How long do you have to cash a cheque before it is void?

I am in the UK and am wondering how long I hav to cash in my cheque as i am opening a bank account and am wondering when i should pay the cheque in. I heard it is 3 months but i need to know - any proof of your answers would be good. The cheque is from an account user at the cooperative bank.

How long do you have to cash a cheque before it is void?
3 months was my impression, too.





It should say on it somewhere. Government cheques, I'm sure are three months.





I could be wrong. The consensus seems to say its 6 months and I found this from Sainsburys Bank (point 6) which says six months.





I still think it's best to assume it's 3 months (or 90 days even) just to be on the safe side.
Reply:I honestly thought it was 12 months, ive cashed a cheque before and it was dated 6 months previously. so i think you will be ok.
Reply:think it's six months
Reply:I thought it was 6 months but just to make sure you should pay it in straight away. then theres no risk of the cheque becoming out of date.
Reply:I'm not positive, but I think 6 months is the limit. You can verify this by asking your bank.
Reply:cheques becomes void after six months
Reply:It is common banking practice to reject cheques that are over six months old to protect the payer, on the basis that payment may already have been made by some other means or the cheque may have been lost or stolen . However, this is at the discretion of individual banks. It should not be assumed that cheques in excess of six months old would automatically be rejected — the only certain way to cancel a cheque is to request that a stop be placed on it (although cheques backed by a Cheque Guarantee Card cannot be stopped). It is recommended that, if possible, customers in possession of cheques that are over six months old obtain a replacement. A cheque remains legally valid for six years.
Reply:its 6 months.
Reply:I think it is 6 months...
Reply:Usually it is 3 months, that is how long I have always had on all of my cheques. There might be some banks and things which give you longer. You would have to check with both the paying bank and the recieving bank.
Reply:Personal cheques have validity of only three months, after which it has to be revalidated. On the other hand a Bank draft has a validity of six months.





After revalidation by getting fresh date under signature of the issuer, both the instruments get another validation period.
Reply:As long as the cheque is dated within the last six months you should still be able to deposit it in your account.
Reply:It is 6 months.





This is an agreement between the Banks. It protects customers from unexpected withdrawals. 6 months is adequate time to pay in a cheque.





But, by law, a cheque is valid for 6 years! Although that would be a bad thing, as I cannot remember what cheques I wrote out 6 years ago!
Reply:it is 6 months i knwo cos i had this problem yesterday
Reply:Policies vary from bank to bank and from country to country. Speak with someone at the bank
Reply:Hi, I work for a bank. Hbos - and we will acceept cheques from personal accounts so long as they are dated within 6 months. It may be better for you to find out what other banks procedures are as they may be different.
Reply:ask the bank from where it is drawn from sometimes its only 30 days!

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