California · Food and Agricultural Code - FAC

FAC §18847: It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following: (a) Forge any official device, mark, or certificate.

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Forging official devices, marks, or certificates; using them without authorization; making false statements on inspection certificates; or falsely representing articles as inspected is unlawful.

Read the full statutory text

It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following: (a) Forge any official device, mark, or certificate. (b) Without authorization from the director to use any official device, mark, or certificate, or simulation thereof, or alter, detach, deface, or destroy any official device, mark, or certificate. (c) Contrary to the regulations of the director, fail to use, or to detach, deface, or destroy any official device, mark, or certificate. (d) Knowingly possess, without promptly notifying the director or his representative, any official device or any counterfeit, simulated, forged, or improperly altered official certificate, or any device or label, or any carcass of any animal, including any poultry, or part or product thereof, bearing any counterfeit, simulated, forged, or improperly altered official mark. (e) Knowingly make any false statement in any shipper’s certificate or other nonofficial or official certificate provided for in the regulations of the director. (f) Knowingly represent that any article has been inspected and passed, or exempted, under this chapter when, in fact, it has, respectively, not been so inspected and passed, or exempted.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

Facing this? Know exactly what happens next.

MOFRD turns this code section into your situation: the deadlines that apply to you, the forms your county uses, and the resolution paths people in your position actually take. Free for 3 days — no card required.

Start your matter free Ask Law Link about this code

This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.