Forgery Lawyers - Madrid

We are a criminal law firm in Madrid specialized in crimes of documentary falsehood. At Valmaseda, we have maintained a constant focus on defending cases of documentary falsehood, achieving outstanding results throughout Spain and especially before the National Court. Our objective has been to obtain acquittal or dismissal of charges for our clients during the investigative phase.

The crime of documentary falsehood consists of the forgery, alteration, simulation, or modification of the essential elements of a document. Forgery may involve the entire document or only part of it, and evaluation typically requires the involvement of a handwriting and document expert.

Types of Documentary Falsehood and Corresponding Penalties

Forgery of Public, Official, and Commercial Documents (Including Communications)

This type of documentary forgery can only be carried out by public officials or authorities and is punished with 3 to 6 years in prison, a fine of 6 to 24 months, and special disqualification. It is considered falsehood when:

A document is altered in any of its essential elements or requirements.
A document or part of it is simulated, inducing error about its authenticity.
The participation of persons is falsely attributed or misrepresented.
Facts are misrepresented or untruthful.

A private individual can also be guilty of this offense in relation to public, official, or commercial documents. In such cases, ideological falsehood is excluded, and both the forgery and the knowing trafficking or use of the falsified document are punished with 6 months to 3 years in prison and a 6 to 12 month fine.

Forgery of Private Documents

This offense is regulated under Article 395 of the Spanish Penal Code and is similar to the above, but refers exclusively to private documents, with the main characteristic that the perpetrator is always a private individual. The penalty is 6 months to 2 years in prison.

Forgery of Certificates

This type may be committed by private individuals, authorities, public officials, or qualified professionals. The penalty is a fine of 3 to 12 months; however, if committed by authorities or public officials, there is also disqualification for 6 months to 2 years.

In all cases, the forger, the trafficker, and anyone who knowingly uses the falsified document will be prosecuted. However, this does not apply to certificates related to Social Security and the Tax Administration.

Forgery of Credit and Debit Cards, Traveler’s Checks, and Other Payment Instruments

Document falsehood also includes altering, copying, reproducing, forging, trafficking, and using credit or debit cards, traveler’s checks, or other payment instruments knowing they are false (artículo 399 bis).

This is punished with 4 to 8 years in prison, with penalties increased to the upper half of the range when the offense affects a group of people or is committed by a criminal organization engaged in this activity.