Section 473 Of Chapter 4. Forgery And Counterfeiting From California Penal Code >> Title 13. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4.
473
. (a) Forgery is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for
not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision
(h) of Section 1170.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any person who is guilty of
forgery relating to a check, bond, bank bill, note, cashier's check,
traveler's check, or money order, where the value of the check, bond,
bank bill, note, cashier's check, traveler's check, or money order
does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), shall be
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year, except that such person may instead be punished pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 if that person has one or more prior
convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph
(C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an
offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
290. This subdivision shall not be applicable to any person who is
convicted both of forgery and of identity theft, as defined in
Section 530.5.