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Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Part I · Chapter 47 — Fraud and False Statements

§ 1021. Title records

Statutory text

Whoever, being an officer or other person authorized by any law of the United States to record a conveyance of real property or any other instrument which by such law may be recorded, knowingly certifies falsely that such conveyance or instrument has or has not been recorded, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 80–645 · 62 Stat. 683

    Enacted · 18 U.S.C. § 1021

    June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 754

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 754

  2. Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

    Pub. L. 103–322 title XXXIII § 330016(1)(H) · 108 Stat. 1796

    Substituted · 18 U.S.C. § 1021

    Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000”

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000”.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (H) in sections 81, 210, 211, 215, 217, 242, 245, 291, 292, 439, 442, 480, 483, 484, 490, 491, 494, 495, 503, 507, 510, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, 599, 604, 605, 641, 643, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649, 650, 651, 652, 653, 654, 655, 656, 657, 658, 659, 661, 662, 665, 712, 751, 752, 756, 795, 796, 797, 836, 844, 871, 875, 876, 877, 879, 911, 912, 913, 924, 957, 959, 961, 1003, 1012, 1021, 1025, 1026, 1071, 1112, 1163, 1262, 1263, 1264, 1301, 1302, 1304, 1306, 1341, 1342, 1343, 1361, 1363, 1384, 1504, 1508, 1509, 1657, 1705, 1706, 1707, 1711, 1715, 1716, 1733, 1738, 1761, 1762, 2276, 2277, 2278, 2382, and 2389 by striking “not more than $1,000” each place it appears and inserting “under this title”;

1 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 194 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 105, 35 Stat. 1107).

Words “five years” were substituted for “seven years” as more in conformity with comparable sections of this chapter.

Minor change was made in phraseology.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000”.

Credits

1948–1994 · 2 acts
  1. 1948June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 754
  2. 1994Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(H), , 108 Stat. 2147.
Show as published

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 754; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(H), , 108 Stat. 2147.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc18.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-05-04

USLM identifier /us/usc/t18/s1021