California Penal Code 118 is the state’s perjury statute. It makes it a felony to willfully state something you know is false about a material fact while under oath or while certifying a statement under penalty of perjury, and a conviction carries two, three, or four years in county jail.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 118 The law reaches far beyond the witness stand, and the collateral consequences of a conviction often outlast the sentence itself.
What the Statute Requires
Three elements must line up before a prosecutor can secure a conviction under Section 118:
- Willfulness. You deliberately lied. A genuine mistake, a faulty memory, or an honest belief that the statement was true is not perjury.
- Knowledge of falsity. You knew the statement was false when you made it. Claiming certainty about something you actually have no knowledge of also qualifies.
- Materiality. The false statement had to matter to the proceeding. Irrelevant lies, however dishonest, don’t meet the threshold.
Courts focus on what you knew and believed at the moment you spoke or signed. Someone whose account shifts over months hasn’t committed perjury just because a later version doesn’t line up with an earlier one. The statute targets deliberate deception, not the natural drift of recollection.
Section 118 also reaches beyond California’s borders. A statement made or signed outside the state still counts as perjury if it was given under oath or certified under penalty of perjury for use in a California proceeding.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 118
It’s Not Just Courtroom Testimony
Most perjury cases don’t involve a witness lying on the stand. Under Code of Civil Procedure 2015.5, a written statement signed “under penalty of perjury” carries the same legal weight as sworn testimony.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2015.5 That signature line on a government form is a legal oath, and lying on it is a felony.
The statute reaches:
- Court filings such as declarations, petitions for restraining orders, and proofs of service.
- Depositions taken under oath by a court reporter.
- Government forms including state tax returns and driver license applications.
The declaration format matters. If signed inside California, it must state the date, place of execution, and the words “I certify (or declare) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.” If signed outside the state, it must add “under the laws of the State of California.”2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 2015.5
Why the Lie Has to Matter
A false statement is only perjury if it could have influenced the outcome of the proceeding. A fabricated alibi in a theft trial is material because it goes to guilt. A lie about what the witness ate for breakfast that morning is not, unless breakfast somehow connects to the case.
The test is potential, not actual, influence. A jury might see straight through the lie, and the charge still holds if the information could have mattered. In practice, almost any question asked under oath relates to the matter at hand, so most deliberate lies about those questions clear the materiality bar.
The Corroboration Rule
Perjury is harder to prove than most crimes because of a built-in safeguard. Under Penal Code 118(b), no one can be convicted when the only proof of the lie is a single witness contradicting the defendant. The prosecution needs either more than one witness or independent evidence, direct or circumstantial, that the statement was false.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 118
The rule exists because perjury cases often come down to one person’s word against another’s. Without the corroboration requirement, any swearing contest could potentially become a criminal case against whichever witness the prosecutor believed less. Successful perjury cases are generally built on documents, physical evidence, recordings, or multiple witnesses.
Penalties
Perjury is always a felony in California. There is no misdemeanor version. A conviction under Penal Code 126 carries two, three, or four years, with three years the presumptive middle term absent aggravating or mitigating circumstances. Sentencing runs through Section 1170(h), so time is generally served in county jail rather than state prison.3California Public Law. California Penal Code 126
A court may also impose a fine of up to $10,000 per count, the default cap for California felonies where the underlying statute doesn’t set its own.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 672 Prosecutors generally have three years from the date of the alleged perjury to file charges.
Consequences Beyond the Sentence
The jail term and fine are often the smallest piece. A felony perjury conviction triggers consequences that persist long after the sentence ends.
Firearms
Any felony conviction in California bars you from owning, buying, receiving, or possessing a firearm. Because perjury is always a felony, the ban applies automatically, and violating it is itself a separate felony.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800
Professional Licenses
Perjury is treated as a crime of moral turpitude, which puts professional licenses at risk. Under Business and Professions Code 490, a licensing board can suspend or revoke a license if the conviction is substantially related to the duties of the profession. For attorneys, doctors, nurses, accountants, and real estate agents, honesty under oath is close to the core of the job. An order granting probation in lieu of a sentence still counts as a conviction for licensing purposes.6California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 490
Immigration
For noncitizens, the stakes are especially high. A perjury conviction qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law and can trigger both inadmissibility and deportability.
A single conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude generally makes a noncitizen inadmissible, blocking entry to the United States or adjustment of status. The narrow “petty offense” exception requires that the maximum possible sentence be one year or less and the actual sentence be six months or less.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens Because California perjury carries up to four years, the exception never applies.
Deportability attaches when a noncitizen is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years of admission, if the offense carries a potential sentence of one year or more. Two or more such convictions at any time after admission also trigger deportability.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
Getting Someone Else to Lie
You can be charged with a perjury-related offense without ever lying yourself. Under Penal Code 127, deliberately persuading or causing another person to commit perjury is subornation of perjury, punished identically to perjury itself: two, three, or four years in county jail and a potential $10,000 fine.9California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 127
The prosecution has to prove you knew the testimony would be false and that you actively procured it. Simply asking someone to testify is not enough. And if the person you encouraged ends up telling the truth, no subornation has occurred, no matter what your intent was.
Common Defenses
Perjury charges look straightforward in the statute but are genuinely difficult to prove. A few defenses come up repeatedly.
Honest Belief
If you genuinely believed your statement was true when you made it, you didn’t commit perjury. Memory fades, perspectives differ, and people get details wrong in good faith. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you knew the statement was false, and that bar is high whenever the defendant can offer a plausible explanation for the inaccuracy.
Literal Truth
A statement that is technically true but misleading is not perjury. The U.S. Supreme Court set out this principle in Bronston v. United States, holding that a literally true but evasive answer does not violate perjury statutes even when the witness intended to mislead.10Legal Information Institute. Bronston v. United States The burden sits with the questioner to follow up with precise questions. California courts recognize the same general principle.
Lack of Corroboration
If the only evidence that you lied is one other witness saying you did, the case fails as a matter of law.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 118 Defense attorneys often attack perjury charges by showing the prosecution’s proof of falsity leans too heavily on a single contradictory witness.
Immateriality
If the false statement couldn’t have influenced the outcome, it isn’t perjury. Demonstrating that the lie concerned something irrelevant to the proceeding can defeat the charge entirely. The analysis is fact-specific and turns on what was actually in dispute.