Is perjury a felony?

Perjury is knowingly making a false statement about something important while under oath. Virginia's law, for example, covers a person who "willfully swears falsely" about a material matter on an occasion when an oath is lawfully given.^1,2

Pennsylvania's definition is similar: a false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation, in an official proceeding, on a material matter, that the person does not believe is true.

Most perjury laws require the false statement to be material, which means it matters to the case or proceeding. Federal law, Pennsylvania and Virginia all include this requirement.^1,2,3,4,5,6

Not every misdemeanor version does. Texas's Class A misdemeanor perjury and New York's third-degree perjury do not list materiality as an element, but Texas aggravated perjury and New York's two felony degrees do.

Perjury does not require a courtroom. Signing a written declaration, certificate or statement "under penalty of perjury" that you know contains a material falsehood can be perjury under federal law and Virginia law.^1,3

Federal law ties this to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, which allows a declaration under penalty of perjury in place of a sworn statement. Virginia's statute makes the same allowance for declarations under its own code section.

Some states have a misdemeanor version of perjury. In Texas, perjury is a Class A misdemeanor. In New York, swearing falsely is perjury in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor. In Florida, a false sworn statement outside an official proceeding is a first-degree misdemeanor.^4,5,7

The misdemeanor versions generally cover a false sworn statement without the added factors that make it a felony. In Texas, the felony version, aggravated perjury, needs a material false statement made during or in connection with an official proceeding. Florida's misdemeanor applies to a false sworn statement on a material matter that is not made in an official proceeding.

Federal law and all eight states in the examples below treat at least one form of perjury as a felony. The most serious versions, such as false testimony or a false statement in an official proceeding, are felonies.^{1,2,3,4,8,9,10,11,12,13}

Some states also have a lower misdemeanor version, covered above. The federal, California, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Virginia perjury statutes checked here list only felony-level punishment. The general federal law does not use the word felony, but its five-year maximum makes it a Class D felony under 18 U.S.C. § 3559.

In states with a misdemeanor version, the felony versions usually turn on where the false statement was made and whether it was material. Texas aggravated perjury is a third-degree felony. Florida perjury in an official proceeding is a third-degree felony.^4,9,11,14

Under Texas law, a statement is material if it could have affected the course or outcome of the official proceeding. In New York, perjury in the first degree is a false statement that is testimony and material to the proceeding, a class D felony. Perjury in the second degree is a class E felony for a material false statement in a subscribed written instrument for which the law requires an oath, made with intent to mislead a public servant. Florida makes the offense a second-degree felony when the proceeding relates to the prosecution of a capital felony.

A person can be charged with perjury for giving two sworn statements that conflict. Virginia treats it as perjury to give sworn testimony on a material matter and later give conflicting sworn testimony on the same matter, with intent to testify falsely.^1,15

The prosecution must show the testimony was knowingly given with intent to testify falsely and that it was given on two separate occasions. The penalty is found in Virginia's main perjury section, § 18.2-434.

Several statutes let a person take back a false statement. In Pennsylvania, it is a defense if the person retracted the falsehood in the course of the same proceeding, before it became manifest that it would be exposed and before it substantially affected the proceeding.²

Texas

Texas: perjury is a Class A misdemeanor. Aggravated perjury, a material false statement made during or in connection with an official proceeding, is a felony of the third degree.⁴

Texas defines perjury to include a false statement under oath that the law requires or authorizes to be made under oath, and a false unsworn declaration under Chapter 132 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A person charged with aggravated perjury has a defense if the person took back the false statement before finishing testimony and before it became clear the falsity would be exposed.

New York

New York: perjury in the third degree, swearing falsely, is a class A misdemeanor. Perjury in the second degree is a class E felony, and perjury in the first degree is a class D felony.^5,9,14

California

California: perjury is a felony. It is punishable by imprisonment under Penal Code section 1170(h) for two, three or four years.^10,16,17

California's perjury law covers a person who willfully states as true a material matter they know is false, after taking an oath or when testifying, declaring or certifying under penalty of perjury. Penal Code section 17 defines a felony as a crime punishable by state prison or by imprisonment under section 1170(h). A person cannot be convicted if the proof of falsity rests only on the contradicting testimony of a single person other than the defendant.

Florida

Florida: perjury in an official proceeding is a felony of the third degree, or a felony of the second degree if it relates to the prosecution of a capital felony. Perjury outside an official proceeding is a first-degree misdemeanor.^7,11

Ohio

Ohio: perjury is a felony of the third degree. It applies to a knowingly false, material statement made under oath or affirmation in any official proceeding.¹²

Illinois

Illinois: perjury is a Class 3 felony. It covers a false, material statement made under oath or affirmation, in a proceeding or any other matter where the law requires an oath.¹³

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: perjury is a felony of the third degree.²

Virginia

Virginia: perjury is punishable as a Class 5 felony.¹

A perjury conviction in Virginia also makes the person incapable of holding any office of honor, profit or trust under the Virginia Constitution, and of serving as a juror.

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 1621, makes perjury punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both, unless another law expressly provides a different penalty. With a five-year maximum, it is a Class D felony under 18 U.S.C. § 3559.^3,8,18

The statute covers two situations: willfully giving a false material statement after taking an oath before a competent tribunal, officer or person where federal law authorizes an oath, and willfully signing as true a material statement under penalty of perjury that you do not believe is true. It applies whether the statement is made inside or outside the United States.

A separate federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 1623, covers false material declarations made under oath or under penalty of perjury in a proceeding before or ancillary to a federal court or grand jury. It carries a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The limit is ten years if the proceeding is before or ancillary to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or its Court of Review.^19,20

The offense is knowingly making a false material declaration, or making or using other information, such as a document or recording, knowing it contains a false material declaration. Unlike § 1621, it applies only to court and grand jury proceedings. The ten-year limit for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court proceedings was added by a 2024 law, Pub. L. 118-49.

Under § 1623, a person who gives two or more sworn declarations that cannot both be true can be charged without the government saying which one is false.²⁰

Each declaration must be material and must fall within the statute of limitations. It is a defense that the person believed each declaration was true when made.

Under § 1623, admitting that a declaration was false during the same continuous court or grand jury proceeding can bar prosecution, but only in limited cases.²⁰

The statute says the bar applies if, at the time of the admission, the false declaration has not substantially affected the proceeding, or it has not become manifest that the falsity has been or will be exposed.