Penal Code § 115 PC makes it a crime knowingly to file, register, or record a false or forged document in any public office within the state. Doing so is a felony punishable by up to three years in jail or prison.
The language of the statute reads that:
115. (a) Every person who knowingly procures or offers any false or forged instrument to be filed, registered, or recorded in any public office within this state, which instrument, if genuine, might be filed, registered, or recorded under any law of this state or of the United States, is guilty of a felony.
Examples
Defenses
You can raise a legal defense to challenge allegations of violating this statute. Common defenses include showing that you:
Penalties
A violation of California Penal Code Section 115 is charged as a felony. This is as opposed to a misdemeanor or an infraction.
The crime is punishable by:
A judge may award you with felony probation in lieu of prison time.
Our California criminal defense attorneys will address the following in this article:
Penal Code 115 PC makes it a crime to knowingly file, register, or record a false or forged document in any government office within the state.
To successfully convict you under Penal Code 115, a district attorney has to prove the following “elements” in the jury instructions beyond a reasonable doubt:
Note that this criminal law applies to a wide variety of documents, from fishing records to pay stubs. Nevertheless, courts have ruled that the statute is not overly vague. 2
In addition, many criminal offenses under these laws involve the filing of documents related to real estate property (such as quitclaim deeds, property deeds, and deeds of trusts). 3 In these cases, and depending on the type of document involved, charges could potentially be brought under:
Defense lawyers can use several legal strategies to challenge filing false document charges. These include showing that:
Recall that you are only guilty under this statute if you:
This means it is always a defense for to show that you did not have this requisite knowledge.
These laws only apply if you presented a document for filing with a California public office (such as a county recorder’s office or California’s Department of Motor Vehicles). Therefore, you can try to challenge a PC 115 charge by showing that you did not offer a document to a public entity. Perhaps, for example, you presented a document to a private employer/company.
Note, though, that even if successful, and a document was false or forged, you could be charged under a different statute.
People get falsely accused of this crime all the time. Reasons as to why “victims” raise false accusations of this offense include:
Therefore, you can always raise the defense that you were unjustly blamed.
A violation of this statute can result in a fine and/or jail time.
A violation of this code section is charged as a felony. The crime is punishable by:
While a judge may award probation in lieu of prison time, you are not eligible if either of the following is true:
Note also that there are a few sentencing enhancements that may apply to these criminal proceedings.
For example, you will face California’s so-called “aggravated white-collar crime enhancement” if all of the following are true:
This aggravated white-collar crime enhancement can lead to:
A violation of this statute can cause negative immigration results.
California law labels certain offenses as “crimes involving moral turpitude.” If you are a non-citizen who commits one of these offenses, then you can be:
One California court has stated that a PC 115 violation is a crime involving moral turpitude if you acted with the intent to defraud. 7
Therefore, if you acted with this intent, you could face deportation or be deemed inadmissible.
If you are convicted of filing a false document, you cannot get an expungement.
You cannot get a conviction expunged if the offense is punishable by a prison term.
A false document conviction will negatively affect your gun rights.
California law states that convicted felons must relinquish the right to:
Since filing a false document is a felony, a conviction will strip you of your gun rights.
There are three crimes related to filing a false or forged document. These are:
Penal Code 368 PC is the California statute that makes elder abuse a crime. The section applies to the physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of anyone 65 years of age or older.
If you file a false document and it results in the financial exploitation of a person 65 or older, then you could be charged under either:
Penal Code 470 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to falsify a signature or fraudulently alter certain documents.
Unlike filing a false document, you do not have to present a forged document to a public office to violate this statute. Altering a document or signature is enough.
Penal Code 118 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to give a false statement while under oath.
While PC 115 pertains to false documents, this statute involves false statements/testimony.
For more in-depth information on forgery laws, refer to the following scholarly articles:
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with (offering a (false/ [or] forged) document for (filing[,]/ [or] recording[,]/ [or] registration)/having a (false/ [or] forged) document (filed[,]/ [or] recorded[,]/ [or] registered)) [in violation of Penal Code section 115].
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that:
[1. The defendant offered a (false/ [or] forged) document for (filing[,]/ [or] recording[,]/ [or] registration)in a public office in California;]
[1. The defendant caused a (false/ [or] forged) document to be (filed[,]/ [or] recorded[,]/ [or] registered) in a public office in California;]
2. When the defendant did that act, (he/she) knew that the document was (false/ [or] forged);
AND
3. The document was one that, if genuine, could be legally (filed[,]/ [or] recorded[,]/ [or] registered).
