To sign a check over to someone else, flip the check to the endorsement area on the back, write “Pay to the order of” followed by the recipient’s full legal name, and sign your name below it. This is called a special endorsement under the Uniform Commercial Code, and it transfers your right to the funds to the person you named.1Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-205 – Special Indorsement, Blank Indorsement, Anomalous Indorsement Before you write anything, though, have the recipient call their bank. Many banks refuse third-party checks outright, and the ones that accept them often have specific requirements.
Call the Recipient’s Bank First
A bank is never required to accept a third-party check. The UCC allows a check to be transferred by endorsement, but individual banks set their own risk policies and can decline the transaction for any reason.2Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-201 – Negotiation The recipient’s bank takes on the risk that the check bounces or carries a forged signature, so blanket refusals are common.
Have the recipient ask two questions:
- Does the bank accept third-party checks at all?
- What ID or documentation does the recipient need to bring, and does the original payee need to appear in person too?
Some banks require you, the original payee, to come to the branch and confirm the endorsement in front of a teller. Skipping the phone call risks a wasted trip and a rejected deposit.
The Endorsement, Step by Step
Once the recipient confirms their bank will take the check, endorse it this way:
- Turn the check over and find the endorsement area at one end of the back. It’s usually about 1.5 inches deep and marked with lines or the words “Endorse here.” Keep everything you write inside that area. Ink outside it can cover the routing and account numbers the bank needs to process the check.
- Print “Pay to the order of” and then the recipient’s full legal name, spelled exactly as it appears on their government-issued ID. A nickname or misspelling can get the check rejected.
- Directly below, sign your name the way it appears on the “Pay to” line on the front.
- Use blue or black ink. Other colors, or pencil, can be flagged as potentially altered.
The recipient completes the endorsement by signing their own name below yours when they present the check at their bank. That second signature confirms they’re accepting the funds.
Don’t endorse the check until you’re ready to hand it over or you’re at the bank together. Signing the back without naming a recipient creates a blank endorsement, which turns the check into the equivalent of cash. Anyone holding it can deposit or cash it.1Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-205 – Special Indorsement, Blank Indorsement, Anomalous Indorsement A special endorsement restricts the check so only the person you named can negotiate it.
What Happens at the Recipient’s Bank
The teller will ask the recipient for government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, to verify the name on the endorsement. If the bank requires the original payee to appear too, both of you will need to be there.
Expect a hold on the funds. Under federal rules, a portion of any deposit is available the next business day, but the bank can hold larger deposits for up to seven business days.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments Third-party checks tend to trigger extended holds because banks treat them as higher risk than a standard deposit.
Checks You Can’t Sign Over
Some checks can’t be transferred to a third party, or can be transferred only under narrow conditions.
U.S. Treasury Checks
Federal government checks, including tax refunds and benefit payments, follow stricter rules. A Treasury check must be endorsed by the named payee, or by someone acting on the payee’s behalf with legal authority such as a power of attorney or guardianship.4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 240 – Indorsement and Payment of Checks Drawn on the United States Treasury Casually signing a Treasury check over to a friend or relative doesn’t meet the requirement, and most banks will refuse it.
Checks Already Marked “For Deposit Only”
If you’ve already written “For Deposit Only” above your signature, you’ve made a restrictive endorsement that limits the check to your own account.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Does It Mean for a Check to Be Indorsed for Deposit Only You can’t undo that and turn it into a third-party endorsement afterward.
Checks Made Out to Two People
If a check names two payees joined by “and” (for example, “John and Jane Smith”), both must endorse it. Neither can sign it over to a third party alone. If the names are joined by “or,” either payee can endorse and transfer the check independently.
Old Checks
A bank has no obligation to honor a check more than six months after the date on it.6Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old Signing a check over adds time to the process, and the check could age past that window before it clears. If a check is already several months old, deposit it yourself and send the money another way.
Mobile Deposit Usually Won’t Work
Most banks don’t accept third-party checks through their mobile deposit apps. The automated system checks that the payee name matches the account holder’s name, and a third-party endorsement creates a mismatch the software rejects. Even banks that will accept a signed-over check at a teller window typically exclude them from mobile and ATM deposits.
If the recipient can’t get to a branch, the cleaner option is to deposit the check into your own account and pay them by transfer, a peer-to-peer app, or a new check written directly to them.
If the Check Bounces, You May Be On the Hook
When a signed-over check comes back unpaid, whether for insufficient funds, a stop payment, or a closed account, the depositing bank reverses the credit from the recipient’s account and may also charge a returned-check fee.7HelpWithMyBank.gov. A Check I Deposited Bounced – Am I Liable for the Entire Amount
As the endorser, you can be on the hook too. Under the UCC, an endorser is generally obligated to pay the amount of a dishonored check to the person who took it or to any later endorser who paid it.8Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-415 – Obligation of Indorser The recipient could demand that you cover the amount even though you didn’t write the check. You’d then have to chase the original writer for reimbursement yourself.
The safer route with a check you’re unsure about: deposit it into your own account, wait for it to fully clear, and then send the funds by another method.
A Note on Large Gifts
Signing over a check as a gift carries the same federal tax rules as any other cash gift. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without reporting the gift to the IRS.9Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Above that amount, you’ll need to file IRS Form 709 with your tax return. Filing doesn’t necessarily mean you owe tax; the gift counts against your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. But failing to file when required can bring penalties, so keep a record of any large check you sign over as a gift.