TL;DR: In most places, lying on a resume is not a crime by itself, but it is not legal protection either. It becomes illegal when the lie is a fake degree or forged document (Texas makes claiming a fictitious degree to get a job a Class B misdemeanor), when it is made to a government employer (18 U.S.C. 1001 carries up to 5 years in US federal matters), or when it amounts to fraud (up to 10 years under the UK Fraud Act 2006). Everywhere, a resume lie is lawful grounds to reject, fire, or sue you.
Is it illegal to lie on a resume? The short answer is: usually not as a standalone act in a private-sector job in the United States, but the exceptions are broad and the consequences are real even where no crime applies. A resume is a marketing document, and the law tolerates puffery like "strong communicator." It does not tolerate invented degrees, forged certificates, false statements to government agencies, or lies that dishonestly obtain money. This guide separates the two, names the specific laws in the US, UK, and Australia, and covers what employers can do even when prosecutors will not.
Which laws apply to resume lies, at a glance:
Jurisdiction | Law | What it covers | Maximum penalty
US federal | `18 U.S.C. 1001` | False statements in federal matters, including federal job applications | Fine, 5 years prison
Texas | `Tex. Penal Code 32.52` | Claiming a fictitious, fraudulent, or revoked degree to get a job, license, or promotion | Class B misdemeanor: $2,000 fine, 180 days jail
Oregon | `ORS 348.609` | Claiming an unaccredited degree without the required disclaimer | Civil penalty, $1,000 per violation
England and Wales | `Fraud Act 2006 s.2` | Dishonest false representation to make a gain, such as a salary | 12 months summary, 10 years on indictment
Australia | State fraud, forgery and deception laws | Forged documents, deception for financial advantage | Varies by state; Urban received 3 years
What counts as lying on a resume versus exaggerating?
Lying on a resume means stating a checkable fact that is false: a degree you did not earn, a job title you never held, employment dates you changed, a license or certification you do not have, or a reference who is a friend posing as a manager. Exaggerating is describing true facts in the most favorable light.
University of New South Wales fraud law professor Alex Steel put the line simply in an ABC Radio National interview: you can describe yourself the way "your most uncritical friend" would, but once you say "something that's actually not true," it "goes from a sort of puffery to a fraud."
A practical test:
Statement | Category | Legal risk
"Led a team of 6" when you informally coordinated 6 people | Framing | Low; defensible if you can explain it
"Advanced Excel" when you know VLOOKUP and pivot tables | Exaggeration | Low; reputational if tested
Senior Manager when your title was Analyst | Lie | Termination, rescinded offer
Shifting dates to hide a 9-month gap | Lie | Termination, failed background check
A BA from a university you never finished | Lie | Criminal in some states and countries
A forged diploma or certificate | Forgery | Criminal almost everywhere
Any false fact on a US federal job application | False statement | Federal crime, up to 5 years
Is lying on a resume illegal in the United States?
Lying on a resume for a private US employer is generally not a crime by itself. There is no single federal law against resume lies in private hiring. Three categories are illegal, though.
1. Lies to the federal government. Under 18 U.S.C. 1001, anyone who "knowingly and willfully" makes a "materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement" in a matter within the jurisdiction of the federal executive, legislative, or judicial branch can be fined, imprisoned for up to 5 years, or both. Federal job applications, security clearance forms, and the paperwork for federal contractor roles fall squarely inside that. For the legislative branch, the statute expressly covers "personnel or employment practices."
2. Fake degrees under state law. Several states criminalize or penalize degree claims directly:
- Texas Penal Code 32.52 makes it an offense to use or claim a degree that is fictitious, fraudulent, substandard, or revoked with intent to obtain employment, a license, a promotion, or a government position. It is a Class B misdemeanor, which under Texas Penal Code 12.22 means up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. The law took effect September 1, 2005.
- Oregon ORS 348.609 bars claiming an academic degree unless it comes from an accredited or state-approved school. A degree from an unaccredited school must carry a written disclaimer on your resume, and civil penalties run up to $1,000 per violation. If you cannot document the degree you claim, that failure is prima facie evidence of a violation.
3. Fraud and forgery. If a resume lie is used to dishonestly obtain pay, benefits, or a license, state fraud and theft-by-deception laws can apply. Forging a diploma, transcript, or reference letter is forgery regardless of the job.
Licensed professions add their own layer. Claiming to be a registered nurse, engineer, CPA, or attorney without the license is typically a separate offense under state licensing law, and those claims are what employers verify most carefully.
Is it illegal to lie on a CV in the UK and Australia?
UK. Lying on a CV can be fraud by false representation under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. The Crown Prosecution Service guidance says the offence requires a dishonest false representation made with intent to make a gain or cause a loss, and "no gain or loss needs actually to have been made." Getting a salary on the back of a fake qualification fits that pattern. The maximum sentence is 12 months on summary conviction and 10 years on indictment.
Australia. Fraud, forgery, and deception offences are set by each state, and Australian courts have imprisoned people for CV lies. ABC News reported three cases:
- Zhi Sin Lee failed her final year of medicine but started as an intern at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney in January 2021. She worked 126 shifts before the lie was discovered and in January 2022 was sentenced to two years, served in the community, plus a $10,000 fine.
- Barry Urban, a former Western Australian MP, presented forged qualifications from the University of Leeds and the University of Portsmouth when applying to the police force. He was convicted of forgery and sentenced to three years in jail. Repeating the lies before a parliamentary committee added a separate offence punishable by up to seven years.
