Yes. Forging or altering a registration card, certificate of ownership, license plate, or registration sticker with intent to defraud is a crime under Vehicle Code section 4463 that can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. Smog certificates fall under the smog check program in the Health and Safety Code instead: a willful false statement or entry in a certificate is perjury, and getting a certificate by fraud brings civil or misdemeanor penalties.

Registration documents, plates, and stickers

Vehicle Code section 4463(a) applies to a person who, “with intent to prejudice, damage, or defraud,” does any of the following:

  • Alters, forges, counterfeits, or falsifies a certificate of ownership, registration card, certificate, license, license plate, temporary license plate, special plate, or permit provided for by the Vehicle Code, or a comparable document from another jurisdiction
  • Alters, forges, or falsifies, with fraudulent intent, an endorsement of transfer on a certificate of ownership
  • With fraudulent intent, displays or possesses a blank, incomplete, canceled, suspended, revoked, altered, forged, counterfeit, or false version of one of those documents
  • Passes or tries to pass a forged one as genuine, knowing it is forged

The list also includes any “device issued pursuant to Sections 4853 and 4854,” and Vehicle Code section 4853 lets the DMV issue “stickers, tabs, or other suitable devices” in place of plates, so an altered registration sticker is covered too.

The statute labels this a felony, punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years under Penal Code section 1170(h), “or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year.” Because of that county jail alternative, the charge can be treated as a felony or a misdemeanor.

A forged certificate of ownership can also be charged under the general forgery statute, Penal Code section 470(d), which lists a “certificate of ownership or other document evidencing ownership of a vehicle.”

Placards and Clean Air Stickers have their own tiers

Two other parts of Vehicle Code section 4463 cover different items with lighter penalties. Neither sets the penalty for a forged registration card, plate, or sticker.

  • Disabled person placards (subdivisions (b) and (c)). Forging or passing one, or acquiring, possessing, or selling one, with intent to prejudice, damage, or defraud is a misdemeanor punishable by six months in county jail, a fine of $500 to $1,000, or both. Displaying a forged placard with fraudulent intent can bring a civil parking penalty of $250 to $1,000 or a misdemeanor charge.
  • Clean Air Stickers (subdivisions (e) and (f)). These are the decals tied to high-occupancy vehicle lane privileges, not smog certificates. Forging or passing one, or possessing or selling a counterfeit one, is an infraction, with fines of $100 to $250 for a first offense, rising to $500 to $1,000 for a third or later offense.

Smog certificates: the Health and Safety Code

Smog certificates belong to the Motor Vehicle Inspection Program in the Health and Safety Code, which has its own penalty rules:

  • False statements or entries. Health and Safety Code section 44059 makes “the willful making of any false statement or entry with regard to a material matter” in a required oath, affidavit, certificate of compliance or noncompliance, or application form perjury. Penal Code section 126 punishes perjury by two, three, or four years under section 1170(h), and that section has no county jail misdemeanor alternative.
  • Getting a certificate by fraud. Under Health and Safety Code section 44056, a vehicle owner or operator who obtains, or tries to obtain, a certificate of compliance by fraud, including “offering or giving any form of financial or other inducement” to get one for a car that was not tested or was tested improperly, is liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each day of each violation. Obtaining a certificate “by falsifying information” carries a civil penalty of up to $5,000.
  • Violating the program’s rules. Health and Safety Code section 44058 makes violating the program’s statutes or regulations a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months’ imprisonment, or both, “in lieu of the imposition of the civil penalties.”

Why the document matters

These rules range from an infraction for a Clean Air Sticker, to a felony-or-misdemeanor charge for a registration document, to a straight felony term for perjury. Which one applies depends on the document, who made the false entry, and what each person knew.

Evidence and next steps

  • Keep the document itself, whether a registration card, plate, sticker, or smog paperwork, in its current condition.
  • Gather receipts and records from the DMV or the smog station, including who performed the inspection and what you paid.
  • Write down how, when, and from whom you got the document. Vehicle Code section 4463 requires intent to prejudice, damage, or defraud, and passing a forged document requires knowing it was false, so what you knew matters.
  • Do not make, alter, or use a substitute document. If the vehicle still needs registration or a smog inspection, get it only through the DMV or a licensed station.

Getting help

If you are facing an accusation involving a vehicle document, the specific document and the specific statute both matter. Call (800) 755-5174 to go over the paperwork and the charge with the Law Offices of David S. Chesley.