Bad checks cost Cass County individuals and merchants in our community thousands of dollars each year.  The Cass County Prosecutor’s Office is dedicated to enforcing the bad check laws of the State of Missouri through vigorous prosecution of bad checks writers.  Our goal is to reduce the number of bad check writers who victimize merchants and individuals in Cass County and to recover restitution for those who have been victimized.

The service provided by the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office is free to our community.   To effectively prosecute bad check offenders and to recover restitution, it is necessary to have the assistance of those receiving checks.

To assist in making sure that the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office can go forward in seeking restitution or prosecution, please follow these steps when accepting a check:

• ALWAYS ask to see the check writer’s driver’s license or photo identification.  Compare the photo with the check writer and write the driver’s license number or social security number and/or date of birth on the check you are receiving.

• COMPARE the address on the photo identification with the information contained on the check. Make sure the check contains the check writer’s current address and personal identifiers.

• REQUIRE the check writer’s date of birth and social security number or driver’s license number.

• REQUIRE the check writer to sign the check in your presence and compare the signature on the photo identification with the signature on the check.

• MAKE sure the check is in good condition, with no alterations, erasures, white-out, tape or type-written information.

• MAKE sure the person receiving the check also INITIALS the check so that the person who accepts the check can identify the check writer.

• NEVER accept a double-endorsed check, which is a check made out to someone else, who then supposedly signs it over to the person who is submitting it now as their payment for purchase.

• NEVER accept payroll checks or third party checks.

• NEVER accept pre-dated or post-dated checks.

• NEVER accept undated or incomplete checks.

• ESTABLISH a waiting period before you issue a customer refund, making sure that your customer’s check has cleared before refunding any money.

• DO NOT accept checks written on banks outside Missouri

• NEVER accept a check without proper identification.

• ALWAYS forward a bad check to this office prior to a check  being 60 days old.

• NEVER accept partial payment on a check.

• NEVER have an agreement to hold the check