What Is Stale Cheque? (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of stale cheque? ›

A cheque becomes stale when its time of validity expires. Due to the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions on these cheque' legitimacy, banks do not accept them. A stale cheque cannot be used to make a payment to the bank.

What is a Stale check? Checks which are at least 180 days old (6 months) are considered stale. Tellers in banks will sometimes reject a check if the date is over that limit. This does not prevent a check from clearing the bank when deposited through other means than a teller.

But, in practice, banks will usually reject a cheque if you try to pay it in or cash it more than six months from the date of issue – that's the date written on the cheque. If you've forgotten about a cheque and it's more than six months old, the best thing to do is ask the person who gave it to you to write another.

Cheques are considered stale-dated after six months, unless it is a certified cheque. A stale-dated cheque means that the item is old, and not necessarily invalid.

Checks are typically only valid for six months after being signed. Banks may still accept a stale check, but they are not required to if they have reason to doubt the funds.

Stale cheques are invalid instruments and not bank will accept them for collection or payment. The drawer of the cheque (person who issued the cheques originally) has to revalidate them.

A check that is issued 6 months earlier but not deposited in the bank becomes a stale-dated check for both sides in the business. The business owner must ensure stale-dated checks are notified to the service provider for cancellation and to ensure there is no transaction debit to the company account.

Understanding Stale Dated Checks

If this happens, there are two potential ways to solve the problem: ask the check writer (or issuer) to change the date on the replaced check; ask the issuer to issue a new check.

Can I cash a two-year-old check? In most cases, you can't cash a two-year-old check. Personal and business checks typically expire after six months. A government-issued check will likely have a “Void by” date of a year or less.

Your bank or financial institution considers a cheque to be stale-dated when it becomes too old, which is usually after six months. If you find out that someone can't cash the cheque you issued because it's stale-dated, ask for the original cheque back before issuing a new one.

What happens if a check is never cashed? ›

A stale-dated federal treasury check is a check that has not been cashed within one year from the date of issue. The United States Department of Treasury automatically voids all uncashed checks after one year from the date of issue and returns the funds to the issuing agency.

If this happens, the funds might be withdrawn from your account and you might have to pay a fee. The check could bounce. Even if both your bank and the issuing bank accept the stale check, it could still be returned for lack of funds.

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a collection of laws and regulations meant to harmonize the laws of sales and regulations across the U.S. The UCC tells banks that they are under no obligation to accept personal or business checks that are older than 180 days (6 months).

Here is an example to illustrate a stale cheque using specific dates and numbers: Issuance Date: On January 1, 2023, John issues a cheque to Mary for $500. Expiration Date: In John and Mary's country, cheques become stale after six months from the issuance date.

An outstanding check represents a liability for the payor. The payor must be sure to keep enough money in the account to cover the amount of the outstanding check until it is cashed, which could take weeks or sometimes even months. Checks that are outstanding for a long period of time are known as stale checks.

Answer: The only way to remove checks from The Financial Edge is to void and possibly purge them. However, if the checks have been reconciled they cannot be removed.

A cheque becomes stale if it is not presented within 15 months of the date of issue. Its most probable the cheque has gone stale, when this happens the credit will sit on your account until we have bank account details or you contact us and request a replacement cheque.

Contact Accounts Payable or Payroll and request that the stale check be reissued. These departments will work with Bank Reconciliations to remove the check from stale dating and process the reissued check to the vendor.