How to Endorse a Check & Assign It to a Different Company

Checks are a legal document and require certain procedures.

Endorsing a check means that you apply your signature to the back. By doing this, you are acknowledging that you are the person to whom the check was made payable. At this point, you can deposit the check into your own account, you can cash the check or you can make the check payable to another person or entity. If you endorse a check made out to you to another person or company, it is called a third-party check. The third party is now authorized to either cash the check or deposit it into its own account.

Instructions

1. Write "Pay to the Order of" at the top edge on the back of the check.

2. Write the name of the company you wish to endorse the check to on the second line.

3. Sign your name on the third line.

Tips & Warnings

• Some banks do not accept third-party checks. Ask the company to whom you are endorsing your check to verify its bank's policy before you endorse the check over to it.

References

• Wachovia Bank: A Guide to Checks and Check Fraud