Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73
§477 Possessing or selling impressions of tools used for obligations or securities
Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 25— - COUNTERFEITING AND FORGERY › § 477
Summary
Anyone who is trying to cheat and, without U.S. government permission, keeps or controls any stamp, mark, copy, or digital image made from tools meant for the purposes listed in section 476, or who sells or gives those items to someone else, can be fined, imprisoned for up to 25 years, or both.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §477
Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Whoever, with intent to defraud, possesses, keeps, safeguards, or controls, without authority from the United States, any imprint, stamp, analog, digital, or electronic image, or impression, taken or made upon any substance or material whatsoever, of any tool, implement, instrument or thing, used, fitted or intended to be used, for any of the purposes mentioned in section 476 of this title; or Whoever, with intent to defraud, sells, gives, or delivers any such imprint, stamp, analog, digital, or electronic image, or impression to any other person— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 25 years, or both.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 267 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 153, 35 Stat. 1117). Changes in phraseology were made.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2001—Pub. L. 107–56 inserted “analog, digital, or electronic image,” after “imprint, stamp,” in first and second pars. and substituted “25 years” for “ten years” in third par. 1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 477
Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73