Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against rights of property - Forgery and counterfeiting

257: Using forged documents

You could also call this:

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

You can get in trouble if you use a forged document. A forged document is a fake document that someone has made or changed to look real. If you know a document is forged and you use it, you could go to jail for up to 10 years.

There are three main ways you might use a forged document that can get you in trouble:

  1. If you use it to get something valuable, like money, property, or a service.
  2. If you use the document, deal with it, or act like it’s real when you know it’s not.
  3. If you make someone else use the document, deal with it, or act like it’s real when you know it’s not.

It doesn’t matter where the document was made or changed. If someone made or changed a document outside of New Zealand in a way that would be forgery if it was done in New Zealand, it’s still considered a forged document here.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM330446.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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256: Forgery, or

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

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258: Altering, concealing, destroying, or reproducing documents with intent to deceive, or

“Changing, hiding, destroying, or copying papers to trick someone is against the law.”

Part 10 Crimes against rights of property
Forgery and counterfeiting

257Using forged documents

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who, knowing a document to be forged,—

  2. uses the document to obtain any property, privilege, service, pecuniary advantage, benefit, or valuable consideration; or
    1. uses, deals with, or acts upon the document as if it were genuine; or
      1. causes any other person to use, deal with, or act upon it as if it were genuine.

        1. For the purposes of this section, a document made or altered outside New Zealand in a manner that would have amounted to forgery if the making or alteration had been done in New Zealand is to be regarded as a forged document.

        Compare
        Notes
        • Section 257: replaced, on , by section 15 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 39).