What does it mean to endorse a check?

A check is a document that contains a payment order for a specified amount of money. When a check is endorsed, the amount indicated on the check is passed on to a third party . According to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), to endorse means “to assign in favor of someone a bill of exchange or other credit document issued to the order, thus making it appear on the back or back.” Endorsed checks are subject to the Tax on Patrimonial Transmissions and Documented Legal Acts.

Steps to endorse a check

To successfully endorse a check, it is necessary to follow a series of steps. The beneficiary, known as the endorser and who has the check-in his possession, must sign it on the back to make its assignment official. If you only sign and do not specify the name of the endorsee, that is, of the person to whom you give the check, it will be a blank endorsement.

If, on the other hand, you indicate the name of the endorsee, it will be this person who will be able to cash the check. In this case, you must indicate your name and surname and other identifying information such as your DNI. The endorsement is always made for the total of the check. In addition, the new beneficiaries may endorse the check again as stated in Law 19/1985, of July 16, Exchange and Check.

For a check to be considered as such, it must have the word check written, the mandate to pay the specified amount, and the name of the person who must pay , which will necessarily be a bank. Likewise, the place of payment, the date and place of issuance of the check and the signature of the person who issued it must be stated.

What checks can be endorsed?

Not all checks can be endorsed. The most commonly used types of checks are bearer checks and nominative checks. A check to the bearer does not specify the name of the person to whom it is addressed, that is, it can be cashed by anyone who presents it at the bank. This type of check can be endorsed.

For its part, a nominative check contains the name of the beneficiary, which can be physical or legal. To endorse a nominative check it is necessary that it be written “to order”, or that nothing specified appears. The only case in which it cannot be endorsed is when the clause “not to order” appears after the name of the beneficiary.

Endorsing a check is, therefore, a simple process that will allow a third person to collect the amount indicated in the document.

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