any record of any legal will, codicil, or judgment,
4. falsely make, alter, forge, or counterfeit certain documents like checks, bonds, and money orders.

Examples

• signing the name of a doctor when writing a fake prescription.
• inserting a page in a person’s will in order to get more money.
• endorsing a check made out to someone else without that person’s permission.

Defenses

You can beat a forgery charge with a good legal defense. Common defenses include:

• you had no intent to defraud,
• you were falsely accused, and/or
• the police coerced your confession.

Penalties

Most violations of this code section are wobbler offenses. A wobbler is a crime that a prosecutor can charge as either:

• a misdemeanor, or
• a felony.

A misdemeanor conviction is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to one year.

A felony conviction is punishable by custody in jail for up to three years.

In place of jail time, a judge can award either:

• misdemeanor (or summary) probation, or
• felony (or formal) probation.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will discuss the following in this article:

• 1. Definition of Forgery
• 2. Common Defenses
• 3. Penalties
• 4. Are there immigration consequences?
• 5. Can I get my conviction expunged?
• 6. Does a conviction affect gun rights?
• 7. What is the statute of limitations?
• 8. Are there related offenses?
• Additional reading

1. Definition of Forgery

Penal Code 470 PC lists several ways one can be liable for forgery under California law. These include:

1. signing someone else’s name without that person’s approval,¹
2. counterfeiting or forging a seal on a document or someone else’s handwriting,²
3. changing or falsifying a legal document (such as a will or court record),³ and/or
4. falsifying, altering, or forging certain documents.⁴

As to the last act, “certain documents” include things like:

• checks,
• bonds,
• money orders,
• traveler’s checks,
• contracts,
• lottery tickets,
• stock certificates, and
• property deeds.

Note that a prosecutor must prove the following elements of the crime to convict you of forgery:

1. you committed one of the acts listed above, and
2. when doing so, you acted with the intent to defraud another person.⁵

Questions often arise under this statute on the meaning of “intent to defraud.”

Intent to defraud

Under this code section, you intend to defraud if you:

1. deceive another or lies to them, and
2. do so in order to deprive them of money, property, or some legal right.⁶

Note that you act with this intent even if:

• no one is actually defrauded, or
• no one actually suffers a financial, legal, or property loss.⁷

Example: Nia writes Sal a $20.00 check for cutting her grass. Sal writes in an extra zero on the check, so it looks like the payment amount is $200. Sal wants to cheat Nia and the bank out of extra money.

Here, Sal acts with an intent to defraud. He tried to deceive Nia and the bank when he altered the check. Further, Sal is guilty of forgery even if he is not successful in cashing the bad check.

2. Common Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud crimes like forgery. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

You had no intent to defraud

Claiming you had no fraudulent intent is one of our strongest forgery defenses because prosecutors have no way to prove what was going on in your head definitively. All the D.A. has to go on is circumstantial evidence that may leave enough reasonable doubt for a jury to believe that:

• what you did was a good natured prank with no deceptive intent,
• you simply made a careless error, and/or
• you genuinely thought you were being truthful.

Once prosecutors see their case may be too hard to prove, your forgery case could be dropped.

You were falsely accused

Many forgery cases we see arise out of complex business or legal dealings. They also often occur in workplace settings.

Given this, it is not unusual for our clients to be falsely accused of forgery by someone in a desperate attempt to cover up their own guilt. In these situations, we rely on such evidence as

• recorded communications,
• video surveillance footage, and
• eyewitness accounts

to demonstrate that you did nothing wrong and that your accuser is the one who should face charges.

The police coerced your confession

Sometimes California police officers cross the line when interrogating suspects. We have had clients who were unduly pressured or threatened with violence by police to confess, which is illegal under California law.

When this happens, we first compile any evidence of your coerced confession (often from bodycam footage or other recordings). Then we ask the judge to suppress the confession as evidence in your case because it was unlawfully obtained.

If the judge grants our request, the D.A. may be left with too little evidence to convict you of forgery.

3. Penalties

Under California Penal Code 470, forgery is a wobbler that can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor.

If charged as a misdemeanor, the crime is punishable by:

• misdemeanor (or summary) probation,
• custody in county jail for up to one year, and/or
• a maximum fine of $1,000.⁸

If charged as a felony, the offense is punishable by:

• felony (or formal) probation,
• imprisonment in county jail for up to three years, and/or
• a maximum fine of $10,000.⁹

Note, though, that a violation of this statute is only charged as a misdemeanor if:

• the forged document is a check, money order, or similar instrument, and
• the instrument is worth $950 or less.¹⁰

4. Are there immigration consequences?

A forgery conviction may have negative immigration consequences.

One California court has ruled that forgery is a serious offense involving moral turpitude.¹¹

This is a problem because “crimes involving moral turpitude” can result in a non-citizen being either:

• deported, or
• marked as inadmissible.

Therefore, a PC 470 conviction could have damaging immigration consequences.

5. Can I get my conviction expunged?

You can get an expungement of a forgery conviction.

Penal Code 1203.4 PC says an expungement releases you from many of the hardships associated with a conviction.

You can get an expungement if you:

• successfully complete probation, or
• successfully complete a jail term (whichever is applicable).

Note that a judge may even award expungement if you violate a probation term.

6. Does a conviction affect gun rights?

A conviction under this statute may hurt your gun rights.

California law says that it is illegal for convicted felons to:

• own a gun, or
• possess a gun.

Remember that a prosecutor may charge forgery as either:

• a misdemeanor, or
• a felony.

If charged as a felony, and you are convicted, then you would lose your California gun rights.

7. What is the statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations for forgery in California depends on whether the crime is charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. The prosecutor may bring charges for felony forgery up to four years after the crime is discovered or is committed (whichever is later).

For misdemeanor forgery, the time limit to press charges is one year after the alleged commission of the offense. ¹²

8. Are there related offenses?

There are three crimes related to forgery. These are:

1. credit card fraud – PC 484f,
2. check fraud – PC 476, and
3. making or selling counterfeit goods – PC 350.

Credit card fraud – PC 484f

Penal Code 484f PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to forge someone’s credit card information.

Like with general forgery, you are only guilty of this offense if you act with an intent to defraud.

Check fraud – PC 476

Penal Code 476 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to:

1. make, write, or pass a fake check, and
2. do so with the intent to defraud.

Depending on the particular facts of a case, you could be accused of both:

• check fraud, and
• forgery.

Making or selling counterfeit goods – PC 350

Penal Code 350 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to manufacture, sell, or possess for sale, any counterfeit trademarks.

This statute punishes those who make, sell or intend to sell “knock-off” versions of branded products.

Note that a prosecutor does not have to prove an intent to defraud under this code section.

Additional reading

For more in-depth information on forgery laws, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Forgery and the Literacy of the Early Common Law – Albion.
• The Crime of Forgery – Journal of Financial Crime.
• When Is a Document False in the Law of Forgery? – The Modern Law Review.
• Insurance against Check Forgery – Columbia Law Review.
• The Perfect Fake: Creativity, Forgery, Art and the Law – DePaul-LCA Journal of Art & Entertainment Law.

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