united-states new-york-state covid-19 forgery vaccine
Would there be legal implications in the US to modifying a real vaccine card with fake info?
<p>I know someone who received two doses of the vaccine, and so she has a real vaccination card. But she had substantial side effects from the second dose, and so doesn't plan on getting a booster. Her current plan, if boosters ever become required in her area, is to just add a fake third dose to her card.<br />
What is the legality of this plan (in the US)?</p>
<p>It seems like the relevant federal law <a href="https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/are-fake-covid-19-vaccine-cards-illegal/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">only forbids faking the government seals</a>, which she wouldn't have to do because she has a real vaccine card. So absent additional legal restrictions on modifying such documents, would this violate the above law?</p>
<p>On the other hand, it seems like it would be crime to bring such a forged record into New York, given their <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/anna-m-kaplan/fake-covid-vaccine-card-could-land-you-jail-new-york" rel="nofollow noreferrer">new law against forgery</a>. Is this correct?</p>

<p>The relevant NY law originally said that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Written  instrument&quot;  means  any instrument or article, including<br />
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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The modification adds:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is an unnecessary modification: a covid card is plainly a &quot;written instrument&quot;. Working through the definitions of falsely made, completed or altered, we see that a covid card modified as described <em>is</em> a forged document, and always has been one. Actually using a forged instrument is a crime, and has been so, and even <a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2021/pen/part-3/title-k/article-170/170-20/" rel="noreferrer">possessing one</a> is as long as you possess or utter it &quot;with knowledge that it is forged and with  intent   to  defraud,  deceive or injure another&quot;.</p>
<p>So, (1) it is a crime in New York, (2) it has long been a crime in NY and (3) is probably a crime in other states, when there forgery laws are functionally equivalent to NY laws. For example, in Washington, <a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9a.60.020" rel="noreferrer">RCW 9a.60.020</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1) A person is guilty of forgery if, with intent to injure or
defraud: (a) He or she falsely makes, completes, or alters a written
instrument or; (b) He or she possesses, utters, offers, disposes of,
or puts off as true a written instrument which he or she knows to be
forged.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It does not matter if you forge a document in a state where it is legal (if any such state exists) and then transport it to a state where forged documents are illegal. If you possess it and intend to use it knowing that it is forged, it is a crime.</p>

<p>You say &quot;absent additional legal restrictions on modifying such documents,&quot; but why are you assuming that absence?</p>
<p>There are indeed additional legal restrictions on modifying such documents. The first one that jumps to mind is <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001" rel="noreferrer">18 USC 1001</a>. Under that statute, it is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison when a person:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully:</p>
<p>(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;</p>
<p>(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or</p>
<p>(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Because indicating a nonexistent vaccination on a vaccination card would generally be a materially false statement, it would be a felony to forge the card in the way you've described.</p>
<p>And this is of course on top of any state laws that would also be in play. Generally speaking, forging government documents is a terrible idea.</p>

<p>It depends what she intends to do with the forged card.</p>
<p>Note that <a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2015/pen/part-3/title-k/article-170/170.20/#:%7E:text=%C2%A7%20170.20%20(2015)-,170.20%20Criminal%20possession%20of%20a%20forged%20instrument%20in%20the%20third,or%20possesses%20a%20forged%20instrument." rel="nofollow noreferrer">N.Y. Penal Law § 170.20</a> creates the offence of criminal possession of a forged instrument if:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... with knowledge that it is forged and with intent to defraud, deceive or injure another, [s]he utters or possesses a forged instrument.</p>
<p>Criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.</p>
</blockquote>
