Hot Check-Additional Information

Checks the County Attorney's Office May Not Prosecute
  • Post dated check
  • Stop payment check for service only
  • Check under $1,000.00 that is more than one year old
  • Check given in return for a check
  • Check where you cannot provide the name of witness
  • Check not presented to bank with 30 days
  • Business check where name of person who signed check can not be determined
Why Identification is Important
Recording of the check writer's identification convinces the jury that the defendant actually wrote the check. Many fraudulent, stolen and forged checks are passed each month. Verifying the check writer's identity not only protects you, it protects account holder's (and your customers) from potential fraud. The clerk will be the State’s witness if the case goes to trial. With no witness and no way to identify the check writer's true identity, a case will not be filed. THE STATE CAN ONLY ISSUE A WARRANT WITH A DRIVER’S LICENSE NUMBER.
Did You Know?
  • Filing a check with the County Attorney Hot Check Department is FREE.
  • The Hot Check Department is funded by fees collected from hot check writers.
  • Our office will file Class C Misdemeanors with the Justice of the Peace on your behalf.
  • The Justice of the Peace handles charges of Issuance of Bad Check, which is a Class C Misdemeanor (no jail time and fines up to $500.00). They can accept up to $5,000.00 checks.
  • Our office has a handwriting expert available to examine handwriting when a person claims that his or her check is forged.
  • We will collect the $30.00 merchant fee on all checks. (YOU MUST HAVE A SIGN POSTED THAT IS VISIBLE TO THE CHECK WRITER)
  • Even a $100.00 hot check may be prosecuted as a Class B Misdemeanor Theft with a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and $2,000.00 in fines.
  • New ‘Substitute Checks’ are legal equivalents of the original check and may be used to file theft by check charges; however, as the quality of these images vary, it is important to write verified identification information clearly.