How Long Is a Payroll Check Good For?
Understand the factors determining how long your payroll check is valid, from banking rules to state laws, and how to address uncashed wages.
Payroll checks are a common method for employers to compensate their employees, representing earned wages for work performed. Understanding how long a payroll check remains valid is important for employees to ensure they receive their money. Various factors influence a check’s validity, including general banking practices and specific state regulations.
Standard Check Validity Periods
In the United States, the banking industry generally considers most checks, including payroll checks, valid for a period of six months, or 180 days, from their issue date. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Section 4-404 states banks are not obligated to honor a check presented more than six months after its date. However, a bank retains the discretion to pay such a check if it chooses to do so in good faith.
A check presented after this six-month period is referred to as “stale-dated.” While some businesses may print “void after 90 days” on their checks, this is usually a cautionary note to encourage prompt deposit or cashing. Banks often still accept these checks within the broader 180-day guideline. The employer’s obligation to pay the wages remains, even if the check becomes stale-dated.
State Regulations for Payroll Checks
While general banking guidelines suggest a six-month validity, payroll checks are also subject to specific state wage and hour laws. These regulations can impact or supersede typical banking practices regarding check validity. Some states may have explicit, shorter expiration periods for payroll checks, such as 60 or 90 days, which are legally binding.
Other states might not specify an expiration date for the check itself but instead address uncashed wages under their unclaimed property laws. These laws dictate how long an employer must hold onto uncashed funds before they are considered abandoned.
Addressing Uncashed Payroll Checks
If an employee possesses an old or potentially expired payroll check, the most direct course of action is to contact the employer who issued it. The employer is obligated to ensure the employee receives their earned wages. This obligation to pay the wages is separate from the physical check itself.
Upon contact, the employer will verify that the original check has not been cashed. If it remains uncashed, they can then issue a replacement check. Employees should avoid attempting to force a bank to cash a stale check, as working directly with the employer for a reissuance is the proper and most effective resolution.
Employer Responsibilities for Unclaimed Wages
Employers have legal obligations concerning uncashed payroll checks. They cannot simply void an uncashed check and retain the funds for their own use. Instead, uncashed payroll checks are considered “unclaimed property” and fall under state escheatment laws.
These laws require employers to attempt to contact the employee after a period of inactivity, known as the dormancy period. This “due diligence” often involves sending written notices to the employee’s last known address. If these attempts are unsuccessful and the dormancy period expires, the employer must report and remit the unclaimed funds to the state’s unclaimed property division.
Dormancy periods for payroll checks commonly range from one to five years, with many states specifying a one-year period. Once remitted to the state, employees can then search for and claim their funds through state-maintained databases. Failure to comply with these escheatment laws can result in penalties and interest for the employer.