The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 (c 45) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

which makes it illegal to make fake versions of many things, including legal documents, contracts, audio and visual recordings, and money of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and certain ''protected coins''. It replaces the Forgery Act 1913, the Coinage Offences Act 1936 and parts of the Forgery Act 1861. It implements recommendations made by the Law Commission in their report on forgery and counterfeit currency.

Part I – Forgery and kindred offences

These offences are the intentional creation and publication of documents which, if not fake, would have legal force. These sections of the law cover all manner of documents, for example wills,

contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

, and promissory notes. Section 1 creates the offence of

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forb ...

. Section 2 creates the offence of copying a false instrument. Section 3 creates the offence of using a false instrument. Section 4 creates the offence of using a copy of a false instrument. Section 13 abolished the

common law offence Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. State laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specific ...

of forgery.

Part II – Counterfeiting and kindred offences

Section 27 defines the expressions "currency note" and "protected coin". This section makes it illegal to forge or counterfeit money. In addition to the money of the United Kingdom it explicitly states that certain foreign coins are ''protected coins'' under this act, and counterfeiting them is just as great an offence as counterfeiting coins of the United Kingdom.

Protected coin

Section 27(1) provides that, in Part II of the Act, the expression "protected coin" means any coin which is customarily used as money in any country, or which is specified for the purposes of Part II in an order made by the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

. The following coins have been specified for the purposes of Part II: *

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

The Forgery and Counterfeiting (Protected Coins) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/505)
article 2
an
Schedule
/ref> * Half sovereign * Krugerrand *Any coin denominated as a fraction of a Krugerrand. * Maria Theresia thaler bearing the date of 1780 *Any

euro coin There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros (the euro is divided into a hundred cents). The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone ...

produced in accordance with Council Regulation No. 975/98/EC (OJ No. L139, 11.5.98, p. 6) by or at the instance of a

member state A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign state ...

which has adopted the single currency in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community

Orders made under this section

The power conferred on the Treasury by section 27(1) has been exercised by the following orders: *Th
Forgery and Counterfeiting (Protected Coins) Order 1981
(S.I. 1981/505) *Th
Forgery and Counterfeiting (Protected Coins) Order 1999
(S.I. 1999/2095)

Part III – Miscellaneous and general

Section 29
amended section 63 of the Post Office Act 1953. It was repealed on 26 March 2001The Postal Services Act 2000 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/878), article 2 and Schedule (as read with article 17) by section 127(6) of, and Schedule 9 to, the Postal Services Act 2000.

References

Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Mea ...

External links

*
The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981
as amended from the National Archives.
The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981
as originally enacted from the National Archives. {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1981 Forgery