NRS § 205.965 is the Nevada law that makes it a felony to forge or alter a pricing label or sales receipt with the intention of defrauding the seller. A first- or second-time offense typically carries probation, and it may be possible to get the charge reduced to a misdemeanor or even dismissed through a plea deal.
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss everything you need to know about the Nevada crime of altering or forging pricing labels:
1. Definition
Nevada law prohibits forging or otherwise changing a pricing label or sales receipt for the purpose of defrauding the seller. This applies to both written and electronic labels used by retailers to identify, inventory or price products.1
You can be charged with this crime even if you end up paying full price or do not succeed in tricking the seller into giving you money or goods you were not entitled to. The mere act of forging or altering a price tag or receipt is criminal as long as you have fraudulent intentions.
Typical scenarios that would violate NRS 205.965 include:
- Buying a store item after writing a less expensive price on the price tag
- Switching tags on merchandise so you can buy something at the less expensive price (called “tag swapping”)
- Creating a fake sales receipt in order to try to get money returned
- Hacking into a store’s computer system to alter inventory prices (the hacking would be a separate felony crime)
Now with many merchants using surveillance cameras and anti-theft software, faking or changing a pricing label or sales receipt is difficult to get away with.
Violating NRS 205.965 is a felony in Nevada.
2. Penalties
Altering a pricing label or sales receipt is normally prosecuted as a category E felony in Nevada, which carries probation and a suspended sentence. (If you have two or more prior felony convictions, the court may impose one to four years in Nevada State Prison and up to $5,000 in fines.)
If you are accused of possessing fifteen (15) or more fraudulent sales receipts or inventory pricing labels, the D.A. may instead bring charges for a category D felony. The sentence is:
- 1 – 4 years in Nevada State Prison, and
- possibly up to $5,000 in fines.2
3. Defenses
Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud and theft crimes. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.
You had no intent to defraud
Claiming you lacked fraudulent intentions can be a strong defense because the D.A. has no way of getting inside your head. We may be able to argue that the incident was just an accident, a misunderstanding, or a silly gag.
Unless the D.A. can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you had intent to defraud the seller, a conviction under NRS 205.965 cannot stand.
You were falsely accused
Perhaps someone else altered or switched the price tags, and the store manager mistakenly thought it was you. Or perhaps the merchant had something against you and levied false allegations out of anger or revenge.
In these cases, we rely heavily on such evidence as:
- eyewitness testimony
- video surveillance footage
- GPS records
- handwriting or computer experts
If we can convince prosecutors their case is too weak to sustain a conviction, the charge may be dropped.
The police committed misconduct
Sometimes, the police make mistakes and fail to follow proper protocols when investigating a case. Common examples are:
- searching without a search warrant (and there is no justifiable excuse to make a warrantless search)
- searching outside the bounds of the warrant
- coercing a confession
- making an arrest without sufficient probable cause
When the police violated your rights, we would file a motion with the court asking that it suppress any evidence/confessions the police found through illegal means. If the judge agrees, the D.A. may drop your case for lack of proof.
Altering or forging price tags is illegal even if you do not end up buying the item.
4. Record Seals
How your case turns out determines when you can petition the court to seal your record so it no longer shows up in criminal background checks.
| NRS 205.965 case |
Waiting period to petition for a record seal |
| Category D felony conviction | 5 years after the case closes |
| Category E felony conviction | 2 years after the case closes |
| No conviction (dismissal) | None, you can petition right away |
Learn how to seal Nevada criminal records.3
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Return Fraud and Abuse: How to Protect Profits – The Retail Equation.
- Preventing ticket-switching of RFID-tagged items in apparel retail stores – Decision Support Systems.
- Price Tag Switching – Criminology Between the Rule of Law and the Outlaws.
Legal References
- NRS 205.965 – Unlawful possession, making, altering, forgery or counterfeiting of sales receipt or inventory pricing label; penalties.
1. A person shall not, with the intent to cheat or defraud a retailer, possess, make, alter, forge or counterfeit any sales receipt or inventory pricing label.
2. Unless a greater penalty is imposed by a specific statute and except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a person who violates any provision of subsection 1 is guilty of a category E felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
3. Unless a greater penalty is imposed by a specific statute, a person who violates any provision of subsection 1 and who possesses 15 or more fraudulent sales receipts or inventory pricing labels is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
4. As used in this section, “inventory pricing label” includes, without limitation, any written or electronic record or label used by a retailer to identify, inventory or price any product or item it offers for sale. - Same.
- NRS 179.245. NRS 179.255.