A “stale” check — one that hasn’t been cashed within six months of the original issue date — can cause you problems and cost you in bank fees. It’s important to know that when you get a check it may not be valid forever. Checks can become “stale dated” and may be harder, or even impossible, to cash.

Each bank has its own check hold policies, check endorsement requirements, and clearance period. Stale-dated checks refer to expired checks or checks that banks and credit unions will no longer process. Stale checks are the result of the check expiry period passing, which is six months after the check issuance date. Huntington explains how you can add a person to your account at any time or open a joint bank account together. With the exception of processing stop payment requests, agencies will follow the above procedures for all unclaimed checks.

Where Can I Cash a Stale-Dated Check?

Cancel the checks and remit the amount to an escheat revenue account in the fund that has established the ORF. Cancel the checks and remit the amount to an escheat revenue account in the fund from which the checks were drawn. Agencies will issue stop payment notices as required (by the banking institution) for those bank accounts not in the centralized State Treasury System. If you have property that falls into any of the above categories, you may need to report it to the State of Arizona.

Stale-dated and uncashed checks can only be re-issued within 6 years from the original date of issue, per the Barring Act 31 U.S.C. 3702(b). Unclaimed Property is anything negotiable that has monetary value. In the case of the University, most unclaimed property is uncashed checks issued by various departments. State https://investrecords.com/the-importance-of-accurate-bookkeeping-for-law-firms-a-comprehensive-guide/ law requires that all checks two years or older be reported to the Department of Revenue. The exception is Payroll checks which must be reported when they are one year old. Checks issued to California addresses may not be reported to the State of Washington but must be reported directly to the State of California.

Where is the account number on a check?

The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. Consider A Deep Dive into Law Firm Bookkeeping the type of unclaimed property you could potentially have and investigate the state dormancy period for each. When a check is certified, the bank backs that the drawer’s signature is genuine and that he or she has enough money in the account to cover the cost of the check.

• Almost every state requires a business to perform due diligence by contacting the owner of the unclaimed property.
• Please email if you have an uncashed check that is older than two years.
• If you receive a check that is more than 180 days old, depending on the circumstances, a bank may refuse to honor the check and will not allow you to deposit or cash the check.
• If the stale check is returned for any reason, then your bank may charge a fee for returning the check back to you and reversing the deposit if the funds were not placed on hold.
• If you’ve issued a check that has yet to be cashed, you can contact the recipient to see if they still have the check and intend to cash it.

Make sure to review your bank statement to ensure no checks you’ve written go stale. If a check you wrote is approaching the six-month mark but still hasn’t been cashed, you’ll be able to spot it so that you can get in touch with the recipient. While a bank does have the right to refuse an old check — and even return it to the original issuer — it also might decide to honor it. Before trying to cash a stale-dated check, it might be a good idea to contact the bank that holds the account the check is drawn against to see what its policy is. In this article, we’re sharing whether you can cash a stale dated check and answering common questions we receive on the topic.

What is Unclaimed Property?

The University will periodically notify departments or employees of “stale” checks which appear as outstanding on the bank reconciliation. Replacement of these checks requires the same procedures as those for lost checks. This is because after six months, most banks and credit unions will refuse to cash checks as they consider them “stale” after this period of time has passed. Personal, business, and payroll checks are good for 6 months (180 days). Some businesses have “void after 90 days” pre-printed on their checks. Most banks will honor those checks for up to 180 days and the pre-printed language is meant to encourage people to deposit or cash a check sooner than later.

Someone who wrote a personal check is probably not prepared for the hit their checking account balance will take if you cash it months later. Before cashing a check after the requested time frame, consider the reason for the payer’s request. It might be the case that they’re living on fixed income and won’t have the funds available after the specified time frame. You may end up getting charged a deposit item return fee if that’s the case.