Where do I find info about the timeframes a bank is allowed to return checks?

Is there a simple matrix which explains this. Thanks!

The answers are in your state's version of the UCC, articles 3 and 4, plus Reg. CC, section 229.30.

In general, you have to return a check based on any attribute of the check verifiable by you (stops, date, drawer's signature, balance, valid account, etc.) by midnight of the business day following the day on which the check is presented to you for payment.

Returns for alteration or endorsements are usually limited to 3 years from the date the check shows up in the drawer's statement.

John is right on target - you really don't need a matrix for this - the day you physically receive the check or when it's received by your data processing unit is the day it must be paid or returned, period. You may slip returns by within a 2-3 day time frame, but there is no guarantee that the receiving bank will not protest a late return under those circumstances.

I agree, but you may not be fully in the clear for some time. While the drawee bank (the one paying) has to return the check within time constraints mentioned, the customer has (in most cases) from 60 days to up to 6 months from receipt of the statement to make a claim against their bank.

The customer can claim forgery, forged endorsement, raised check, or a slew of other reasons to return the check to their bank.

While most checks clear pretty fast, it is possible to get burned later in time.

Bt the point is that a forged drawer's signature is not a valid reason for the drawee bank to try to recover its losses with a late return. If the midnight deadline is past, it's past, and the drawee bank or its customer eats the loss.