A business check is generally good for six months from the date written on the front of it. After that, under the Uniform Commercial Code, your bank has no obligation to process it, though the bank may still choose to. So if you’re wondering how long a business check is good for, six months is the working answer, with a few important exceptions and one practical wrinkle: the bank’s discretion cuts both ways.
The Six-Month Rule Under the UCC
The Uniform Commercial Code is a set of standardized commercial laws adopted in some form by every state. Section 4-404 sets the rule: a bank is under no obligation to pay a check presented more than six months after its date.1Cornell Law School. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old A check past that mark is called “stale-dated.”
The six-month clock runs from the date printed on the check itself, not the day you received it or the day it arrived in the mail. A check dated January 15 becomes stale-dated on July 15. That gives you a predictable window to deposit it.
Banks Can Still Cash a Stale Check
Six months isn’t an automatic cutoff. UCC 4-404 uses permissive language: the bank “may charge its customer’s account for a payment made thereafter in good faith.”1Cornell Law School. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old A bank can decide to honor a stale check if it looks legitimate and the funds are available.
That discretion matters most to the person who wrote the check. If you issued a check eight months ago and assumed the money was no longer at risk, the bank could still clear it without calling you first. The good-faith standard gives the bank room to make that judgment, and most deposit account agreements back that right. If the payment causes an overdraft, your recourse is limited because the UCC allows the charge.
Stopping Payment If You Wrote the Check
The reliable way to keep a stale check from clearing is a stop-payment order. UCC 4-403 lets you direct your bank to refuse payment on a specific check. A written stop-payment order stays in effect for six months and can be renewed for additional six-month periods. An oral order lasts only 14 calendar days unless you confirm it in writing within that window.2Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 4-403 – Customer’s Right to Stop Payment; Burden of Proof of Loss
Banks generally charge $20 to $35 for a stop-payment order, with the fee varying by institution and account type. Because the order lasts only six months, you may need to renew it, and pay again, if the check still hasn’t surfaced.
Checks That Follow Different Rules
Not every check that a business might issue or receive is bound by the six-month rule. A few categories work differently, and if you’re holding one of these, the standard answer doesn’t apply.
Certified Checks
UCC 4-404 explicitly excludes certified checks. The statute applies to checks “other than a certified check,” so the six-month stale-date rule does not reach them.1Cornell Law School. Uniform Commercial Code 4-404 – Bank Not Obliged to Pay Check More Than Six Months Old When a bank certifies a check, it confirms the funds and sets them aside, so no specific expiration date attaches. The money can still become subject to state unclaimed property laws if the check is never cashed.
Cashier’s Checks
A cashier’s check is drawn by the bank on its own funds, so the bank is both issuer and payer. UCC 3-411 imposes special obligations: if a bank wrongfully refuses to pay a cashier’s check, the holder can recover expenses, lost interest, and in some cases consequential damages.3Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 3-411 – Refusal to Pay Cashier’s Checks, Teller’s Checks, and Certified Checks There is no universally set expiration, though individual banks may treat cashier’s checks as stale after 90 to 180 days. Contact the issuing bank if you’re holding an older one.
U.S. Treasury Checks
Federal government checks, including tax refund checks, follow their own rule. Under 31 U.S.C. ยง 3328, the Treasury is not required to pay a check unless it’s deposited at a financial institution within 12 months of the issue date.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 U.S. Code 3328 – Paying Checks and Drafts Miss that window and you’ll need to contact the issuing federal agency to request a replacement.
What “Void After 90 Days” Actually Means
Plenty of business checks are pre-printed with language like “Void after 90 days” or “Valid for 180 days.” These notations are meant to push prompt deposit and simplify the issuer’s bookkeeping. They do not override the six-month UCC framework. Bank processing systems follow the legal standard rather than the printed instructions, and most banks will honor a check inside the six-month window regardless of what the face says.
Still, treat the printed date as a practical deadline. A check marked “void after 90 days” signals the issuing business wants to close the payment out. Waiting past that date raises the odds that the issuer places a stop-payment order or that the funds are no longer available. Deposit business checks as soon as you can.
Getting a Replacement for a Stale Check
If you’re holding a business check that’s already past six months, contact the company that issued it and ask for a replacement. The issuer typically works through a short sequence:
- Place a stop-payment order with its bank to block the original from clearing. The order lasts six months and generally costs $20 to $35.2Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 4-403 – Customer’s Right to Stop Payment; Burden of Proof of Loss
- Void the original entry in its accounting records and update the ledger to reflect the outstanding obligation.
- Issue a new check for the same amount, which starts a fresh six-month deposit window.
Keep a copy of the expired check before you make the call. The check number and date help the business find the original transaction quickly. If the issuer has already turned the funds over to the state as unclaimed property, you’ll file a claim through your state’s unclaimed property office instead.
When Uncashed Checks Become State Property
An uncashed business check doesn’t sit in the issuer’s account indefinitely. Every state has unclaimed property laws, sometimes called escheatment laws, that require businesses to turn dormant funds over to the state treasury. For most check types, the dormancy period runs one to five years depending on the state and the type of payment. Payroll checks often have shorter dormancy periods than general business checks.
Before the funds are surrendered, the issuing business is generally required to make a good-faith effort to reach the payee, typically by sending written notice to the last known address. If the payee doesn’t respond within the required window, the business reports and remits the funds to the state. States maintain searchable databases where the original payee can later file a claim, usually with no time limit for doing so. If your check has aged past the point where the issuer still holds the money, the state’s database is where the trail picks up again.