Signing a check on the back is referred to as an endorsement. You'll typically have to endorse a check to deposit it in your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bank account or to cash it. ꦬTo endorse a check, you will🐬 sign the back in the endorsement box.

The process for endorsing a check may vary slightly from bank to bank and depends on the type of check, how y😼ou're depositing it, and how you want to use the funds♕.

In most cases, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:endorsement is necessary for the issuing bank or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial institution to tr๊ansfer the funds associated with the check.

How to Endorse a Check

♏ Endorsing a che𝓡ck is a relatively simple process. Here are the basic steps:

1. Confirm Check Information for Accuracy

Ensure that the check is made out to you, the date is accurate, and the amount paid to you is correct. Some banks won't 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cash a check with an issue date of more than six months old.

2. Decide Who Should Endorse the Check

Both people must endorse the check if its pay-to line lists two people, such as a teen and a parent or a couple. Either person can endorse the check if its pay-to line lists either one person "or" the other. However, both must sign if their names are linked by the word "and."

3. Look for the Location to Endorse

On most checks, you'll look at its back. A box at the t♌op s🎃hould contain at least three lines with the heading “Endorse Here” and another, larger box beneath it with the heading “Do Not Write, Stamp, or Sign Below This Line.” Endorse the check in the top box.

4. Endorse the Check

Sign your name as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:written on the check using ink, not pencil. Write the💛 incorrect name first if your name was misspelled, then write your correct name below the inc𝔍orrect name and official signature.

Types of Check Endorsements

You may have to endorse a check differently, depending on the type of transaction, such as if you're forwarding the funds to someone else.

Restrictive Endorsement

A restrictive endorsement contains information that limits deposit use.

Restrictive Endorsement by Account

To restrict a deposit to a specific account:

• Write “For Deposit Only” on one line.
• Write the account number on another line.
• Sign your name on a third line.

Restrictive endorsement provides the most security because it instructs your bank to only send the funds to the account you've specified. Funds cannot be given out as cash or deposited into any other account. However, the person who wrote you the check will see your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bank account number if they receive a copy of the canceled check or review it online via their bank.

Restrictive Endorsement for Mobile Deposit

Another type of restrictive endorsement is available when using your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bank's mobile deposit app. Most banks will require 💛you to follow these steps due to federal regulations pꦺassed in 2018:

1. Sign your name on one line.
2. You may have to write "For (bank name) mobile deposit only" or "For mobile deposit only at (bank name)" below that line.

You🌌 must speci💫fy the financial institution and intend to deposit the check remotely.

Special Endorsement

A special endorsement is when you use a check made out to you to pay someone else. You can send the money associated with the check directly from the payee to someone else—called a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:third-party endorsement. Some banks do not accept third-party checks.

Write the following in the endorsement area:

• “Pay to the order of” followed by the name of the individual who will receive the money.
• Sign your name beneath that line.

Your chosen recipient would sign their name beneath yours before depositing or cashing the check.

Blank Endorsement

A blank endorsement means you have signed the back of the check as the payee—typically before going to the bank—and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:deposit it at the ATM or tell the bank teller whether t♓o deposit or cash it.

A blank endorsement can also occur when the issuer of the check leaves the payee line blank or writes "cash" in the payee line. Upon receipt of the check, you would sign the back of the check and deposit or cash it.

A blank endorsement constitutes the least secure way of endorsing a check because of the risk of theft and fraud. For example, you might lose the endorsed check or it might get stolen. The person who found or stole the endorsed check may try to deposit or cash it, particularly if it has no payee or it's unendorsed and made out to "cash."

You can limit the possibilities for fraud by waiting to sign it just before you deposit it, and if you're writing the check, make sure the payee line matches the person you want to deposit or cash it.

Business Endorsement

A check m🦋ade out to a business rather than to an individual must have an authorized individual endorse the check on behalf of the company.

Endorsing a check for a business is slightly more complex, but it's done in the same box where you endorse checks by individuals:

• Write the name of the business. 
• Sign your name underneath this line along with your company title in print form.

Not all banks will allow you to cash a check made out to a business, even if you're the authorized signer for the company. Instead, you may need to deposit it into the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:business account and withdraw the money as a separate transaction from 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the account.

Common Issues With Endorsing a Check

Although the proces🦋s of endorsing a check seems straightforward, issues can arise. These can delay how long it takes for your bank to process a check and even prevent it from doing ꦬso altogether. 

Misspellings

One of the most common problems you'll encounter when endorsing a check is that the person who wrote it has misspelled your name. This can be an issue because your bank may refuse to process the check if there's a mismatch between the spelling on the front and your endorsement,

Unfortunately, other than asking the check writer to void this check and write another, the only way around this issue is to copy their incorrect spelling in your eꦦndorsement. Then, you can provide your correct name in﷽ your official signature.

Multiple Payees

A check will sometimes have multiple payees, such as checks given as wedding gifts. The check's payee might read “John and Jane Smith.” This wording can create an inconvenience because many banks might require 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:both parties to endorse the check even if one of the payees deposits it into their 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:joint account.

Scams

You should be wary if a person you don't know well asks you to endorse and deposit a chec🌌k, particularly under some circumstances:ﷺ

• The check amount exceeds the amount owed to you.
• Someone asks you to send a portion of the funds elsewhere for taxes or fees.
• Someone asks you to send some of the funds to another person.
• Someone asks you to withdraw funds from the check by wire, gift card, money order, or cryptocurrency.

Although the check may "clear" your account right away, meaning the bank makes the funds available, these checks are usually fraudulent. It can take days for the bank to discover the fraud, and you must repay your bank for🐼 any funds you've withdrawn based on the fraudulent check.

The Bottom Line

Endorsing a check is a relatively simple process that significantly improves your banking security. Different types of checks require different endorsements, but most involve signing the back of a check to prove that you're the legal owner of the funds it represents.

Improving your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial literacy includes learning a𒆙bout banking and how to endorse a check, which can help reduce the risk of a scammer or fraudster taking advantage of you.