It is not accurate to say that personal checks expire. However, if a check is more than six months old, it can be considered “stale dated.” When a stale dated check is taken to the bank for payment, unless there is a stop payment on it, the bank can decide whether to pay it out or not. If the bank decides to pay the check, the person who wrote the check is not able to complain that the bank should not have paid it out because the check was written and no stop payment was in effect. If the bank decides to bounce the check, the check writer cannot complain that the bank should have paid it because the check is more than six months old. These complaints often happen because people believe checks expire.

To say that blank checks expire is also inaccurate. If a person has a blank check on an account that is still open, those checks are still valid. However, the person with old checks should be sure that the account is still open. They should also be sure that the bank information has not changed. If the information has changed, the check may be invalid.

Though it is not correct to say that checks expire, bank customers who have written checks that have not been cashed have several options to protect themselves. Keeping close tabs on their account will prevent them from using money that is not theirs to use. It may be helpful to call the person to whom the check was written and find out why the check was not cashed. If this is done, arrangements can then be made to either deposit the check or issue a new one. It should be noted, however, that there are times when calling the payee is not feasible.

Customers who have stale dated checks in circulation may also put a stop payment on these old checks to prevent the bank from cashing them. This will ensure that old checks will not be cashed but could cause problems with the payee if he tries to cash it. It should also be noted that some banks charge a stop payment fee. It is also wise for those who have stale dated checks to call the bank on which the check was drawn in order to verify their policy for old checks. Another possibility is to call the person who wrote the check and request a new one be issued.