- Neil Lennie used his father's qualifications to become a teacher and later a principal in Victoria. At 73, 24 years after the original lie, he pleaded guilty to four deception charges and received a three-month suspended sentence.
What happens if an employer finds out you lied on your resume?
If an employer finds out you lied on your resume, the most likely result is a rescinded offer or termination, not a prosecution. In the US, most employment is at-will, so an employer does not need any law to fire you for a false resume. Employment contracts and offer letters often state outright that false application information is grounds for dismissal.
The timing does not save you. David Tovar, Walmart's chief spokesperson, resigned after a due-diligence screening for a promotion to senior vice president found he had falsely claimed a 1996 bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, as documented by the UNC University Policy Office. The lie had gone undetected for almost two decades.
A resume lie also weakens your legal position if you later have a valid claim against the employer. In McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., 513 U.S. 352 (1995), the US Supreme Court held that evidence of employee wrongdoing discovered after a firing does not wipe out a discrimination claim, but "as a general rule... neither reinstatement nor front pay is an appropriate remedy," and back pay is limited. Employers routinely use this "after-acquired evidence" doctrine: they dig into the resume after you sue, and a false degree caps what you can recover.
Other consequences:
- Civil claims. An employer can sue to recover salary or signing bonuses paid on the basis of a fake qualification, though this is less common than firing.
- Professional discipline. Licensing boards can revoke licenses for misrepresentation.
- Reputation. Background check findings and terminations for cause follow people through references and industry networks.
How do employers catch resume lies?
Employers catch resume lies through checks that are cheap and routine. The common ones:
- Education verification. In the US, most colleges report degrees to the National Student Clearinghouse, which background check vendors query in minutes.
- Employment verification. Vendors call past employers or query payroll databases to confirm titles and dates.
- Reference calls. Recruiters ask references to confirm your title and scope, not just whether you were good.
- License lookups. State boards publish license status online.
- Skills tests and interviews. A claimed "fluent Spanish" or "Python expert" gets tested.
- LinkedIn mismatch. Recruiters compare your resume with your profile and with former colleagues' profiles.
The UNC University Policy Office cites a 2023 ResumeLab survey in which 70% of applicants said they had lied or would consider lying on a resume. That is exactly why verification is standard.
What should you do instead of lying on your resume?
Every common reason people lie has an honest fix that works as well:
- Unfinished degree: list the school, field, and credits or years completed ("Coursework toward BS, Computer Science, 2019 to 2021"). Never list a graduation year.
- Employment gap: keep accurate dates and add one line explaining the gap. See how to explain an employment gap on your resume.
- Inflated title: keep your real title and add a functional description: "Analyst (team lead for 4-person reporting squad)."
- Missing skill: list it as in progress with a specific course or project, or leave it off and show adjacent evidence.
- Laid off or fired: your resume does not have to say why you left; the interview is where you explain. Our guide on how to explain a layoff in an interview covers scripts.
- Missing keywords: rewrite true experience in the employer's language. A tool like the JobFinder AI resume keyword scanner shows which job description terms your real experience already supports, so you can add them without inventing anything.
Checklist before you send any resume:
- Every title matches what your employer's HR records would show.
- Every date matches what a verification call would return.
- Every degree and certificate can be documented.
- Every number (team size, revenue, percentage) is one you can explain in an interview.
- Your resume and LinkedIn profile say the same thing.
If you are applying through an applicant tracking system, honest tailoring matters more than invention. Read how ATS resume scanners work before you start rewriting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you go to jail for lying on your resume?
Yes, in specific cases. People have been jailed for forged qualifications (Barry Urban in Western Australia received three years), for false statements to US federal agencies (up to 5 years under 18 U.S.C. 1001), and for fraud in the UK (up to 10 years under the Fraud Act 2006). Ordinary exaggeration on a private-sector resume does not lead to jail.
Is it illegal to lie about a degree on a resume?
In some places, yes. Texas makes claiming a fictitious or revoked degree to obtain employment a Class B misdemeanor, and Oregon imposes civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation for unaccredited degree claims. Even where it is not a crime, a false degree is grounds for termination at any point in your career.
Can I be fired years later for lying on my resume?
Yes. There is no time limit on firing an at-will employee for a resume lie. Walmart's chief spokesperson resigned almost two decades after falsely claiming a degree when a promotion triggered a fresh background check.
Is lying about your previous salary illegal?
Lying about salary history is generally not a crime in private hiring, but it can be grounds to rescind an offer if discovered. Many US states and cities now bar employers from asking about salary history at all, which removes the need to answer.
Is it lying to leave a job off your resume?
No. A resume is a selection of your experience, and omitting a job is legal. It becomes a problem only on formal application forms that ask for a complete employment history and require you to certify it is accurate, which is common for government and security-cleared roles.
Do employers actually check resumes?
Most employers that make a formal offer run some verification, especially education, employment dates, and licenses. Senior, regulated, financial, healthcare, and government roles are checked most thoroughly.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For a specific situation, talk to an employment lawyer in your jurisdiction.
Sources: 18 U.S.C. 1001, Texas Penal Code 32.52, Texas Penal Code 12.22, Oregon ORS 348.609, CPS Fraud Act 2006 guidance, McKennon v. Nashville Banner, 513 U.S. 352, ABC News Law Report, UNC University Policy Office.