UCMJ Article 107 False Official Statements vs Article 131 Perjury: Lying to the Military vs Lying Under Oath

A false official statement under Article 107(a) needs no oath and no courtroom, but it needs an intent to deceive. Perjury under Article 131 needs a lawful oath (or a statement under penalty of perjury) in a judicial proceeding or course of justice, and the false testimony must be material and given “willfully and corruptly,” though no intent to deceive is listed. The two offenses carry the same maximum confinement, 5 years, so the choice between them turns on the setting and the elements, not on punishment.

A sworn falsehood outside a judicial proceeding is a third offense: false swearing, which has been Article 107(b), not Article 134, since January 1, 2019.

Article 107(a): false official statements

Article 107(a) applies to any person subject to the UCMJ who, with intent to deceive:

(1) signs any false record, return, regulation, order, or other official document, knowing it to be false; or
(2) makes any other false official statement knowing it to be false

Source: 10 U.S.C. § 907(a) (Article 107).

The Manual for Courts-Martial describes official statements as those “that affect military functions”: statements made in the line of duty or with a clear and direct relationship to official duties, statements to a service member carrying out a military duty, and statements to a civilian necessarily performing a military function (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 41.c(1)(b)). The accused must have “actually known” the statement was false, and an honest but mistaken belief in its truth is a defense (¶ 41.c(1)(f)). Materiality is not an element, though falsity on a material matter can be evidence of intent to deceive (¶ 41.c(1)(d)).

Article 131: perjury

Any person subject to this chapter who in a judicial proceeding or in a course of justice willfully and corruptly … (1) upon a lawful oath or in any form allowed by law to be substituted for an oath, gives any false testimony material to the issue or matter of inquiry; or (2) in any declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury as permitted under section 1746 of title 28, subscribes any false statement material to the issue or matter of inquiry; is guilty of perjury

Source: 10 U.S.C. § 931 (Article 131).

Key points from the Manual (¶ 81.c):

Setting. A court-martial is a judicial proceeding; an Article 32 preliminary hearing is part of the course of justice.
Oath. It must be one recognized or authorized by law and administered by someone with authority. An affirmation counts where authorized.
Belief. The accused must not have believed the testimony true. Swearing to something the witness knows nothing about, or is unsure of, can be perjury.
Materiality. The matter need not be the main issue; false testimony about a material witness’s credibility can qualify.
Proof of falsity. Falsity cannot be proved by circumstantial evidence alone, except for matters not susceptible of direct proof, and cannot rest on a single witness unless that testimony directly contradicts the statement and is corroborated.

False swearing, Article 107(b)

False swearing requires an oath administered in a matter where an oath is “required or authorized by law,” administered “by a person with authority to do so,” and a statement the accused does not believe to be true (10 U.S.C. § 907(b)). It does not require an intent to deceive or an official statement, and it does not apply to statements in a judicial proceeding or course of justice, which fall under perjury (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 41.c(2)(a)). An oath given by someone without authority, or in a matter where no oath is required or authorized by law, does not meet the statute.

How the facts sort

	False official statement, 107(a)	False swearing, 107(b)	Perjury, 131
Oath	Not required	Required, lawful and by an authorized person	Required (or a § 1746 statement)
Setting	Anything affecting military functions	Outside a judicial proceeding or course of justice	A judicial proceeding or course of justice
Intent to deceive	Required	Not required	Not listed; testimony must be willful and corrupt
Materiality	Not an element	Not an element	Required
Mental state about falsity	Actually knew it was false	Did not believe it true	Did not believe it true
Maximum confinement	5 years	3 years	5 years

For example, a service member who tells a first sergeant, during a unit accountability check, that a missing weapon was turned in to the arms room, knowing it was not, and intending the sergeant to rely on that, makes a false official statement; no oath is needed. Repeating the same false account under oath at a later Article 32 preliminary hearing, where it bears on whether the weapon was stolen, raises perjury. Whether a statement was official, whether testimony was material, and what the witness believed are proved separately for each offense, and falsity in a perjury case must meet the proof rules of ¶ 81.c(2)(c).

Maximum punishments

False official statement: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 5 years (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 41.d(1)).
False swearing: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 3 years (¶ 41.d(2)).
Perjury: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 5 years (¶ 81.d).

Where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence in a general or special court-martial, except in a capital case (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).

Sources

10 U.S.C. § 907, false official statements; false swearing (Article 107)
10 U.S.C. § 931, perjury (Article 131)
10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 41 and ¶ 81.

This comparison of Articles 107 and 131 is general legal information; it does not assess any statement or testimony. This page reflects the UCMJ as amended through Public Law 119-60 (December 18, 2025) and the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 edition) as amended by Executive Order 14130.