A stale cheque is one presented too late. Every cheque has a validity period, and once it lapses the bank will not pay — the instrument has expired even though the underlying obligation has not.
How long you have
In India the period is three months from the date on the cheque, reduced from six months in 2012. Many other markets use three months as well, but it is not universal, and the period runs from the date written on the cheque rather than the date it changed hands — which matters for post-dated cheques.
Check your own market's rule rather than assuming. See cheque validity for more.
If you are holding one
The cheque is unusable, but the money is still owed. Ask the issuer for a replacement — a fresh cheque with a current date, or a bank transfer.
Do not alter the date yourself. Changing a date on a cheque you did not write is not a correction; it is an alteration to a financial instrument, and banks treat it as such.
If yours went stale
Someone you paid did not bank your cheque in time. Two things to do:
- Do not assume it is settled. An unbanked cheque is an unpaid invoice, and it will resurface.
- Update your records. If your books show the cheque as issued and never cleared, that balance is misleading you.
Avoiding them
Stale cheques are almost always a tracking failure rather than a deliberate act — a cheque goes in a drawer and is forgotten by both sides. Reviewing cheques still marked Issued after a few weeks catches them while a replacement is still an easy conversation.
In ChequeMaster there is a Missed status for exactly this: a cheque past its expected date without clearing. Filtering on it gives you the list worth chasing. See reports and advanced search.
