# How long before a check really clears? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-check-really-clears/623551 "2012-05-30T16:20:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-check-really-clears/623551/1 "2012-05-30T16:20:03Z")
I’ve been invited to be a “secret shopper” which we all know is a scam. Allegedly, you’re checking on customer service at Western Union. They mail you a check. You deposit the check. Two days later when the check clears, you wire most of the money to someone else and report on WU customer service. Sometime later, the check is found to be a forgery and the money is withdrawn from your account. You’re out about two thousand dollars. It got me to thinking. How long before a check really clears? If someone forges a check to my account, how much time do I have to dispute the forgery and reverse the transaction? At what point do I have to use the courts rather than simply reversing the transaction? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-check-really-clears/623551/2 "2012-05-30T18:33:32Z")
I recall reading about a case where it took about six months before a check was finally deemed fraudulent. My understanding is that there is no set cut-off point at which the check is officially proclaimed good; if it hasn’t been actually paid then you’re responsible for it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-check-really-clears/623551/3 "2012-05-30T18:41:43Z")
Previous topic posted by me on this very question: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-607866.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-607866.html) I was hoping, perhaps like you, that there is a magic point where a bank can no longer administratively make a check bounce, and that, at that point, the check is considered fully honored and that any further claims must be processed through the courts as either a civil lawsuit or a criminal prosecution for fraud, forgery, or some other kindred offense with a request for an order that the defendant pay restitution or return the money, but it looks like that there may not be a specific point where that is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-check-really-clears/623551/4 "2012-05-30T18:50:03Z")
Perhaps one to three years is the answer: > [@The Federal Reserve](#): > > Limitation of Actions > Section 229.38(g) of Regulation CC requires that any action for a violation of subpart C of Regulation CC, including an action for breach of warranty under Section 229.34, be brought within one year after the date of the occurrence of the violation. Section 229.56(c) of Regulation CC requires that any action for a violation of subpart D of Regulation CC, including an action for breach of warranty under Section 229.52, be brought within one year after the date on which the cause of action accrues. Section 210.6(d)(1) of Regulation J requires that action on a claim against a Reserve Bank for failure to exercise ordinary care or act in good faith under Regulation J, except as otherwise provided in Section 229.38(g) of Regulation CC, be commenced within two years after the claim accrues. Section 210.6(d)(2) of Regulation J requires that action on a claim against a Reserve Bank that arises under 210.6(b)(3) of Regulation J must be commenced within one year after the claim accrues. Any action on a claim against a Reserve Bank for breach of warranty, except as otherwise provided in Section 229.38(g) and Section 229.56(c) of Regulation CC or Section 210.6(b)(3) of Regulation J, must be commenced within three years after the claim accrues.