A money order is a prepaid paper payment that works like a guaranteed check: you hand over the full face value plus a small fee at the counter, the issuer prints an instrument payable to a specific person or company, and the recipient deposits or cashes it to collect the funds. Because the money is paid upfront, a money order will not bounce the way a personal check can, which is why landlords, utilities, and other payees often accept them. They are also useful if you don’t have a checking account or want to send money through the mail without putting cash in an envelope.
Where to Buy One and How to Pay
Money orders are sold at U.S. post offices, banks, credit unions, and many retail locations including grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores. Retail sellers usually issue them through MoneyGram or Western Union agents operating inside the store. The provider you choose affects the fee and the maximum amount a single money order can cover, so it pays to compare before you go.
You can pay with cash, a debit card, or a traveler’s check. Most issuers do not accept credit cards. Even where a credit card is accepted, the card issuer will usually treat the purchase as a cash advance, which triggers a higher interest rate and an immediate fee.
Bring a valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport. The seller uses it to verify your identity, and federal law requires the seller to record your identification details if you buy $3,000 or more in money orders with cash in a single day.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5325 – Identification Required to Purchase Certain Monetary Instruments
Filling One Out
Before you buy, know the full legal name of the person or company you are paying. Write that name on the “Pay to” or “Pay to the Order of” line right away. A blank payee line means anyone who finds the money order could potentially cash it.
Most money orders include a memo or “Payment for” line where you can write an account number, invoice number, or short description of what the payment is for. On the purchaser line, write your own name and address. That information creates a record linking you to the payment.
Once you’ve filled it in, tear off the attached receipt stub and keep it somewhere safe. The stub carries the serial number, the post office number for USPS orders, and the dollar amount. You will need all of those to track the payment, request a replacement, or prove the transaction later.
Fees and How Much One Can Cover
A single USPS domestic money order can cover up to $1,000.2USPS. Money Orders If you need to send more than that, you have to buy multiple money orders. International USPS money orders cap lower, at $700, or $500 for payments to El Salvador and Guyana.3USPS. Money Orders – The Basics Western Union and MoneyGram also cap most retail money orders at $1,000, though the exact limit can vary by seller.
USPS fees as of January 2026:
- $0.01 to $500.00: $2.55
- $500.01 to $1,000.00: $3.60
- Military postal money orders: $0.84
These are set by the Postal Service’s published rate schedule.4USPS. Notice 123 – Price List Retail locations selling Western Union or MoneyGram money orders generally charge somewhere between about $1 and $5 depending on the store and the amount.
Getting It to the Recipient
You can hand a completed money order to the recipient in person or send it through the mail. If you mail it, a tracked or registered service is worth the extra cost, especially for larger amounts. A regular first-class envelope works, but you lose any proof of delivery if it goes missing. Once the money order is out of your hands, your receipt stub is the only record you have that the payment was made.
Cashing or Depositing One You Receive
If you receive a money order, you can deposit it the same way you would a check. Endorse the back by signing your name, then hand it to a teller or, if your bank allows it, use mobile deposit. Most banks will also cash a money order at the counter for account holders.
Without a bank account, you can cash a USPS domestic money order at any post office, subject to the cash available at that branch. You will need to sign it in front of the clerk and present an acceptable photo ID.3USPS. Money Orders – The Basics Check-cashing stores will take money orders too, but they typically charge a fee, often a percentage of the face value. Wherever you plan to cash one, don’t sign the back until you are at the counter ready to complete the transaction.
Tracking, Replacing, or Canceling
To check whether a USPS money order has been cashed, you need the serial number, post office number, and dollar amount from your receipt stub. Enter those into the USPS Money Orders tool online for the current status.5USPS. Money Orders – Check Money Order Status If it has been cashed, you can request a copy of the paid money order showing the endorsement on the back. USPS charges $21.00 for the inquiry.4USPS. Notice 123 – Price List That copy is useful if a payee claims they never received the payment.
If a money order is lost, stolen, or damaged before it is cashed, you can request a replacement. For USPS money orders, take your original receipt stub to any post office and fill out PS Form 6401 (Money Order Inquiry). The $21.00 processing fee applies per inquiry.2USPS. Money Orders
The investigation takes time. USPS may need up to 30 days to confirm whether the money order was lost or stolen, and the full process can run up to 60 days. A replacement won’t be issued until at least 60 days after the original purchase date, and only if the money order has not already been cashed.3USPS. Money Orders – The Basics If someone cashed it before your request was processed, you generally cannot get a refund.
Without your receipt stub, the process is harder but still possible. You can file PS Form 6401 with whatever information you have and mail it to the USPS Accounting Service Center in St. Louis.3USPS. Money Orders – The Basics The investigation will take longer because the postal service has less to work with.
For money orders from Western Union or MoneyGram, check the issuer’s website or call customer service. Their tracking, refund procedures, and fees are different from USPS.
Spotting a Fake
Counterfeit money orders are a common tool in online scams. If someone sends you a money order and asks you to deposit it and wire part of the money back, that is almost certainly a scam. The money order will eventually bounce, and your bank will hold you responsible for the full amount.
USPS money orders carry specific security features you can check before accepting one. Hold it up to a light source: a genuine USPS money order shows a watermark of a Pony Express rider on the left side and the words “United States Postal Service” in a rectangular box on the right. If the watermarks are easily visible without light behind them, the money order may be counterfeit. An embedded security thread runs top to bottom, showing the letters “USPS” alternating right-side up and upside down when held to the light. These features apply to USPS money orders issued from 2025 onward; older versions use different designs.6Postal Inspection Service. How to Spot a Fake
Other red flags:
- The face value exceeds $1,000. A domestic USPS money order cannot be issued for more than that, so a postal money order showing a larger amount is fake.2USPS. Money Orders
- You are asked to send back the difference. The classic overpayment scam uses a money order for more than you are owed, followed by a request to wire the excess to a third party. Your bank may credit the deposit at first, but once the fraud is discovered the bank will reverse the transaction.
- The paper feels wrong. Genuine money orders are printed on distinct security paper. Something that feels like ordinary printer paper or has blurry text is suspect.
If you suspect a counterfeit, don’t try to cash it. Suspected postal money order fraud can be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.7USPS. Mail Fraud
Cash Purchase Reporting Thresholds
Buying money orders with cash triggers federal recordkeeping once the dollar amount gets high enough. If you buy $3,000 or more in money orders with cash in a single day, the seller must record your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and the details of the transaction.8eCFR. 31 CFR 1010.415 – Purchases of Bank Checks and Drafts, Cashiers Checks, Money Orders and Travelers Checks At a financial institution, cash transactions exceeding $10,000 in a single day require the institution to file a Currency Transaction Report with the federal government.9eCFR. 31 CFR Part 1010 – General Provisions
Deliberately splitting purchases to stay under those thresholds is a separate federal crime called structuring, and it is illegal even if the underlying money is legitimate.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5324 – Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirement Prohibited For ordinary bill-paying volumes, none of this applies; it matters only when you are moving large amounts of cash through money orders in a short period.