UCMJ Article 123 Forgery vs Article 123a Check Offenses: Document Fraud vs Bad Checks
On this page: 5 sections
Under current law, forgery is Article 105; Article 123 has covered offenses concerning government computers since January 1, 2019, and Article 123a, the bad-check article, kept its number. A service member who signs a roommate’s name to one of the roommate’s checks and cashes it commits forgery; a service member who signs his or her own name to a check on an account with no money, knowing it will bounce, does not. The Manual for Courts-Martial says the second person “does not commit forgery,” because the check “is what it purports to be, a check drawn by the actual maker,” and points to the bad-check article instead (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 37.c(2)).
Article 105: forgery
Any person subject to this chapter who, with intent to defraud … (1) falsely makes or alters any signature to, or any part of, any writing which would, if genuine, apparently impose a legal liability on another or change his legal right or liability to his prejudice; or (2) utters, offers, issues, or transfers such a writing, known by him to be so made or altered; is guilty of forgery
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 905 (Article 105), renumbered from § 923 by Pub. L. 114-328, § 5401(12).
The Manual explains the three shared parts, a false making or alteration, apparent legal efficacy, and intent to defraud (¶ 37.c):
- “False” refers to the making, not the contents. Genuine documents with false statements in them, such as a padded flight report, are not forgeries, though they may be false official statements. Signing another’s name with the word “by” and one’s own signature, indicating claimed authority, is not forgery even if there is no authority.
- Signatures. Signing another’s name without authority is forgery. So is signing a fictitious name, and so is endorsing, with one’s own name, a check payable to another person of the same name, knowing it is not one’s own.
- Legal efficacy. The writing must appear to impose a legal liability or change a legal right to someone’s prejudice, such as a check, promissory note, receipt, order for money or goods, or military travel orders. A mere letter of introduction does not qualify.
- Alteration must materially change the writing’s legal effect, such as changing a note’s date, amount, or place of payment.
- Intent to defraud need not be aimed at anyone in particular, and it is immaterial whether anyone was actually defrauded.
The uttering clause punishes offering, issuing, or transferring a forged writing, known to be forged, with intent to defraud. Possession alone is not in the statute.
Article 123a: bad checks
Article 123a punishes making, drawing, uttering, or delivering a check, draft, or order, knowing the funds or credit will not be there on presentment, either to obtain something of value with intent to defraud, or to pay a past-due obligation or for any other purpose with intent to deceive (10 U.S.C. § 923a).
The statute has its own evidence rule: a check refused for insufficient funds is prima facie evidence of intent and knowledge “unless the maker or drawer pays the holder the amount due within five days after receiving notice, orally or in writing, that the check, draft, or order was not paid on presentment.” Payment within that window takes away the shortcut in proof but does not prevent conviction if the elements are otherwise proved (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 70.c(17)). The rule has no requirement that the check be presented within a particular time after it is written.
A check that was good when written but bounced later because the writer dishonorably failed to keep funds in the account is a separate Article 134 offense (¶ 94).
How the facts sort
| Forgery (Article 105) | Bad check (Article 123a) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is false | The making or alteration of the writing | The implied promise that funds or credit will be there |
| Whose signature | Another's, a fictitious one, or one's own used to pass as another | The maker's own, genuinely signed |
| Instrument | Any writing with apparent legal efficacy | A check, draft, or order for money |
| Mental state | Intent to defraud | Knowledge of insufficient funds plus intent to defraud or deceive |
| Evidence rule | None stated | Five-day notice rule |
A service member who finds a blank check signed by a friend and, without the friend’s authority, fills in a large amount payable to himself or herself has falsely made the writing, since filling in a paper signed in blank is a false making under the Manual (¶ 37.c(4)); depositing it adds uttering. A service member who writes a check on a closed account for a used car, knowing the account is closed, raises Article 123a instead. Whether a writing had apparent legal efficacy is judged from its face or from extrinsic facts (¶ 37.c(4)), and what the accused knew is proved like any other element.
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 37.d and ¶ 70.d) |
|---|---|
| Forgery | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Bad check to procure something of value, $1,000 or less | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
| Bad check to procure something of value, more than $1,000 | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Bad check for a past-due obligation or other purpose, with intent to deceive | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
Where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge determines the sentence in a general or special court-martial, other than in a capital case (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 905, forgery (Article 105)
- 10 U.S.C. § 923a, making, drawing, or uttering check, draft, or order without sufficient funds (Article 123a)
- 10 U.S.C. § 923, offenses concerning Government computers (Article 123)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 37, ¶ 70, and ¶ 94.
General legal information on Articles 105 and 123a; no document, signature, or check is evaluated. 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.