Title 18Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73not60

§470 Counterfeit Acts Committed Outside the United States

Title 18 › Part I— CRIMES › Chapter 25— COUNTERFEITING AND FORGERY › § 470

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

It is illegal for someone outside the United States to make, sell, or keep fake U.S. government financial papers or securities. It is also illegal to make, sell, or keep plates, stones, physical or digital images, or any other items (or parts of them) used to produce those fakes.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §470

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

A person who, outside the United States, engages in the act of— (1)
(2)making, dealing, or possessing any plate, stone, analog, digital, or electronic image, or other thing, or any part thereof, used to counterfeit such obligation or security,

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2001—Pub. L. 107–56, § 374(a)(2), in concluding provisions, substituted “shall be punished as is provided for the like offense within the United States” for “shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both”. Par. (2). Pub. L. 107–56, § 374(a)(1), inserted “analog, digital, or electronic image,” after “plate, stone,”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 1992 Amendment Pub. L. 102–550, title XV, § 1551, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4070, provided that: “This subtitle [subtitle E (§§ 1551–1554) of title XV of Pub. L. 102–550, enacting section 474A of this title and amending section 474 and 504 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Counterfeit Deterrence Act of 1992’.” Combatting International Counterfeiting of United States Currency Pub. L. 104–132, title VIII, § 807, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1308, which directed the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the advanced counterfeit deterrence steering committee, to study the use and counterfeiting of United States currency abroad, develop an evaluation audit plan, and submit written reports to Congress, ceased to be effective on Apr. 24, 2006.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 470

Title 18Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60