Wrong Endorsement On Back Of Check: What to Write & How to Sign

Published January 5, 2022 · · Updated June 25, 2024 · 5 minutes · by Kamerpower ·

Wrong Endorsement On Back Of Check: What to Write & How to Sign. Once a check is written, there is an important need for the endorsement. This is because, without endorsing the check, you can’t cash or deposit it. 

Check endorsements differ, and depend on why the check is being issued. Therefore, before you deposit or cash out a check, you need to be careful about signing over it.

Need help with tips on check endorsement? This article will serve as a guide on what you need to do while endorsing a check.

Best places to order checks online

If your bank does not give you free checks, then, you will need to order them from somewhere else. In fact, you can order personal checks from anywhere you like. Order your checks online from any of these websites:

• Checks in the mail.
• Bradford exchange
• Costcochecks.
• Ordermychecks
• Walmartchecks.

How to endorse a check and What to write at the back of the check for encashment

Check endorsements differ, depending on the reason the check is being issued. When done correctly, endorsements make using checks easy. On the other hand, when done wrong, endorsements can make using checks difficult, complicated, or even fraudulent.

Some checks just require a signature on the reverse of the check while others require specific language and additional information for a valid endorsement.

Where to Endorse On a Check

Most checks have a 1.5-inch section for you to write in. This section, known as the endorsement area, is marked with lines and instructions saying “Do not write, stamp, or sign below this line.”

Matching Names

To be endorsed correctly, the name signed on the back of the check needs to match the payee name written on the front of the check. If your name was misspelled or written incorrectly, sign it with the incorrect version, and then sign again using the correct name.

When someone pays you with a check, you’ll usually have to sign the back of it before you can deposit it in your account. Signing the back of it is called “endorsing the check.” What you write when you sign it how you endorse the check depends upon what you want to do with the check and how the check is written.

Endorsing a check allows your bank and you or a third-party to settle the funds associated with the check.

How do I correct a check endorsement?

Correcting a wrong check endorsement is very feasible, but you can still choose to void the check and start a new one. However, if your mistake is fixable, draw a neat line through your mistake and write the correction right above it. 

Note that not all mistakes can be corrected. For instance,  

• if you wrote the wrong amount of money in the written section, then this can’t be corrected. It also won’t be accepted by the bank.
• if the amount written in the box is correct but the amount written in words is wrong, you will need to void the check and write another one.

Here are ways you can correct a wrongly endorsed check:

1. If you misspelled a name, wrote a wrong date, or wrong numerical check amount, you can correct it by simply drawing a line across. This should be done neatly with a blue or black pen, and not a pencil. 
2. Write the correction above the mistake neatly.
3. Write your initials next to the corrected mistake. For instance, if your name is John Smith Maxwell, then, you should write J.S.M above the misspelled name.
4. And if you’re worried that your bank won’t accept your check, call or visit them to ask them before trying to submit it. 

Types of check endorsement

1. Endorsement in full. 

This type of endorsement creates a “third-party check” that you can give to someone else, who can then endorse it and cash or deposit it. To create a third-party check, write “Pay to the order of” and the name of the person to receive the funds in the endorsement space and then sign your name under that instruction.

2. Blank endorsement. 

This is the easiest type of check endorsement. The term “blank endorsement” doesn’t mean that an endorsement is blank, it means the endorsement includes the payee’s signature with no further instructions.

3. Restrictive endorsement. 

This type of endorsement helps ensure that a check gets deposited into the right account. It includes your signature and the words, “for deposit only“. A check endorsed this way can be deposited into a bank account but not cashed.

How to write/fill a check before endorsing it

Don’t sign a check until after you’ve filled. Also, use a pen whenever you write a check. If you use a pencil, anybody with an eraser can change the amount of your check and the name of the payee.

1. Write the value to be paid in numbers next to the “$” symbol.
2. Write out with words the amount of the payment on the long line.
3. Add the name of the recipient next to “Pay to”.
4. Write the date in the top right corner. For example: 01/05/2025 or Jan 5, 2025.
5. Add a note where it says “memo” or “re:” in the bottom left corner.
6. Sign with your signature in the bottom right.

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