# What's the best way to mail a big check? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929 "2009-10-15T17:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/1 "2009-10-15T17:43:54Z")
Another thread here prompted my question. Say I’m mailing a large check - $10,000, for example. Would I send it certified? But more important, would I insure it? For $10,000? If the check is made out to the recipient - a company - I could always make out another check, so I don’t care too much if it gets lost. I just want to be sure it made it there, right? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/2 "2009-10-15T17:48:52Z")
It’s an actual personal check? If so, then it’s easy to follow up and see if it was cashed or place a stop payment, so regular mail would be fine. You could send it certified if the date it was sent was important, and personally I like FedEx for sending any important document to a live person, but there isn’t any reason why it can’t go through regular mail. It gets trickier if you are talking about a cashiers check or a money order. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/3 "2009-10-15T17:48:59Z")
Me I’d mail it like any other check. 39 cent stamp on a plan envelope with the addresses and its good to go. If it was important that you know it was received, you could pay for delivery confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/4 "2009-10-15T17:56:02Z")
For an amount that big, you might consider having your bank wire the money directly to their bank. The fee is nominal - $15 or so, but there is zero risk of losing track of the money. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/5 "2009-10-15T18:03:08Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Me I’d mail it like any other check. 39 cent stamp on a plan envelope with the addresses and its good to go. Yep. Then after it’s returned to you for insufficient payment, stick a 5 cent stamp next to it. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/6 "2009-10-15T18:07:33Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Me I’d mail it like any other check. **39 cent stamp** on a plan envelope with the addresses and its good to go. If it was important that you know it was received, you could pay for delivery confirmation. These days, a 39 cent stamp will only get the envelope returned to you. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/7 "2009-10-15T19:00:18Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > These days, a 39 cent stamp will only get the envelope returned to you. Dam I haven’t seen a value on my stamps for a while. G stamps then Forever stamps. So its not 39 cents anymore i guess. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/8 "2009-10-15T20:24:24Z")
I once happened to get a $35,000 check. It came by regular mail and actually sat in my mailbox for several days. The USPS handles millions of letters every year; they don’t have the time or inclination to pick out out of the bunch. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/9 "2009-10-15T20:33:44Z")
I think I would want more details about who this check is going to, what it is for, and your primary concerns about what needs to happen with it. If you just want to make sure they got it eventually, then just wait for it to be processed in your bank account and don’t use anything more than a first-class stamp. $10,000 is enough incentive to deposit it quickly and they won’t be in business long if they lose a bunch of those. If there’s a time deadline, like maybe the landlord will evict you if they don’t get paid by next week, then use a service like FedEx or UPS. They can not only get a signature and confirmation, but they can offer a guaranteed delivery date and notification of attempted deliveries. I don’t see any reason to insure it either way. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/10 "2009-10-15T21:50:39Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Dam I haven’t seen a value on my stamps for a while. G stamps then Forever stamps. So its not 39 cents anymore i guess. 44 cents, in fact. Although when I saw the question my first thought was it was one of [these](http://www.countyofsb.org/uploadedImages/working/big-checkWIB.jpg). You’d need extra postage for that. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/11 "2009-10-15T21:59:42Z")
Actually, if you put the person’s name and address in the “Pay to the order of” blank, and found a spot for the stamp, you could probably just mail the check without an envelope. Try it and let us know what happens! If Wired was still running their Return to Sender contest, I’d send in my subscription payment that way. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/12 "2009-10-15T22:05:10Z")
The best way to mail a big check is in a big envelope. I can’t believe no one had thought of that yet. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/13 "2009-10-15T22:36:49Z")
I worked for a company where part of my job was to write, and mail, huge checks in the tens of thousands. They were just mailed out in regular envelopes with regular postage, no special precautions… Harry Winston, the famous jeweler, donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian and he mailed it, registered first class mail, in a cardboard box, sent from NY to Washington DC. Cost of postage was $145.29, of which $2.44 was postage - the remainder was the insurance fee for a million dollars, value of the diamond. He said he mailed all of his jewelry that way. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/14 "2009-10-15T22:39:38Z")
I’ve mailed personal checks for much larger than $10K by first class mail and it got there just fine. You can always add return receipt if you want confirmation that it was received, but I really don’t see the need if you can confirm directly from the recipient that your check has arrived. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/15 "2009-10-15T22:58:26Z")
Insurers mail out large-denomination checks via regular mail every day. Certified mail doesn’t actually do much for you except confirming it was received, and the USPS isn’t very good at finding certified letters that go missing anyway (I speak from experience here). If you’ll worry otherwise, I agree with the wire transfer suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/16 "2009-10-16T01:32:10Z")
My small business, whose address is my home, gets checks of all amounts all the time in my residential mailbox. We’ve gotten checks much higher than $10k and I haven’t lost one in 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/17 "2009-10-16T02:21:29Z")
Alternatively, instead of mailing it, you could just tuck it in your jacket pocket, walk down the street, and hand-deliver it. That’s what I did with a cheque for $8,000,000 some years ago. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/18 "2009-10-16T02:27:50Z")
Yeah, but it was 8 million _Canadian_. I keed, I keed … ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/19 "2009-10-16T02:28:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Alternatively, instead of mailing it, you could just tuck it in your jacket pocket, walk down the street, and hand-deliver it. That’s what I did with a cheque for $8,000,000 some years ago. I’d wipe my butt with it then claim it was lost. ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929/20 "2009-10-16T05:21:44Z")
An important point here, which several posters have alluded to inferentially but not stated explicitly, is that a check can’t really be stolen. If it is intercepted by someone not the intended recipient and deposited (not something that happens often), you can get the money back pretty easily. If the crook can’t be found, it becomes the problem of the bank which accepted the deposit. All you suffer is the aggravation of sorting out the mess. That’s why several folks have said insurance isn’t necessary. And they’re right. If you want certainty and it’s important that the payment be received promptly, wire transfer is the way to go. But it’s not necessary to prevent theft. Certified mail, btw, doesn’t really help. It just provides a receipt for delivery. Certified mail can be stolen (again, not common) just like regular mail. Your real protection is that a stolen check ain’t your problem. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-mail-a-big-check/513929.md?page=2)