Endorsement Return Items

Returning a check unpaid has to be completed by the paying bank's midnight deadline, which for practical purposes is the last courier run or file submission deadline for returned items on the banking day following the banking day on which the check was presented for payment. That would generally apply to returns for missing or irregular indorsements.

After the midnight deadline, if the payee of a check claims non-receipt of the check and/or forgery of their indorsement, the payee will need to provide the issuer of the check with an affidavit of non-receipt and/or forged indorsement, the issuer will have to bring the affidavit to their bank (the paying/drawee bank) and enter a claim that the check was not properly payable.

Then the paying/drawee bank enters a claim against the depositary bank for breach of transfer/presentment warranties as appropriate. That's not strictly a "return" of the check, but it is a claim for reimbursement. It must be made promptly after determining who the depositary bank was. Time limits will depend on the Uniform Commercial Codes of the states in which the banks are located.