A check made payable to a named person, with or without the express clause "to order," is transferable by endorsement.
A check made payable to a named person with the clause "not to order" or an equivalent clause is transferable only in the form and with the effects of an ordinary assignment.
The endorsement may be made even in favor of the drawer or any other party liable. These persons may endorse the check again.
The endorsement must be unconditional. Any condition to which it is subject is deemed unwritten.
A partial endorsement is void.
An endorsement by the drawee is also void.
An endorsement to bearer is equivalent to a blank endorsement.
An endorsement to the drawee is valid only as a receipt, except when the drawee has multiple establishments and the endorsement is made to an establishment other than the one on which the check was drawn.
The endorsement must be written on the check or on an attached slip of paper called an allonge. It must be signed by the endorser. The endorser's signature may be affixed either by hand or by any non-manual method.
The endorsement may not designate the payee or may consist simply of the endorser's signature, constituting a blank endorsement. In the latter case, the endorsement, to be valid, must be inserted on the back of the check or on the allonge.
The endorsement transfers all rights arising from the check, including ownership of the funds.
If the endorsement is blank, the holder may:
- Fill in the blank space, either with your own name or the name of another person;
- Endorse the check again in blank, or to another person;
- Give the check to a third party without filling in the blank space and endorsing it.
The endorser is, unless otherwise specified, liable for payment.
They may prohibit a new endorsement; in this case, they are not liable to the persons to whom the check is subsequently endorsed.
The holder of an endorsable check is considered the legitimate holder if they can prove their right through an uninterrupted series of endorsements, even if the last endorsement is in blank. Crossed-out endorsements are, in this respect, deemed unwritten.
When an endorsement in blank is followed by another endorsement, the signatory of the latter is deemed to have acquired the check through the endorsement in blank.
An endorsement on a bearer check makes the endorser liable under the provisions governing recourse; it does not convert the instrument into an order check.
When a person has been deprived of a check payable by any event whatsoever, the payee who proves their right in the manner indicated in Article 33 of the law is only required to relinquish the check if they acquired it in bad faith or if, in acquiring it, they committed gross negligence.
Persons sued under the check may not raise against the holder defenses based on their personal relationship with the drawer or with previous holders, unless the holder, in acquiring the check, knowingly acted to the detriment of the debtor.
When the endorsement contains the words "value for collection," "for collection," "by proxy," or any other wording implying a simple mandate, the holder may exercise all the rights arising from the check, but may only endorse it by way of power of attorney.
In this case, the parties bound by the obligation may only raise against the bearer those defenses that would be available against the endorser.
The mandate contained in an endorsement of a power of attorney does not terminate upon the death of the principal or the occurrence of their incapacity.
An endorsement made after the protest or after the expiry of the presentation period has only the effects of an ordinary assignment.
Unless proven otherwise, an undated endorsement is presumed to have been made before the protest or before the expiry of the period referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Backdating orders is prohibited under penalty of forgery.