Bad Check Laws In California

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The act of issuing a check, while having knowledge that the money in that particular account will be insufficient is tantamount to criminal prosecution in a court of law in the state of California. This is also applicable in instances where there is no money at all in the account of the check issuer.


According the civil code of California, issuing a bad check draws two kinds of legal punishments. These punishments are the civil penalties and criminal penalties. All these would be handed out to the accused, should they fail to pay the payee the amount of money worth that in the bad check, and other damages and costs that may have been incurred. The costs one may incur for cashing a bad check may include the deduction of a certain fee from their bank account. This settlement is usually given a time span of up to thirty days, after which the issuer of the bad check is taken to stand for prosecution. The person receiving a bad check can claim up to three times the amount of the check, an amount which is normally up to one thousand five hundred dollars, but not less than one hundred dollars.

In the state of California, writing a bad check while having the consent of insufficient funds in the bank account is usually considered a misdemeanor offense. This normally results in a person serving a jail sentence, which is up to one year, depending on the amount of money that had been indicated on the bad check.

Sometimes, depending on the level of the offense, the issuance of a bad check can be considered a felony. A felony usually earns one a jail term in the federal penitentiary facility. The maximum time one may serve while in state prison can be up to three years.

Below are the civil and criminal penalties for writing a bad check in California.

Civil Penalties: If the payee has made a proper written demand for payment, and the drawer (person who wrote the check) has not paid to the payee, within 30 days of the demand, then California Civil Code section 1719 allows the receiver of a bad check to recover three times the amount of the check, up to $1500 but not less then $100, in civil court if sufficient notice is mailed or delivered to the person who wrote the check. The damages are in addition to collecting the value of the check and they could include court and mailing costs.

Criminal Penalties: If you write or pass a dishonored check while knowing that there are insufficient funds in your bank account, then it is considered a misdemeanor offense in California that can result in a county jail sentence of up to one year. Under certain circumstances this offense can be considered a felony that could land you with a three year jail sentence in the state prison.




For more information on bad check laws and for criminal and civil penalties in other states for writing bad checks, please read Bad Check Laws

Check with your state statutes for the most current information on California bad check laws.

You may want to also read Getting A Checking Account While On The Chex System

Learn how to Prevent Overdraft And Bounced Check Fees

Although all information has been written in good faith and has been reviewed, please email us at [email protected] to report any inaccuracies.