The Alabama statute of limitations on a bad check depends on which case you’re facing. Prosecutors have 12 months to file the standard misdemeanor charge for writing a worthless check, up to five years if the check is large enough to be charged as felony theft, and the person you wrote the check to has three years to sue you for the money. All three clocks start the day the bank refused payment, not the day the check was written.
The One-Year Criminal Deadline
Writing a check you know will bounce is classified in Alabama as “negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument,” a Class A misdemeanor regardless of the dollar amount.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-13.1 – Negotiating Worthless Negotiable Instrument Generally The standard limitations period for any Alabama misdemeanor is 12 months, so the state has one year from the offense to bring the case. A conviction carries up to a year in jail.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-7 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
That one-year window is the baseline. It applies to most bounced checks, especially smaller ones. But the dollar amount on the face of the check can push the case into a different category with a much longer deadline.
When the Deadline Stretches to Five Years
Alabama’s theft statute covers anyone who knowingly obtains property by deception with intent to keep it from the rightful owner.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-8-2 – Theft of Property Paying with a check you know will bounce fits that definition, and the charge escalates with the check’s face value:
- $500 to $1,499: Theft of Property in the Third Degree, a Class D felony punishable by one year and one day to five years in prison.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-8-4.1 – Theft of Property in the Third Degree5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-6 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Felonies
- $1,500 to $2,500: Theft of Property in the Second Degree, a Class C felony.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-8-4 – Theft of Property in the Second Degree
- Over $2,500: Theft of Property in the First Degree, a Class B felony.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-8-3 – Theft of Property in the First Degree
Every felony in Alabama carries a five-year statute of limitations unless a specific exception applies.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-3-1 – Felonies Generally So a $600 bad check written today could still be charged as a felony five years from now, while a $400 bad check would have to be charged within 12 months. The face value of the check is the single biggest factor in how much time the state has.
When the Clock Actually Starts
The limitations period does not start when you write the check or hand it over. It starts the day the check is presented to the bank and the bank refuses to pay it.9Justia. Alabama Code 7-3-118 – Statute of Limitations That moment of dishonor is when the offense is complete and when the civil right to sue is born.
The distinction matters because there can be a real gap between when a check changes hands and when it’s deposited. Hand someone a check on January 1 that they don’t deposit until February 15, and the clock starts February 15 when the bank bounces it. That single date controls both the criminal and civil deadlines.
The Three-Year Civil Lawsuit Deadline
Separate from any criminal case, the person who received the bad check can sue you for the money. Alabama’s version of the Uniform Commercial Code gives them three years from the date the check was dishonored to file that lawsuit, or ten years from the date written on the check, whichever comes first.9Justia. Alabama Code 7-3-118 – Statute of Limitations In almost every real case the three-year rule controls, because checks are rarely held for a decade before being deposited.
Alabama also imposes a three-year limit on claims involving an open account, which can apply when the bad check was part of an ongoing business relationship rather than a single transaction.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-2-37 – Commencement of Actions Three Years Either way, the creditor’s deadline is three years. Once it passes, they can no longer force you to pay through the courts.
Leaving Alabama Pauses the Clock
Alabama law allows the statute of limitations to be tolled, meaning paused, in specific situations. For civil cases, any time the check writer is physically absent from Alabama does not count toward the limitations period.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-2-10 – Computation of Time Write a bad check, move to Georgia for two years, then come back, and those two years are subtracted from the clock. The remaining time picks up where it left off.
Criminal statutes of limitations can also be tolled in Alabama. Section 15-3-6 of the Alabama Code addresses tolling in criminal cases, and courts have applied it when the defendant left the state. The principle is the same in both settings: a person cannot run out the clock by being unavailable for prosecution or service. If you are hoping to rely on the statute of limitations as a defense, time you spent outside Alabama probably will not count in your favor.
The Notice Step That Can End the Case Early
Alabama builds in a chance to make things right before a criminal case takes hold. To prove the intent element required for a conviction, the person who received the bad check generally must present it to the bank within 30 days. If the bank refuses payment for insufficient funds, the holder then sends written notice by certified or registered mail demanding payment of the check amount plus a service charge of up to $30.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-13.1 – Negotiating Worthless Negotiable Instrument Generally12Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 8-8-15 – Bad Check Charge
You then have 10 days after receiving the notice to pay. If you pay the full amount plus the service charge within that window, the prosecution loses its strongest evidence that you meant to defraud anyone. If the notice comes back undelivered, Alabama treats it as sufficient notice anyway, as long as it was mailed to the address printed on the check or given when you wrote it.13Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-9-13.2 – Negotiating Worthless Negotiable Instrument Notice of Refusal of Payment Upon Instrument
The notice step matters for timing too. Every month the holder waits before presenting the check or mailing the demand letter eats into the 12-month misdemeanor window. Prosecutors who take bad-check cases seriously want the notice process wrapped up quickly so they have the most time possible to bring charges.
What Happens After the Deadline Passes
Once the statute of limitations expires, it acts as an absolute defense. A prosecutor cannot file criminal charges, and a creditor who sues will lose the case if the check writer raises the defense. Courts enforce these deadlines strictly.
The underlying debt is a different matter. An expired statute of limitations kills the legal remedy, not the debt itself. A creditor or collection agency can still contact you about the money, send letters, and ask you to pay voluntarily. They just cannot sue you or credibly threaten to. A collector who files suit after the deadline has passed can run into trouble under federal debt-collection rules. But until the debt is paid, forgiven, or discharged in bankruptcy, it continues to exist as an unpaid obligation.