Texas Penal Code 32.21 – Forgery
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(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Forge” means:
(A) to alter, make, complete, execute, or authenticate any writing so that it purports:
(i) to be the act of another who did not authorize that act;
(ii) to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case; or
(iii) to be a copy of an original when no such original existed;
(B) to issue, transfer, register the transfer of, pass, publish, or otherwise utter a writing that is forged within the meaning of Paragraph (A); or
(C) to possess a writing that is forged within the meaning of Paragraph (A) with intent to utter it in a manner specified in Paragraph (B).
(2) “Writing” includes:
(A) printing or any other method of recording information;
(B) money, coins, tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, and trademarks; and
(C) symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification.
(b) A person commits an offense if he forges a writing with intent to defraud or harm another.
Attorney's Note
Under the Texas Codes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| State jail felony | between 180 days and 2 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class A misdemeanor | up to 1 year | up to $4,000 |
| Class B misdemeanor | up to 180 days | up to $2,000 |
| Class C misdemeanor | up to $500 |
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 32.21
- Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Government: means :
(A) the state;
(B) a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or
(C) any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. See Texas Penal Code 1.07 - Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Misdemeanor: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by fine, by confinement in jail, or by both fine and confinement in jail. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Possession: means actual care, custody, control, or management. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Sight order: means a written or electronic instruction to pay money that is authorized by the person giving the instruction and that is payable on demand or at a definite time by the person being instructed to pay. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(c) Except as provided by Subsections (d), (e), and (e-1), an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) Subject to Subsection (e-1), an offense under this section is a state jail felony if the writing is or purports to be a will, codicil, deed, deed of trust, mortgage, security instrument, security agreement, credit card, check, authorization to debit an account at a financial institution, or similar sight order for payment of money, contract, release, or other commercial instrument.
(e) Subject to Subsection (e-1), an offense under this section is a felony of the third degree if the writing is or purports to be:
(1) part of an issue of money, securities, postage or revenue stamps;
(2) a government record listed in § 37.01(2)(C); or
(3) other instruments issued by a state or national government or by a subdivision of either, or part of an issue of stock, bonds, or other instruments representing interests in or claims against another person.
(e-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that the actor engaged in the conduct to obtain or attempt to obtain a property or service, an offense under this section is:
(1) a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the property or service is less than $100;
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the value of the property or service is $100 or more but less than $750;
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property or service is $750 or more but less than $2,500;
(4) a state jail felony if the value of the property or service is $2,500 or more but less than $30,000;
(5) a felony of the third degree if the value of the property or service is $30,000 or more but less than $150,000;
(6) a felony of the second degree if the value of the property or service is $150,000 or more but less than $300,000; and
(7) a felony of the first degree if the value of the property or service is $300,000 or more.
(e-2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an offense under this section, other than an offense described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (e-1)(7), is increased to the next higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the offense was committed against an elderly individual as defined by § 22.04.
(f) A person is presumed to intend to defraud or harm another if the person acts with respect to two or more writings of the same type and if each writing is a government record listed in § 37.01(2)(C).
(f-1) For purposes of Subsection (e-1), it is presumed that a person in possession of money that is forged within the meaning of Subsection (a)(1)(A) intended to obtain a property or service of a value equal to the total purported value of the forged money.
(g) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section or the other law.