New York statute
N.Y. Penal Law § 170.00 — Forgery; definitions of terms
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 170: Forgery and Related Offenses, New York Penal Law.
Full text of N.Y. Penal Law § 170.00
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
170.00 Forgery; definitions of terms.
1. "Written instrument" means any instrument or article, including
computer data or a computer program, containing written or printed
matter or the equivalent thereof, used for the purpose of reciting,
embodying, conveying or recording information, or constituting a symbol
or evidence of value, right, privilege or identification, which is
capable of being used to the advantage or disadvantage of some person.
For the purposes of this article, a card provided to a person by a
vaccine provider indicating the date a person received a vaccination
against COVID-19, the type of vaccine and its lot number, and bearing a
government logo or other indication that it is created by a governmental
instrumentality, shall be considered a written instrument.
2. "Complete written instrument" means one which purports to be a
genuine written instrument fully drawn with respect to every essential
feature thereof. An endorsement, attestation, acknowledgment or other
similar signature or statement is deemed both a complete written
instrument in itself and a part of the main instrument in which it is
contained or to which it attaches.
3. "Incomplete written instrument" means one which contains some
matter by way of content or authentication but which requires additional
matter in order to render it a complete written instrument.
4. "Falsely make." A person "falsely makes" a written instrument when
he makes or draws a complete written instrument in its entirety, or an
incomplete written instrument, which purports to be an authentic
creation of its ostensible maker or drawer, but which is not such either
because the ostensible maker or drawer is fictitious or because, if
real, he did not authorize the making or drawing thereof.
5. "Falsely complete." A person "falsely completes" a written
instrument when, by adding, inserting or changing matter, he transforms
an incomplete written instrument into a complete one, without the
authority of anyone entitled to grant it, so that such complete
instrument appears or purports to be in all respects an authentic
creation of or fully authorized by its ostensible maker or drawer.
6. "Falsely alter." A person "falsely alters" a written instrument
when, without the authority of anyone entitled to grant it, he changes a
written instrument, whether it be in complete or incomplete form, by
means of erasure, obliteration, deletion, insertion of new matter,
transposition of matter, or in any other manner, so that such instrument
in its thus altered form appears or purports to be in all respects an
authentic creation of or fully authorized by its ostensible maker or
drawer.
7. "Forged instrument" means a written instrument which has been
falsely made, completed or altered.
8. "Electronic access device" means a mobile identification number or
electronic serial number that can be used to obtain telephone service.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.