Endorsing and depositing a check

Sign the back of a check only when you are ready to deposit it, and write down where the money may go.

Three ways to endorse a check. Sign the endorsement area on the back with the name on the front. A signature alone makes the check payable to whoever holds it; "For deposit only" limits it to deposit, and a mobile deposit needs the exact words your bank's app asks for. — **Fig. 4.3** Sign the endorsement area on the back with the name on the front. A signature alone makes the check payable to whoever holds it; "For deposit only" limits it to deposit, and a mobile deposit needs the exact words your bank's app asks for. Source: UCC § 3-205; Chase; Wells Fargo.

Area: MoneyFrom age 14Time to learn: 10 minutes

Sign the back in the endorsement area with the name on the front, add "For deposit only" or the words your bank's app asks for, then deposit it and check when the money will be available.

Why it matters

Writing a check is half the job; the person who receives it signs the back, called endorsing, before depositing or cashing it. Under US law, a check endorsed with only a signature becomes payable to bearer, so anyone holding it can try to cash it. US financial institutions filed more than 680,000 suspicious activity reports about possible check fraud in 2022, nearly double the year before, so the few words you add matter.

How to do it

Check the front first: it is made out to you, signed by the person who wrote it, and the amount in words matches the amount in numbers.
Wait to sign until you are at the bank, at the ATM or in your banking app. Turn the check over and find the endorsement area at the top or bottom of the back, often marked "Endorse here", and write only inside it, in blue or black ink.
Sign your name as it appears in the payee line on the front. A signature alone is a blank endorsement: use it only when you are handing the check straight to a teller to cash or deposit.
To deposit it, write "For deposit only" on the first line, sign below it, and add your account number if you like. This restrictive endorsement stops the check from being cashed over the counter or signed over to someone else.
For a mobile deposit, sign and write the exact words your bank's app asks for below your signature, such as "For Mobile Deposit at Wells Fargo Only". If the check has a "Check here if mobile deposit" box and your bank accepts it, you can tick that instead. Lay the check on a dark, plain, well-lit surface, fit all four corners inside the guides, and make sure the amount you type matches the check.
After a mobile deposit, write "mobile deposit" and the date on the front, keep the check somewhere safe for as long as your bank says (Wells Fargo says 5 days), then tear it up. Never deposit the same check again at a branch or ATM.
To cash a check instead, take it with ID to your own bank, or to the bank whose name is printed on the front, and ask about fees before you sign; a bank where you have no account may charge one. In Canada, you have the right to cash a Government of Canada cheque of up to $1,750 for free at any bank branch with tellers, even if you are not a customer, when you show original ID.
To sign a check over to someone else, have them confirm first that their bank will take it. Then write "Pay to the order of" and their name above your signature; under US law the check is then payable only to that person. In Canada, the maximum hold periods may not apply to a cheque endorsed more than once.
In the US, Regulation CC requires your bank to make the first $275 of a day's check deposits available by the next business day, but a deposit at an ATM your bank does not own can take until the fifth business day. It can also hold longer in some cases, such as a new account in its first 30 days or deposits over $6,725 in one day, and when it holds a deposit under an exception such as a large deposit, it must give you a written notice.
In Canada, federally regulated banks must give you the first $100 right away when you deposit in person with a teller, or the next business day by ATM or app. They can hold a cheque of $1,500 or less for at most 4 business days in person or 5 by other methods, and a larger one for at most 7 or 8. The hold limits may not apply to an account open less than 90 days.

Common mistakes

Signing the back as soon as the check arrives. If it is lost, a signature alone lets whoever holds it try to cash it.
Leaving off the mobile deposit wording your bank asks for, or using another bank's wording.
Throwing a check away right after a mobile deposit, or depositing it a second time at a branch.
Signing a check over without first asking whether the new payee's bank will take it.

You can do this when …you can endorse a check three ways (signature only, for deposit only, and for your bank's mobile deposit), say when to use each, and say how long your bank can hold the money.