18 U.S.C. § 497
Letters patent
United States · Title 18 — CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 18 U.S.C. § 497, Letters patent, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/448841
- Permanent ID
ys:prov:448841@1- SHA-256
06c3f457b380c7fea036b2adc530e64958cd4c577e7aa1f62cfacd5b548342ca
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Full text
Whoever falsely makes, forges, counterfeits, or alters any letters patent granted or purporting to have been granted by the President of the United States; or
Whoever passes, utters, or publishes, or attempts to pass, utter, or publish as genuine, any such letters patent, knowing the same to be forged, counterfeited or falsely altered—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Legislative history
The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.
- Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994