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Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against rights of property - Forgery and counterfeiting

256: Forgery

You could also call this:

“Making fake documents to trick people or get something valuable is against the law.”

If you make a false document and plan to use it to get something valuable, like money, property, or special treatment, you could go to prison for up to 10 years.

You could also go to prison for up to 3 years if you make a false document that you know isn’t real, and you want someone to use it or believe it’s real, either in New Zealand or somewhere else.

Forgery happens as soon as you make the false document with either of these intentions. It doesn’t matter if the document isn’t finished or doesn’t look exactly like a real one. As long as you made it to look real enough for someone to believe it, it’s still forgery.

You could also go to prison for up to 3 years if you sell, give away, or make available a false document that you know isn’t real. This is true if you know it was made to trick people into thinking it’s real, whether in New Zealand or somewhere else. However, if you have a good reason for doing this, you might not get in trouble.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM330444.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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255: Interpretation, or

“This explains what important words mean in the law about fake money and documents.”

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257: Using forged documents, or

“It's against the law to use fake papers to get things or fool people, even if they were made in another country.”

Part 10 Crimes against rights of property
Forgery and counterfeiting

256Forgery

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who makes a false document with the intention of using it to obtain any property, privilege, service, pecuniary advantage, benefit, or valuable consideration.

  2. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years who makes a false document, knowing it to be false, with the intent that it in any way be used or acted upon, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere, as genuine.

  3. Forgery is complete as soon as the document is made with the intent described in subsection (1) or with the knowledge and intent described in subsection (2).

  4. Forgery is complete even though the false document may be incomplete, or may not purport to be such a document as would be binding or sufficient in law, if it is so made and is such as to indicate that it was intended to be acted upon as genuine.

  5. Every person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years who, without reasonable excuse, sells, transfers, or otherwise makes available any false document knowing it to be false and to have been made with the intention that it be used or acted on (in New Zealand or elsewhere) as genuine.

Compare
Notes
  • Section 256: replaced, on , by section 15 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 39).
  • Section 256(5): inserted, on , by section 17 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2015 (2015 No 95).