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← Back to Law ExplorerLast verified: June 2026 · Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
Theft, Fraud & Property OffencesHybrid
§367

Punishment for Forgery

Punishment for forgery

Theft & Fraud
Maximum Sentence

10 years (indictable) / 2 years less a day (summary)

Classification: Hybrid
🍁 Immigration Impact

This is the punishment provision for forgery, which s. 366 defines. It makes forgery hybrid with a 10-year indictable maximum. Ten years meets the at-least-10-years test in IRPA s.36(1)(a), so a forgery conviction is serious criminality, and s.36(3)(a) deems it indictable even where the Crown proceeded summarily. No deemed rehabilitation is available at that maximum. Forged identity, travel, and immigration documents are the versions most often seen in immigration proceedings, and they also engage the misrepresentation ground in s.40.

🍁 In Simple Terms

This is where the price of forgery is set, in the section right after the one that defines it. The serious route carries 10 years, landing exactly on the serious criminality line, and the Crown can also take the lighter route. Because the ceiling reaches 10 years, no waiting period clears a forgery record on its own.

Legal Text, Criminal Code s. 367

Every one who commits forgery (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Amendment History (3)
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 367
1994, c. 44, s. 24
1997, c. 18, s. 24
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