Forged document

A genuine document that has been altered to lie.

The ID was issued legitimately, and someone changed a detail afterward, such as the date of birth or the address, so it no longer tells the truth.

A legitimately issued document whose data has been fraudulently altered after issuance, commonly a changed date of birth or address, detectable because the edit breaks the document's original security layer or print consistency.

A forged document typically shows signs of the edit:

• Disturbed security layers, such as damaged laminate or a broken pattern near the changed field.
• Print inconsistencies, such as a font, ink, or alignment that differs from the surrounding text.
• Data mismatches, such as a printed date that does not match the barcode or machine-readable zone.

Border and document-control guidance often sorts document fraud into several groups, including counterfeits, forged documents, and genuine documents obtained or used fraudulently.

Forged documents sit next to terms that are easy to mix up:

• Counterfeit document is built from scratch, while a forged document is a real one that was altered.
• Document tampering is the broader term for altering a genuine document, and forgery describes the result.
• Photo substitution is a forgery in which the portrait is replaced.