Checks do expire, in a practical sense: most personal and business checks go stale six months after the date written on them, and after that a bank is free to refuse payment. Cashier’s checks, government checks, and money orders each follow their own clock. The money behind the check usually isn’t lost even when the paper itself is no longer good.
The Six-Month Rule for Personal and Business Checks
Under Section 4-404 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a bank is not obliged to pay a check presented more than six months after its date.1Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old Past that mark, the check is called “stale-dated.” The reasoning is simple: a check sitting uncashed for half a year is unusual enough that the bank would normally want to confirm with the account holder before paying it.
Here is the part that catches people off guard. The UCC says the bank doesn’t have to pay a stale check, not that it can’t. If the account has the funds and the bank processes the check in good faith, the payment is valid and the account gets charged.1Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old That cuts both ways. A check you wrote and forgot about could still clear months later. A check made out to you may or may not be honored once the six-month window closes.
When a stale check is rejected, the person who tried to deposit it usually pays a returned-item fee, which can run $35 or more. The check writer may also get hit with a nonsufficient-funds charge if their balance can’t cover it. Before depositing anything older than six months, call both your bank and the issuing bank.
What “Void After 90 Days” Actually Means
Payroll checks and business checks often come pre-printed with phrases like “void after 90 days” or “void after 180 days.” That language is not legally binding on banks under the UCC. The code doesn’t address “void after” notations, and banks generally treat them as a prompt to deposit the check promptly rather than a hard expiration. A bank can still honor a check marked “void after 90 days” after that date has passed.
The notation does serve a purpose. It flags the check for the paying bank, giving a reason to contact the account holder, and it nudges the payee not to sit on the money. If the printed date has passed, the issuer may refuse to honor it even when the bank technically could clear it. Asking the issuer for a replacement is usually the cleanest option.
Cashier’s Checks and Certified Checks
Cashier’s checks and certified checks sit in a different category because the bank itself guarantees the funds. Section 4-404 explicitly excludes certified checks from the six-month rule.1Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old When a bank issues a cashier’s check, it moves the money out of the purchaser’s account right away and holds it in its own account until the check is cashed. That obligation doesn’t go away after 180 days.
Under UCC 3-118, the statute of limitations for enforcing payment on a cashier’s check, teller’s check, or certified check is three years after you demand payment from the issuing bank.2Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-118 – Statute of Limitations Some banks print “void after” language on cashier’s checks, but that notation has no binding effect on the bank’s underlying obligation. The bank must honor the check unless someone has filed a claim for a lost or stolen instrument.
If you turn up an old cashier’s check, go directly to the issuing bank. The bank may process it without trouble, or ask you to complete paperwork to reissue the payment if the check has been flagged as dormant.
Government Checks
U.S. Treasury checks follow a tighter rule than private-sector checks. Under the Competitive Equality Banking Act, Treasury checks must be negotiated within 12 months of issuance.3U.S. Government Accountability Office. Matter of Payment of Unpaid Treasury Checks More Than 6 Years Old Every Treasury check carries “VOID AFTER ONE YEAR” above the disbursing officer’s signature.4Treasury Financial Experience. Cancellations, Deposits, Reclamations, and Claims for Checks Drawn on the U.S. Treasury Unlike “void after” notations on commercial checks, this one is backed by federal statute and genuinely enforceable. After 12 months, Treasury cancels the check and returns the funds to the agency that authorized the payment.
An expired Treasury check doesn’t mean the money is gone. You file a claim with the disbursing office that issued the original payment, which reviews its records and recertifies the payment from the original appropriation.5Treasury Financial Experience. Cancellations, Deposits, Reclamations, and Claims for Checks Drawn on the U.S. Treasury – Section 7025.20 For a tax refund, that means contacting the IRS. For a Social Security payment, the Social Security Administration.
State and local government checks typically expire somewhere between six months and one year, depending on the jurisdiction, and often carry a printed “void after” date. Those printed dates tend to be enforced because the issuing agency sets the policy. If you miss the window, contact the issuing agency and ask them to reissue it.
Money Orders
Money orders don’t technically expire, but they can quietly lose value. Most issuers start deducting a monthly service charge from the face value after the money order sits uncashed for one to three years, and those fees chip away at the balance until little or nothing remains.
The specifics depend on who issued it:
- USPS domestic postal money orders never expire and are not subject to service charges.6United States Postal Service. Sending Money Orders
- Western Union money orders don’t expire, but a non-refundable service charge may be deducted from the principal after one to three years, depending on the state where you bought it.7Western Union. Money Orders Purchase and Cash at a Western Union Near You
- MoneyGram money orders don’t expire, but service charges may begin after one year of inactivity and are taken from the remaining balance.
You Still Have a Right to the Money
A stale check doesn’t erase the underlying debt. The UCC sets a statute of limitations on enforcing payment, and it’s longer than most people realize. For a standard personal or business check, you have up to three years after the check is dishonored or ten years from the date on the check, whichever comes first. For cashier’s and certified checks, the window is three years from the date you demand payment from the issuing bank.2Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-118 – Statute of Limitations
The distinction matters. A stale check means the bank no longer has to honor the paper. It does not mean the person or company who wrote it no longer owes you the money. If someone owed you $2,000 and the check went stale, the claim to that $2,000 survives. You can ask the issuer for a replacement, and if they refuse, the statute of limitations gives you a window to pursue the debt by other means.
How to Get a Replacement Check
The practical first step is to contact whoever wrote the check. For a personal check, call the individual. For a payroll or business check, reach the company’s accounting department. The issuer will usually place a stop-payment order on the old check to keep it from being cashed later, then cut a new one. Stop-payment orders carry a fee that some issuers absorb and others pass along.
Before you make the call, gather what you can: the check number, the amount, the date, and ideally a photo of the old check. Having those details ready speeds things up and helps the issuer find the original transaction in their records.
For an expired Treasury check, the process runs through the federal agency that authorized the payment rather than through your bank.8Treasury Financial Experience. Cancellations, Deposits, Reclamations, and Claims for Checks Drawn on the U.S. Treasury – Section 7035.10
When the Money Goes to the State
If a check sits uncashed long enough and the issuer can’t locate the payee, the funds eventually get turned over to the state through a process called escheatment. Every state has unclaimed property laws requiring businesses and banks to surrender dormant funds to the state treasury after a set period, usually one to five years depending on the state and the type of payment. Payroll checks often have shorter dormancy periods, sometimes as little as one year.
Escheatment works in your favor. Instead of letting a company quietly keep your money, state law forces it into the hands of the government, which holds it until you claim it. You can search for funds in your name at MissingMoney.com or on individual state treasury websites.9National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. NAUPA Unclaimed Property Search Filing a claim typically means verifying your identity and showing documentation that connects you to the funds. If the money has already been escheated, skip the original issuer and go straight to the state’s unclaimed property division; the issuer no longer has it.