Writing and Endorsing Checks

When you write a check, don’t date a check ahead of the day you wrote it. This is referred to as post-dating a check. Even though the date is a future date, the individual or company that you give it to can go ahead and deposit it and the bank is free to honor it. If you don’t have enough funds in your account, it will result in an overdraft and you will be charged fees. The liability is not with the bank for disregarding the date of the check.

Don’t endorse a check until you are ready to deposit it. To deposit the check, you need to endorse the back of it. This means that you sign your name in either blue or black ink on the back of the check that is made payable to you. You should sign your name the way it is written on the check. Once you have endorsed the check, you can deposit it in your account or cash it but don’t endorse it and take the chance of losing a check that can now be cashed. If your name is spelled wrong, also sign your name the correct way on the next line.

There are a few ways to endorse checks. A blank endorsement is when you sign your name the same way it is written on the front of the check. Only sign it when you are ready to cash it or deposit the money into your bank account. A special endorsement is a method used if you wanted to give someone else the money. In order to make this endorsement you write “pay to the order of” and that person’s name below it. Then sign your name underneath. Now only that person can cash the check. A Restrictive Endorsement is when you want your check to be very safe, such as when you send it in the mail to your bank. To make this endorsement write “for deposit only” and sign underneath those clearly written words. Now the check can only be deposited into your account, not cashed.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 12th, 2008 at 11:58 am and is filed under Banking and CD Guide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.