Postdated Check Laws in South Carolina

Are Post-Dated Checks Fraudulent in South Carolina?

It is illegal to write a fraudulent check under Section 34-11-60 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. This begs the question, is a postdated check by definition fraudulent?

Knowledge Requirement

For a check to be fraudulent, the payor, or person cutting the check, must know that there are insufficient funds in the account from which the check is being drawn. Hence, "bad" checks that are written in error cannot be prosecuted.

What is a Postdated Check?

According to the Law.com legal dictionary, a postdated check is one which is delivered now but dated in the future, so that it cannot be drawn until that future date. The concern for the payee, or person receiving the postdated check, is that if the account is closed or short of funds when the check is presented, there is no right to demand payment.

Postdated Checks in South Carolina

Again under section 34-11-60, checks cannot be prosecuted where the payee knows, or has reason to know, that the check is not good. The law goes on to expressly state that such checks include those that are postdated. In sum, postdated checks are not by definition fraudulent in South Carolina.

References

• Law.com: Postdated Check
• S.C. Code of Laws Sec. 34-11-60