Also known as:checks · checked · checking · cheque
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A draft signed by the maker or drawer, drawn on a bank, payable on demand, and unlimited in negotiability.
Sources & Authorities· 18 primary sources
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
Uniform Acts
How it applies
Common Examples
6
State Officers Resist Federal Directive
Congress enacts a statute requiring state law enforcement agencies to accept payment by check for background-check services. State officials refuse to implement the program. A court holds the federal command invalid because it conscripts state officers into administering a federal regulatory scheme.
Homeowner Tenders Cashier's Check
After receiving notice of foreclosure, homeowner Cody Callahan tenders a cashier's check for the full amount of the monetary default two days before the scheduled sale. The lender must accept the tender and cancel the foreclosure proceedings.
Central Dynamics issues a signed writing ordering payment of money on demand but adds a conspicuous statement that the writing is not negotiable. The instrument is not a check under Article 3 and cannot be enforced by a subsequent holder as a negotiable instrument.
Treasury Check Governed by Federal Law
The United States issues a check drawn on the Treasury to pay a contractor. When a dispute arises over the check's negotiability, a federal court applies uniform federal common law rather than varying state rules to determine the rights of subsequent holders.
Dealer Demands Certified Check
A buyer signs a purchase order for an automobile that states cash or certified check only on delivery. When the buyer tenders an ordinary check, the dealer refuses delivery because the contract requires a certified check to ensure immediate payment.
A paving company orders asphalt under a long-term supply contract and pays each monthly invoice with a check. When a dispute arises over price adjustments, the court examines the course of dealing that included payment by check to interpret the parties' obligations.
Nanakuli Paving & Rock Sales, Inc. v. Shell Oil Co.664 F.2d 772 (9th Cir. 1991)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
What formal requirements must a writing satisfy to qualify as a check under the UCC?+
A check must be a signed writing containing an unconditional order to pay a fixed amount of money on demand, drawn on a bank, and not stating any other undertaking. The writing may be described by another term such as money order and still qualify as a check.
May a person cure a monetary default in foreclosure by tendering a personal check?+
No. Under the Uniform Home Foreclosure Procedures Act, cure of a monetary default requires tender in cash, by cashier's check, certified check, teller's check, electronic funds transfer, or money order, not an ordinary personal check.
Does a conspicuous statement that an instrument is not negotiable prevent it from being a check?+
Yes. A promise or order other than a check is not an instrument if it contains a conspicuous statement that it is not negotiable or not governed by Article 3.
32 N.J. 358, 161 A.2d 69 (1960)Torts
…66 separate items to be checked, tested, tightened or adjusted in the course of the servicing, but dismantling the vehicle or checking all of its internal parts is not prescribed. The guide also calls for delivery of the Owner Service Certificate with the car. This Certificate, which at least by inference is authorized by…