Gold Book: The Check Reclamation Guide
Overview/Section 1: Introduction
General Information
Introduction: Check reclamation is a recovery procedure used by the Financial Management Service (FMS) to obtain refunds (reclamations) from a presenting financial institution for paid U.S. Treasury checks.
Payments affected: All U.S. Treasury checks, regardless of the payment type, are subject to check reclamation procedures.
Conditions: Reclamation actions may be initiated against the presenting financial institution when the…
- Check was presented for payment over a forged or unauthorized endorsement, or,
- When a benefit check was negotiated after the payee’s death, or,
- When the check was materially altered
Time limitation on reclamation action: The table below shows how long FMS has to reclaim funds from the presenting financial institution.
If the payee is: |
Then FMS has: |
Deceased |
One year from the date the check was presented for payment. |
Not deceased |
One year and 180 days from the date the check was presented for payment, providing the payee filed a timely claim. |
The presenting financial institution is liable for the following:
- The principal amount of the check; and if applicable, accrued interest, penalties, and administrative fees.
The presenting financial institution should be aware that:
- Their liability is not contingent upon its ability to collect from prior endorsers
- It is their responsibility to pay reclamations timely in order to avoid the direct debit process that will occur on the 31st day if the reclamation has not been paid or protested.
- FMS will only accept reclamation protests from financial institutions and not their customers or other correspondents
Check Information
Sample: Below is a sample of a U.S. Treasury check:
Description: Check
The table below describes where information is located on a U.S. Treasury check. The reference numbers correspond to the above sample.
1 |
Issue Date |
2 |
Payee Name |
3 |
FMS Regional Financial Center |
4 |
Issue Type |
5 |
Check Symbol |
6 |
Check Serial Number |
7 |
Issue Amount |
Description: MICR Line
The table below describes where information is located on the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) line. The reference letters correspond to the above sample.
A |
Check Symbol |
B |
Check Digit |
C |
Routing Number Unique to U. S. Treasury checks |
D |
Check Serial Number |
E |
Check Digit |
F |
Federal Agency Code |
G |
Issue Date (MM/YY) |
H |
Paid Amount, if the financial institution encodes the amount |
To view security features of the Treasury Check please click here (1.2 mb)features
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