Forgery in the Third Degree in Alabama is a Class D felony that applies when someone falsely makes, completes, or alters a commercial instrument — such as a check, draft, promissory note, or assignment — with intent to defraud. A conviction carries a prison term of at least one year and a day, up to five years, plus fines reaching $7,500 or potentially more when the fraud produced significant gain or loss.
What the Statute Requires
Under Alabama Code Section 13A-9-3.1, the prosecution has to prove two things: that you created, completed, or altered a written instrument that is or will become a commercial document affecting a legal right or obligation, and that you did so intending to defraud. The statute names assignments, checks, drafts, and notes specifically, but it also reaches any “other commercial instrument” that affects legal rights, interests, or obligations.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-3.1 – Forgery in the Third Degree
Signing someone else’s name on a personal check, fabricating a promissory note, or changing the amount on a bank draft all fall under this section. The document does not have to be successfully used. Creating or altering it with fraudulent intent is enough.
The intent language matters. The statute says “intent to defraud,” not merely “intent to deceive.” Prosecutors must show you meant to cause financial or legal harm, not just that you tricked somebody. A prank signature on a novelty check with no plan to pass it off would lack that intent. But prosecutors do not have to prove anyone actually lost money, only that you intended the forgery to produce that result.
Possessing a Forged Check Is Its Own Crime
You do not have to be the person who made the forgery to be charged. Alabama Code Section 13A-9-6.1 makes it a separate Class D felony to possess or pass a forged commercial instrument of the type covered by the Third Degree statute, if you know it is forged and intend to defraud someone with it.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-6.1 – Criminal Possession of Forged Instrument in the Third Degree Penalties track those for forgery itself.
Knowingly cashing a forged check at a store, for instance, exposes you to the same felony as the person who created it. The knowledge element is the fight in most of these cases. If you genuinely did not know the check was forged, the charge should not hold up. Prosecutors often try to infer knowledge from the circumstances, such as who you got the check from or how obviously suspicious it looked.
What a Conviction Costs
Alabama’s Class D felony range is one year and a day up to five years in prison.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-6 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies The maximum fine is $7,500, but if the crime was profitable or especially damaging, the fine can rise to double the gain you received or double the loss the victim suffered, whichever is greater.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-11 – Fines for Felonies
Split Sentences and Probation
Judges have real flexibility here. Under Section 15-18-8, when the imposed sentence is fifteen years or less — a bar every Class D sentence clears — the court can order only part of it served in confinement, suspend the rest, and place you on probation.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-18-8 – Terms of Confinement, Etc The confined portion of a Class D split sentence under this provision cannot exceed three years.
In practice, this is where most of these cases land. A judge might impose five years, require two of actual confinement, and suspend the remaining three with probation conditions. The confinement portion for Class D felonies is typically served in a community corrections facility rather than state prison. How a judge sentences depends heavily on prior record, the facts, and whether anyone lost real money.
Restitution
If a victim lost money, the court can order you to repay it on top of the fine and any prison time. Alabama’s restitution statutes allow judges to require full repayment, which in a forgery case typically means the face value of the instrument plus any documented consequential losses. Restitution is not optional once ordered, and failing to pay it carries its own consequences.
How Third Degree Compares to the Other Degrees
Alabama grades forgery by the type of document involved, not by how convincing the forgery was. Third Degree covers commercial paper. The others cover different categories:
- Fourth Degree is the catch-all for any forged written instrument that does not fall into a higher tier, and it is a Class A misdemeanor with a maximum of one year in county jail.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-4 – Forgery in the Fourth Degree
- Second Degree is a Class C felony (one year and a day to ten years) and covers deeds, wills, codicils, contracts, public records, and official government-issued documents.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-3 – Forgery in the Second Degree
- First Degree is a Class B felony (two to twenty years) and targets government-issued stamps and securities, along with stocks, bonds, and similar instruments representing claims against a business.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-2 – Forgery in the First Degree
So a crude forgery of a government bond is treated more seriously than a flawless forgery of a personal check. The law weighs the document’s role in commerce and public trust.
No Deadline on Prosecution
Forgery is one of the rare Alabama felonies with no statute of limitations. Section 15-3-5 exempts any felony involving forgery from the usual time bar, meaning charges can be filed years or decades after the act.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-3-5 – Offenses Having No Limitation Most Alabama felonies carry a five-year limitations period. The legislature singled out forgery because forged documents can circulate undetected for a long time. If a forged check from a decade ago surfaces in an audit today, you can still be charged.
Life After a Conviction
The sentence and fine are only the start. A Class D felony leaves a permanent mark on your record, and the ripple effects reach into areas people often do not see coming.
Firearms
Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Third Degree forgery clears that threshold, so a conviction triggers the ban. It applies nationwide, regardless of any state-level restoration, and it covers any form of possession, including a hunting rifle kept at home.
Voting
Alabama can strip voting rights for felony convictions involving moral turpitude, the category it uses to disqualify voters. Forgery committed with intent to defraud fits that category. Restoration generally requires completing the full sentence, including probation, and may involve additional steps depending on the offense.
Jobs in Finance
A felony forgery conviction effectively shuts you out of the securities industry for at least ten years. Under the Securities Exchange Act, any felony conviction triggers statutory disqualification from associating with a FINRA member firm in any role, from broker to back-office clerk, unless FINRA grants a special eligibility proceeding.11FINRA. General Information on Statutory Disqualification and FINRA Eligibility Proceedings Banking and insurance employers typically run background checks that treat fraud-related felonies as automatic disqualifiers.
Professional Licenses
Licensing boards in accounting, real estate, law, healthcare, and education ask about felony convictions. A forgery conviction is a crime of dishonesty at its core, which makes it one of the harder felonies to overcome in a licensing review. Boards can deny applications, revoke existing licenses, or impose supervision conditions.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a forgery conviction carries severe risk. Forgery with intent to defraud is widely treated as a crime involving moral turpitude, which can make a non-citizen both deportable and inadmissible. Depending on status, length of residence, and criminal history, a single conviction can trigger removal proceedings or block future visa and green card applications.
When Federal Charges Can Also Apply
Forging a commercial instrument is often a federal crime too, especially when a bank is involved. Under 18 U.S.C. Section 1344, knowingly using a forged instrument to defraud a financial institution is federal bank fraud, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1344 – Bank Fraud Depositing a forged check at a bank is the most common path to this charge. You do not have to target the bank itself; using it as the vehicle to cash or clear the instrument is enough.
Separately, 18 U.S.C. Section 513 makes it a federal crime to forge securities issued by states, municipalities, or private entities, and the federal definition of “security” is broad enough to include checks, drafts, money orders, and certificates of deposit.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 513 – Securities of the States and Private Entities The same forged check can support both a state Third Degree charge and a federal prosecution, and federal prosecutors are not obligated to defer to the state case.