Stale Dated Checks

Do the tellers at your bank check for stale dated checks?
Do they cash checks over 6 months old?

Does anyone know if there is any Federal laws or reg's that states a check is no longer valid after 6 months. I think the general perception by the general public is checks are invalid after 6 months. What do you think?

I can't pull the site up right now, but Florida has the definition (in only a way that legislatures do it) of "stale dated" built into the statutes, I believe in the UCC section on Negotiable Instruments.

Here's a direct link to the law library at Cornell University. Look under Section 4-404. Hope this helps:
Cornell

Also check your deposit agreement, you may have something like this.

"“Stale-dated” Items. We are not required to pay
any item presented for payment more than 6
months after its date. However, we may pay such
item if we do so in good faith. We are acting in
good faith as long as there is not a stop payment
order in effect when we pay the item. You shall
indemnify and hold us harmless for losses due to
our paying any stale-dated item."

Heres what Cornell says

§ 4-404. BANK NOT OBLIGED TO PAY CHECK MORE THAN SIX MONTHS OLD.
A bank is under no obligation to a customer having a checking account to pay a check, other than a certified check, which is presented more than six months after its date, but it may charge its customer's account for a payment made thereafter in good faith.

Yes, our tellers are trained to identify checks that are 6 months or older and are instructed not to cash these checks.

We train the teller to look for them. Once identified, the check is taken to a supervisor for review. In most cases, the check is paid if the funds are available. Often times the officer will call the customer if further verfication is needed. Quite frankly, we don't see very many of these. Also, we obviously don't stop the ones that come in transit, nor have we had any customers that have brought any in to us and disputed the payment of any stale-dated items.

I agree with jcrump's approach. Tellers should be trained to look for the date, but supervisors should make the decision to accept or reject the item. The language from the model version of the UCC (see above) allows the drawee bank to pay a stale dated item, but it does not require it to do so. (If the check is "on-us" the decision to accept the item is the equivalent of the decision to pay the check.)

You accept a stale dated check drawn on another bank for cash or deposit with a complete understanding of the fact that the drawee bank has every right to return it to you and your recourse would be limited to the endorser. It's likely that the drawee bank will not even be made aware of the stale date in time to return it by the midnight deadline, but I suggest that fact not be included in your decision making process.

Remember too, you would be entitled to an exception hold on a stale dated check based on "reasonable cause to doubt collectibility." You could also send the item for collection via the mail, but that would virtually assure that the drawee bank would notice the date.