When Is a Check Considered Stale Dated by a Bank?
- Article 4 of the federal Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) regulates bank deposits and collections. Old checks are referred to as "stale," but the section in the UCC does not use terminology prohibiting banks from cashing them. If you write a check that you want deposited within a certain period of time, you should state the date by which it should be cashed in the memo section. When presented with the check after that date, the bank can refuse to process it.
- The UCC states that a bank does not have to honor personal checks that are more than six months old. Sometimes tellers don't notice the date and may cash a stale check anyway. If the check bounces, it isn't the bank's fault. The person who wrote it still is responsible for making the payment for which it was intended. However, a bank may cash a stale check even if the teller knows that it is dated longer than six months ago. Since there is no law making a stale check illegal to transact, a bank may use its own discretion to cash it in good faith.
- Certified checks are more likely to be backed by sufficient funds from the check writer's account than one that is not certified. When you ask for a certified check against your account, the bank verifies your balance, takes the money from your account and issues you an official check. For this reason, Article 4 of the UCC exempts certified checks from becoming stale after six months.
- Checks issued from the U.S. Treasury become stale after one year. Unlike a personal check, a Treasury check may not be cashed more than 12 months after the date it is written. Most government checks are issued from the Treasury department. These include military wages, Social Security income and tax refunds. All Treasury checks are similar in appearance and include a seal to guard against counterfeit operations.
